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Romanian priest has prison sentence halved to 7 years for exorcism killing
© AP
21.09.2007 14:19:18
(live-PR.com) - BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - An appeals court has cut in half the sentence for a Romanian priest convicted of killing a nun during an exorcism ritual, the national news agency reported Friday.
The Appeals Court in the central city of Alba Iulia on Thursday reduced the sentence of Daniel Petru Corogeanu to seven years from
the original 14, Rompres reported.
Four nuns were also convicted for helping the priest in his exorcism ritual, which resulted in the death of 23-year-old Irina Cornici in June 2005.
The court reduced the sentence of one of the nuns, Nicoleta Arcalianu, to six years from eight, but maintained the five-year sentences for the other three, Adina Cepraga, Elena Otel and Simona Bardanas. The sentences can be further appealed within 10 days.
Cornici, who believed she heard the devil talking to her, was treated for schizophrenia, but when she relapsed Corogeanu _ a monk who served as the priest for the secluded Holy Trinity convent in northeast Romania _ and the four other nuns tried exorcism.
She was tied up for several days without food or water and chained to a cross. She died of dehydration, exhaustion and suffocation.
In the initial trial, the court in the northeast city of Vaslui convicted Corogeanu and the nuns of holding Cornici captive, resulting in her death. The five asked for the appeal to be heard in a court in another region.
Cornici's death stunned Romania and prompted the Orthodox Church to promise reforms, including psychological tests for those seeking to enter monasteries.
The church, which has benefited from a religious revival in recent years, condemned the ritual as «abominable» and banned Corogeanu from the priesthood and excommunicated the four nuns.
While Orthodox churches regularly perform exorcism rituals, Corogeanu's methods were seen as excessively harsh. Church officials noted he had dropped out halfway through his course at the church's religion school. Despite leaving the program, he was anointed as a priest because of a shortage of priests to serve in new convents and monasteries.
The Appeals Court in the central city of Alba Iulia on Thursday reduced the sentence of Daniel Petru Corogeanu to seven years from
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Four nuns were also convicted for helping the priest in his exorcism ritual, which resulted in the death of 23-year-old Irina Cornici in June 2005.
The court reduced the sentence of one of the nuns, Nicoleta Arcalianu, to six years from eight, but maintained the five-year sentences for the other three, Adina Cepraga, Elena Otel and Simona Bardanas. The sentences can be further appealed within 10 days.
Cornici, who believed she heard the devil talking to her, was treated for schizophrenia, but when she relapsed Corogeanu _ a monk who served as the priest for the secluded Holy Trinity convent in northeast Romania _ and the four other nuns tried exorcism.
She was tied up for several days without food or water and chained to a cross. She died of dehydration, exhaustion and suffocation.
In the initial trial, the court in the northeast city of Vaslui convicted Corogeanu and the nuns of holding Cornici captive, resulting in her death. The five asked for the appeal to be heard in a court in another region.
Cornici's death stunned Romania and prompted the Orthodox Church to promise reforms, including psychological tests for those seeking to enter monasteries.
The church, which has benefited from a religious revival in recent years, condemned the ritual as «abominable» and banned Corogeanu from the priesthood and excommunicated the four nuns.
While Orthodox churches regularly perform exorcism rituals, Corogeanu's methods were seen as excessively harsh. Church officials noted he had dropped out halfway through his course at the church's religion school. Despite leaving the program, he was anointed as a priest because of a shortage of priests to serve in new convents and monasteries.
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