Sorry, what century is this? ____ "I don't understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this." --Father Daniel Crucified nun dies in 'exorcism' A Romanian nun has died after being bound to a cross, gagged and left alone for three days in a cold room in a convent, Romanian police have said. Members of the convent in north-east 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. A priest and four nuns were charged with imprisonment leading to 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. 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 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. link
i was reading a book recently that talked about the lengths that people go to with ascetecism (did i spell that right?). there was a story of man who went to the desert and put himself up on a big pole...sitting on the top. nothing to eat or drink. tied himself with a rope up there. he had some people coming out to check on him. he lived. but when he came down, after a long period of time, he had maggots living off the broken flesh around where the rope was tied. these guys would compete with one another to see who could suffer more for God. seems to miss the entire point of the New Testament. self-denial is fine...it can be a part of faith. Jesus fasted. but to take it to a point where you're out there hurting yourself?? i think it's missing the point.
I think the reason why it is hard to understand why this priest and these nuns would do such a thing is that we don't really believe in demons much. I think they handled this situation badly (to say the least) because it's hard for me to imagine real demon possesion even though I don't dismiss the possibility. But as I understand it, for those who believe they are really facing a struggle against invisible and evil powers, this is a struggle of the utmost importance in which you would do everything you can. I would think it is similar to hearing about someone being tortured to death for raping an infant. A lot of people wouldn't feel all that sorry for the guy. But what if you didn't believe in rape and thought the whole incident must have been a figment of their imagination?
Totally uncalled for. As a Muslim, I feel insulted when people on this board make disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and I can only imagine that my Christian friends here feel the same way when stupid comments like this are made towards Jesus. If you have something of substance to say, then great. Otherwise, please refrain from baseless insults.
mostly it was just dumb. i don't see how anyone of faith would take a comment like that seriously. to get back to the thread topic, christian orthodoxy, being older than protestantism, inarguably practices its faith in a manner closer to the roots of christianity. if protestantism has evolved to fit the times, do you guys think it still has a ways to go. is it possible there will be another reformation?
I think that you're right on here. I lived in Romania for a couple of years, including a few months in Arad, the nun's hometown. It's amazing how different and sometimes seemingly borderline insane different peoples' beliefs can be. Granted, I would assume that the priest in the story was in the low LOW minority, but there are religious extremists everywhere, the US included. They may display it in different ways, but there are definitely those who seem to lose sight, as another poster put it, of the whole message of Christianity. Weird story, though.
Agreed. I didn't much like that comment, and thought it was uncalled for. I couldn't really think of a way, at the time, to express that thought without saying something rude or insulting (which wouldn't be very Christian either). Anyway, it does no one any good to make fun of religious figures, whether you believe in them or not. As for the Romanian situation, I don't like the way they handled it. Seems to me that, if God has given the human race more insights into what causes "demon possession" and what can be done about it, we should use that knowledge. This particular approach was just torture and inhumane. I don't recall any stories of Jesus healing anyone or driving out demons by a method like that.
i think your assumption is faulty. orthodox faiths practice closer to how faith was practiced 1,000 years ago...not sure they're practiced any closer to the 1st century church. actually, i'm quite sure they're not practiced any where near the 1st century church. i'm speaking only for christianity here..i have no idea about orthodox branches of other faiths.
there are all sorts of "traditions" that were added in the centuries that would follow that seem to have no base in the Bible, whatsoever. and that's coming from a guy who grew up in the Episcopal Church!
