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An exorcism at a convent in the small Romanian town of Tanacu resulted in the death of Maricica Irina Cornici, a twenty-three-year-old nun who said she heard the devil telling her she was sinful. With assistance from four nuns, priest Daniel Corogeanu bound Cornici to a cross, gagged her mouth with a towel, and left her for three days without food or water. The ritual, the priest explained, was an effort to drive devils out of the woman. Cornici was found dead on June 15; an autopsy found she had died of suffocation and dehydration. Cornici, who had a history of schizophrenia, reportedly had recently visited the convent and soon after joined the order. The Orthodox Church admitted that Corogeanu had been ordained as a priest without completing his theological studies, and condemned Cornici's death.
While many Americans likely...