Saga of the crucified nun
The news was first reported on the 18th of June, 2005:
Crucified nun dies in ‘exorcism’
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 priest and four nuns were charged with imprisonment leading to death.
Then on 20th of June, 2005, the BBC reported “Crucified ‘exorcism’ nun buried” offering little more information than the original article did. For those people who post to online dicussion forums, this news article was similar to posting a “me too!” comment to a thread just to pull it back into the forefront of discussions. Cynical assessment, I know, but it felt like the BBC was simply trying to keep media attention on the tragedy.
Things went quiet on the story until 21st September, 2005 when the BBC reported
‘Crucified’ Romanian nun exhumed
The body of a trainee nun who was allegedly crucified in an exorcism at a monastery in eastern Romania has been exhumed, the state news agency reports.
A first autopsy concluded the nun died due to dehydration, exhaustion and lack of oxygen, state news agency Rompres reported at the time.
The agency quoted defence lawyer Maria Ilisei as saying that they hoped a second autopsy would uncover “the real causes of the death”.
“It will be a complex affair to provide all the answers that remained unanswered from the first examination.”
Finally, today, there’s a report that brings appropriate closure to things
Priest jailed for exorcism death
A Romanian priest has been jailed for 14 years for conducting an exorcism that led to the death of a nun who he believed was possessed by devils.
The Orthodox Church, which described the Tanacu incident as “abominable”, has promised reforms, including psychological tests for those seeking to enter monasteries.
It banned Corogeanu from the priesthood and excommunicated the four nuns.
After hearing the sentence, Corogeanu said: “We will appeal and hope that it will succeed. We didn’t expect this sentence, but this is the judge’s decision. We will pray to God for help.”
This whole saga reminds me of a bible story from the book of Acts (chapter 19, verses 13-16 if you want to look it up):
Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Things go bad, and people get hurt, when you start trying to meddle/dabble in the supernatural and relying on your own strength. God cares deeply about people and calls believers to be a force of good, moving people and society toward greater and greater degrees of life. Clearly this priest wasn’t listening to God - had the nun really been afflicted by an unclean spirit, the methods show he was using natural means to try to deal with what ought to have been a supernatural event, thereby moving in his own strength. God can, and frequently does, free people from the influence of unclean forces without resorting to means. On the other side of the debate, this priest clearly wasn’t listening to God if she’d not been afflicted by an unclean spirit as he’d have been told not to do this abominable event in the first place. It angers me that the priest can say, “We will pray to God for help” - he’s not listening to God! He doesn’t give a rip about what the caring Creator has to say. The man’s clearly using religion to further his own ends, and a 14-year jail term sounds perfect. Let’s just hope that in that time he has a change of heart.