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Romanian priest unrepentant after crucifixion of nun By Laura Chiriac, Agence France Press TANACU, Romania — A Romanian Orthodox priest, facing charges for ordering the crucifixion of a young nun because she was "possessed by the devil," was unrepentant Saturday as he celebrated a funeral ceremony for his alleged victim. "God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil," Father Daniel, 29, the superior of the Holy Trinity monastery in north-eastern Romania, told an AFP reporter before celebrating 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 Saturday they had charged the priest and four nuns with imprisonment leading to death, while religious authorities said he would be barred from celebrating liturgy until the investigation was completed. The monastery will be shut if they are found guilty, Father Daniel's superiors said. Cornici was found dead on Wednesday, 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 Daniel and four other nuns had claimed Cornici 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. Cornici 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 Saturday no church bells were sounded while nuns cast distrustful glances at the strangers, including two AFP 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," Daniel said. "You see it?" said the priest, gesturing at the body, lying in an annexe and still showing the marks of the gag. Daniel has lived for the past four years in the isolated monastery located 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 practise in the heart of the Romanian Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown to other priests," he said. Sociologist Alred Bulai said that 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," Bulai said. It was not clear why Father Daniel believed the nun was possessed. One parishoner, 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." 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. http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005...st_x.htm?csp=34 http://www.daily-news.ro/article_detail.php?idarticle=12569 This is a very sad commentary for this day in time! gc

How could you leave your child, or any child, home with two dogs when you are scared that one might harm your child? Stay in the basement while I run errands???? Errands were so important and secret that she HAD to go and couldn't take him with her? I hope she doesn't have any other kids! gc

Belle, I'm guessing you are in the south, so am I. I've tried to grow lavender a number of times and failed, 'cept for this year. In the past I've bought a lavender plant in mid-spring and it would die before it was fully established, I'm guessing because of the heat. This year I bought a plant in February, potted it into a clay pot, left it outdoors and kept it watered. By the time the temp. heated up my plant was established and starting to grow. Then I moved it under a tree so that it gets some sun and stays cooler than if it was in full sun. It seems to be thriving! I'm thinking of cutting some back to fill a sachet :)--> As far as finding a plant, I noticed that they had some for sale at one of the local Whole Food Markets. I bought mine at a nursery. I've also seen the seeds, but I would suggest starting them early here in the south. Hope this helps. gc

thanks coolchef, I'll try it! gc

I'm with you CWF, prayer and gardening :)--> This year I only have tomatoes, bell peppers, beans and zucchini. So far I have three tomatoes on two of my plants and lots of peppers. They are flowering beautifully! This year my herb garden is parsley, thyme, oregano, chamomile, lavender, basil, sage, rosemary, chives and garlic chives. Most of my gardening now is done in pots, 'cept for my parsley, chives and rosemary; chives and rosemary I've had for years, my parsley keeps reseeding itself. :D--> I have a hard time growing lavender because of our summer heat. This year I've had success! I started early before the heat set in, around February and now that it's established I have it under a tree so that it gets some sun and stays cool. My best year gardening was when my entire back yard was a veggie and herb garden with flowers here and there to help with bug control. It was absolutely beautiful. When the corn started to come up my neighbors would stop and talk to ask about what was growing. It was so much fun! Gardening from seeds, to me, is the most fun :)--> coolchef, have you used lavender on anything besides ostrich? gc

pawtucket, ebuyer sells to both Britian and America. There is a flag icon on the bottom left that you can click on which will bring you to either country's site. gc

Have you tried ebuyer? http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/home/

This article would be funny if not for being so sad! I remember the first time I had a discussion about the pros and cons of gun control in England and America. A few months laters I saw on the front page of a british newpaper an article reporting on a robbery using a knife. My question at the time was, "so will the British government outlaw knifes next?" Ron G., do you have the link to the article? gc

Good post, thanks! gc

I haven't seen either movie ;)--> But I've seen all three LOTR movies about 5 times. Now that's a movie! gc

excathedra, Those are wonderful words by Roy Croft, thanks for posting them. I sent them to my sweety yesterday! gc

gc hands David a cup of coffee and chickory. This will wake you up, for sure :D--> gc (edited because my smiley wasn't smiling)

Its pretty plain that the link I provided is a group who named themselves "The Way" and that it has nothing to do with TWI. Uhm, it was a joke, a play on words. I have a winking guy there and everything. :)--> gc

JJ, I was browsing his site and his bio says that he IS ex-way! ;)--> He used to be in a group called http://www.the-way.cc/ The Way ;)--> gc

Belle, I wasn't such a good kid either. I liked raising my son a lot better than I would have liked raising me Funny thing, I find my son and I to be very similar in a lot of ways. My dad used to test me now and then, I guess to see if my brain was working ok. :D--> Once he asked me the difference between a bridge and an over pass, I flunked the test. To this day I never call an over pass a bridge! I have always figured it was because my dad never went further than the 3rd grade. Some of his siblings had a university degree and my mom had a 3 years of university. I was proud of him anyway. He ran his own business, and taught himself the working end of geometry because of the type of business he had, all on a 3rd grade education. The gal that introduced me to TWI was my sister-in-law at the time. She was looking for the same things I was. I think there were more people truly seeking God and to understand what God wants from us than not. I think we got caught up in the "doing for...". Looking back though, I was trying to do it in my own strength, forgetting that the price was paid. gc

Cindy!, I hope you are going to take some pictures of all this and post them here. The whole thing sounds wonderful, and I bet the kids love it :)--> gc

With that kind of wisdon, I REALLY can't wait to the next movie! :D--> gc

After reading about your family Galen, my family is absolutely normal...almost June and Ward style :D--> I think my upbringing was basically normal for the times. The only hang-up I have is the word "stupid". I think my father used that word too often. We have some infighting, but I think that's to be expected since there are 8 of us left and most of us are all stubborn and pig headed. Signals, I'm not sure you can gauge family stability on whether you joined a cult. When I look back on the reasons I joined TWI they were honest. I wanted to understand the bible and know what God was all about. Of course, I know less now then I did before I joined :D--> gc

I absolutely hate hurricane season! I hate the boarding up, I hate the constant threat, I hate having to get everything worth anything off the floor, I hate wondering where the hell I'm going to go for the day it hits, I hate having to sit in traffic while escaping the madness and I hate the fear of coming back to a home under water. Did I say I HATE hurricane season? Well, I do! gc

I'm wishing the same thing...a safe tour of duty, and a safe trip home again! :)--> gc

XLIII How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Belle, I never brought anyone to twig, not even the man I was married to at the time. I very rarely witnessed to people, if ever. Once I remember a group of us witnessing, or at least we were supposed to, I don't remember actually doing the deed though (could be I played hookie that night). The only time I ever remember going out to witness was when I was 18, belonged to a different organization, I was on Bourbon Street and I was hit on a zillion times. It did no good :shrug: I never signed anyone up for class either. Its not that I didn't and don't talk about God, because I do. I just don't set out to talk about God in a witnessing fashion, it just comes up naturally (I think) Of course, when I talked to my family about things, it wasn't so natural since at the time I believed most of them to be heathen since all were Catholics with few beliefs. I felt badly that I didn't and wouldn't witness, but I would have felt worse if had. I have come to realize that I think the best way to witness is with our lives. gc

We've had a Ruth's Chris here for years, but I never could afford to eat there. A few Christmas' ago my son gave me a gift cert. for my fiance and me to go. The food was delicious! Service was perfect! and the atmosphere couldn't have been better. It was a great present. :D--> gc

WN, Thanks. I think I saw something about them some years back, so you might be right. I agree, when you are taught from birth its so much tougher to get rid of. I know I can still kneel at the right time in a catholic church even though I've only been in one about 5 times in the past 33 years. gc

I guess I should have been born a man ;)--> I have clothes that are 15+ years old. I buy new tennis shoes and jeans because the ones I have have worn out. My mother offers to buy me new clothes and I won't have it! Most of my clothes are not 'trendy', you know, navy suit, khaki suit, black suit for funerals ;)-->, red suit for when I feel like it and 7 pairs of jeans! I'm moving sometime in the next year so I've been going through all my things deciding what to store, what to take and what to put in a garage sale. I'm having a tough time going through my cook books..NOO, don't make me sell this book I know this will sound gross, but I still have my son's first teeth and his first curl that I snipped off before he had a hair cut at 4. Such precious memories gc