New Delhi-based investigative reporter Tim Sullivan spent months looking into whispers, first heard by Nicole Winfield at the Vatican, that Indian nuns had endured sexual pressure by Catholic priests. What he found, after months of reporting into the closed-off world of Catholic convents, was a pattern of sexual abuse that went back decades, ranging from drunken priests barging into nuns’ rooms to outright rape. He also found a culture of silence that had long kept these attacks hidden. Slowly, though, Sullivan found sisters willing to open up about their attacks. He also found nuns, former priests and others who could give perspective about these attacks and why they’d been kept secret for so long. Finally, he and New Delhi photographer Manish Swarup traveled to India’s Catholic heartland, in the southern state of Kerala, to meet with a group of nuns who had become pariahs in their community for defending a sister who had accused a bishop of rape.
Sullivan's powerful narrative attracted widespread attention.
The story, accompanied by Swarup’s evocative photos, was one of the AP’s most-read stories of the week and had excellent reader engagement, with many readers staying with the narrative until the end. AP clients specializing in Catholic affairs, including America magazine of the U.S. Jesuit order and the Catholic website Crux, both ran the story prominently.
Sister Anupama Kelamangalathu, one of several nuns who have defended a fellow sister for accusing their bishop of rape, walks in the chapel of St. Francis Mission Home in Kuravilangad, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018. For decades, nuns in India have quietly endured sexual pressure from Catholic priests, an AP investigation has revealed.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic nun prays during Sunday Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, in Kottayam, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
From left, Catholic sisters Josephine Villoonnickal, Alphy Pallasseril, Anupama Kelamangalathu, who have supported the accusation of rape against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, talk at St. Francis Mission Home in Kuravilangad, in southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018. “Some people are accusing us of working against the church,” said Villoonnickal. “They say, ‘You are worshipping Satan.’ But we need to stand up for the truth.”
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
Catholic nuns who have supported an accusation of rape against powerful Bishop Franco Mulakkal leave a chapel after offering prayers at St. Francis Mission Home in Kuravilangad, in the conservative southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
Worshippers arrive at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral for Sunday Mass in Kottayam, in southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic priest conducts Sunday Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral in Kottayam, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic priest offers prayers with others at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral in Kottayam, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
Children walk past a mural of Christ on the wall of St. Joseph Church in Udayagiri, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic devotee prays at St. Mary's Church in Kottayam in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 3, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic nun partakes in the sacrament of confession at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral in Kottayam, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A policeman stands guard as nuns who have supported the accusation of rape against Bishop Franco Mulakkal return from the chapel at St. Francis Mission Home in Kuravilangad, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018. The nun accusing Mulakkal said that every few months the powerful bishop would visit their convent. Then, she wrote church officials, he would rape her. Mulakkal denies the accusations.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A Catholic nun walks out of chapel of St. Francis Mission Home after offering prayers, in Kuravilangad, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 4, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
A person drives in the night with a crucifix\ on the dashboard in Kottayam, in the conservative southern Indian state of Kerala, Nov. 8, 2018.
AP Photo / Manish Swarup
The standout work by Sullivan contributed to a remarkable body of work across the AP in covering the global clergy abuse scandal. Chief Vatican correspondent Winfield also reported exclusively on a confidential Vatican letter to U.S. bishops about proposed responses to the scandal, and exclusive Vatican confirmation that an Argentine bishop hand-picked by the pope for a top job was under investigation for sexual misconduct. And Philadelphia’s Claudia Lauer – winner of this week's Best of the States – found that Roman Catholic dioceses across the U.S. have released the names of more than 1,000 priests accused of abusing children in the wake of a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania.
For exposing long-held scandals in India’s Catholic ministries, Sullivan and Swarup share AP’s Best of the Week.