A Romanian
nun died after being bound to a cross, gagged and left alone for
three days.
"I
don't understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this" -- Father Daniel
Members of the convent in
north-west Romania claim Maricica Irina Cornici was possessed and
that the crucifixion had been part of an exorcism ritual.
Cornici was found dead on the cross on Wednesday after fellow nuns
called an ambulance, according to police.
On Saturday a former priest, Daniel Corogeanu, and four nuns were charged in connection with
her death.
Police say the 23-year-old nun, who was denied food and drink
throughout her ordeal, had been tied and chained to the cross and
a towel pushed into her mouth to smother any sounds.
A post-mortem is to be carried out, although initial reports say
that Cornici died from asphyxiation.
Daniel Corogeanu
God performed
a Miracle; she is delivered from evi! !
Local
media reports that the young woman had arrived at the remote
convent three months before, having initially gone there to
visit a friend and opted to stay.
She grew up in an
orphanage in Arad, in the west of
Romania.
Mediafax news agency said Cornici suffered
from schizophrenia and the symptoms of her condition caused
the priest at the convent and other nuns to believe she was
possessed by the devil.
"They all said she was possessed
and they were trying to cast out the evil spirits," police
spokeswoman Michaela Straub said.
Father Daniel (pictured here) who is accused of
orchestrating the crime is said to be unrepentant.
"God has performed a miracle for
her, finally Irina is delivered from evil," AFP quoted the priest
as saying.
"I don't understand why journalists are making such a fuss about
this. Exorcism is a common practice in the heart of the Romanian
Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown to other
priests," Father Daniel added.
If found guilty of killing Cornici, Father Daniel and the accused
nuns could face 20 years in jail.
Priest defiant on
nun's crucifixion By Laura Chiriac in Tanacu, Romania 19 June
1305 2005
"It's
happening particularly in the isolated monasteries, where
the superiors have difficulty understanding the current
realities and adapting themselves to modern life"
-- Alred Bulai, Sociologist
"This
storm is proof that the will of God has been done....You
see it?"
...Father Daniel, gesturing at the body still showing
the marks of the gag.
A ROMANIAN Orthodox priest, facing charges for ordering the
crucifixion of a young nun because she was "possessed by the
devil", was unrepentant as he celebrated a funeral ceremony
for his alleged victim.
"God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is
delivered from evil," said Father Daniel, 29, the superior of
the Holy Trinity monastery in north-eastern Romania.
With
precision and pig-iron wit, this compact volume lays
bare all the sex, gore, and lunacy that the Bible has to
offer.
He then celebrated a short liturgy "for the soul of the
deceased", in the presence of 13 nuns who showed no visible
emotion.
He insisted that from the religious point of view, the
crucifixion of Maricica Irina Cornici, 23, was "entirely
justified", but admitted he faced excommunication as well as
prosecution, and was seeking a "good lawyer".
Prosecutors said they had charged the priest and four nuns
with imprisonment leading to death, while religious
authorities said the priest would be barred from celebrating
liturgy until the investigation was completed.
The monastery would be shut if
the accused were found guilty, Father Daniel's superiors said.
The alleged victim was found dead midweek, gagged and chained
to a cross, after fellow nuns called an ambulance, according
to police.
Mihaela Straub, spokeswoman for the police in the province of
Vaslui, said Father Daniel and four other nuns had claimed she
was possessed and should be exorcised.
Before being crucified she had been kept shut up for several
days, her hands and feet tied and without food or drink, he
said.
She had entered the monastery just three months before, after
visiting a friend who was a nun there, police said.
As her coffin entered the church of the monastery no church
bells were sounded, and nuns cast distrustful glances at the
strangers, including reporters, present at the ceremony.
Claps of thunder from an approaching storm were sometimes the
only sounds to break the silence.
"This storm is proof that the will of God has been done,"
Father Daniel said.
"You see it?" said the priest, gesturing at the body, lying in
an annexe and still showing the marks of the gag.
Father Daniel has lived for the past four years in the
isolated monastery in the hills of one of the poorest regions
of Romania, without running water or electricity.
"Over there, in your world, the people must know that the
devil exists. Personally I can find his work in the gestures
and speech of possessed people, because man is often weak and
lets himself be easily manipulated by the forces of evil,"
said the bearded young priest.
"I don't understand why journalists are making such a fuss
about this. Exorcism is a common practice in the heart of the
Romanian Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown
to other priests."
Sociologist Alred Bulai said corporal punishment was still
commonly used in certain Romanian monasteries.
"It's happening particularly in the isolated monasteries,
where the superiors have difficulty understanding the current
realities and adapting themselves to modern life," he said.
It was not clear why Father Daniel believed the nun was
possessed. One parishioner, Dora, said the nun "had to be
punished, she had an argument with the Father during a Sunday
mass and insulted him in front of the congregation".
The Mediafax news agency reported that the dead woman had
recently been treated for "schizophrenia" at the local
hospital, but the chief of the local child welfare office,
Ionel Bratianu, said the nun was "in good health and did not
suffer from any psychiatric trouble".
Mediafax news agency
reported Saturday that the Cornici had recently been
treated for "schizophrenia" at the local hospital, but the
chief of the local child welfare office, Ionel Bratianu,
said the nun was "in good health and did not suffer from
any psychiatric trouble."
Cornici was raised in an
orphanage until the age of 19, when she traveled to
Germany to work as a nanny for a family of German doctors.
After in-depth psychological and psychiatric tests, the
German embassy had declared her apt to take care of
children, said Bratianu.
Since the fall of the
communist regime in December 1989, the Orthodox Church,
which represents 85% of Romania's 22 million inhabitants,
is rated in many opinion polls as the most trusted
institution in the country.
Vitalie Danciu, the
superior of a nearby monastery at Golia, called the
crucifixion "inexcusable," but a spokesman for the
Orthodox patriarchate in Bucharest refused to condemn it.
"I don't know what this
young woman did," Bogdan Teleanu said
Former Romanian
priest jailed for exorcism murder of nun
Wed January 30, 2008
Story Highlights:
Former priest jailed for seven years for murdering a
young nun during an exorcism
Nun was bound, chained to a cross and denied food and
water for days during ritual
Irina Cornici, 23, died from dehydration, exhaustion and
suffocation during an ordeal
Cornici, once treated for schizophrenia, believed she
had heard the devil talk to her
BUCHAREST, Romania
(AP) -- A former priest began a seven-year jail term
Wednesday for murdering a young nun during an
exorcism ritual when she was bound, chained to a
cross and denied food and water for days.
Former
priest Daniel Corogeanu, center, listens to a court
ruling as he is sentenced.
Irina Cornici, 23, died from dehydration, exhaustion
and suffocation during an ordeal that stunned
Romania and prompted the Orthodox Church to promise
reforms and psychological tests to screen potential
clergy.
The former priest, Daniel Corogeanu, and four nuns
were all convicted and sentenced in September but
Corogeanu was freed pending an appeal, which he lost
Tuesday. He was picked up by police in the remote
northeast Wednesday and sent to jail.
Cornici, who had previously been treated for
schizophrenia, had believed she heard the devil
talking to her. Corogeanu and the four nuns decided
to try an exorcism ritual in June 2005 using
techniques that the Romanian Orthodox Church
condemned as "abominable".
The church, which has benefited from a religious
revival in recent years, defrocked Corogeanu and
excommunicated the four nuns, who in September were
handed five- and six-year jail terms.
When arrested Wednesday, Corogeanu said he would
serve his term if that was God's will, the national
news agency Rompres reported.
Corogeanu, a Romanian, dropped out halfway through
training for the priesthood, but still served as a
priest for the secluded Holy Trinity convent in
northeast Romania because of a shortage of suitable
candidates for convents and monasteries.
"Great book, solid arguments,
a challenge to believers. Easy-
to-understand logic dominates
the work, presenting an almost
watertight case against
contemporary mythology.
Raised in the Muslim faith, Warraq came to reject religion and
now spends his time lecturing and writing. He recently authored a piece "Islam,
The Middle East and Fascism" which critiques the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an.
Former
priest Daniel Corogeanu, center, listens to a court
ruling as he is sentenced.
