www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Novice admitted he murdered the Nun at Holy Cross Academy in FL

They novice who murdered the nun at Holy Cross Academy in Miami, March 25 2001 admitted he committed the crime. This novice was with the Byzantine Catholic monastery that later entered Orthodoxy. Here's the article.

http://www.local6.com/news/4185888/detail.html

Don

God have mercy on Monk Mykhaylo of others involved.

May the soul of Sister Michelle be eternal+
May her mother find peace with our Lord.
Most Holy Theotokos pray for them all.

Pani Rose

Don,

Hmmm... He would gladly give his life for the murdered nun. Yet he wouldn't plead guilty until the courts promised not to take his life. Then he tries to ruin the reputation of two priests. Sounds rather suspicious.

In any event may God have mercy on his soul.

Dan L

Dan,
I surmise from your post that you are really in the dark about this whole tragic affair. There are a few articles that might help you get some perspective at pokrov.org

I could understand the reduced sentence if his victim were one of his accused abusers. But I fail to see how sexual abuse at the hands of two male priests (who are both, I assume, alive) is justification for a reduced sentence in the murder of an unrelated victim.

In any case I pray that the Lord has mercy on his soul. And I pray for the repose of the soul of the nun that he killed.

djs,

You surmise correctly. Nevertheless, let us hold our fire until the guilt or innocense of these priests are determined. The story really is about a murder. Are there ever any real extenuating circumstances for what this novice did?

Dan Lauffer

Perhaps the best thing we could do here...is to pray for Mykhaylo and for the Nun Michelle and their families? Things that are sensational always get press...but the response of the Christian community should be somewhat different I think. We should commit to praying for such people who have fallen under such deception and/or are so emotionally and spiritually ill. We should pray HARD for them too...perhaps even committing to fasting for them? We need to try and help to save souls and bring them to Christ...and this means DO SOMETHING real and tangible: pray, fast, write to, and try to help such souls. Christians are NOT suppose to 'throw away' such people. Look at the example of the Holy Father...and how he dealt with the man who shot him! What can we do, especially for Mykhaylo??? Is there a Lenten challenge here???


In Christ Who was in prison his last night on earth,
+Fr. Gregory

Amen, Fr. Gregory.

This very sad situation should also teach Christians, and Eastern Christians, not to get too triumphalistic about themselves in regards to other religions (i.e., Islam, the religion of choice for hatred by many on here). Just as the novice is not representative of Christianity when he does such a horrendous action, and we know this from within -- we must also be willing to read the actions of Muslims in the similar light.

Also, very true about the message of how we should treat him from within. How many people would have tried to kill St Paul, if they had a chance? St Constantine? St Vladimir? Countless others of Saints, who have done much which is rather evil before their real conversion in Christ? I often wonder how many of them would have become a Christian, if they had to deal with hate-filled responses and "let's banish them from society" ideas instead of the Christian transformation of the fallen into the beatified?

Dan and Carole,

If you do acquaint yourselves with the circumstances of this case, you might find Fr. Gregory's advice easier to accept.

Amen.

djs,

Having mercy for and showing mercy to someone does not suggest that the person is innocent of the sin. I don't see that you are telling either Carole or myself anything that we don't already know. Demented souls sometimes do evil things. Does it do any good to say that the deeds weren't evil? Does it mean that we won't show mercy to those who do evil things? No and No.

In fact, the first thing necessary to show mercy toward someone who has committed an evil deed is to recognize that evil has been committed.

Dan L

duplicate. Sorry.

Nowhere, Dan, did I say that his acts were not evil. Neither has Fr. Gregory.

djs,

I understand that Father Gregory never even implied that.

As far as the situation goes...you are correct. There are many things in this story about which I am unaware. There may well be other villains in this story that haven't become clear. Since I'm quite ignorant of the details and so are most os us, I will refrain from posting further.

Dan Lauffe

Dear Fr. Gregory and others,

I surely agree that as Christians we must have mercy and pray even as Our Lord Jesus Christ prays and forgives.

But, I do agree with Carole in that it seems a leap to blame the abusers indirectly for the death of the victim.

I read the article posted above too.

At any rate it makes sense to me that someone in civil as well as church authority should continue to investigate the allogations involved and get more into the 'why' this crime was committed. The question remains, "Who is accountable?"

This, no doubt, was a hideous and violent crime. It does remind me of the fact-based movie, Dead Man Walking, some years back with Sean Penn in which he is sent to death for raping and murdering a young woman. I remember Susan Sarandon playing the compassionate nun who became his last days'counselor in prison and lead him to a kind of repentance through her love and example.

And repentance is repentance. The novice will pay by having to live with this the rest of his life. We must pray he can find some kind of peace of mind and know that he is forgiven.

The others, if the allogations are found to be true, must be stopped and also brought to justice. We need to pray for them as well. And the nun's parents and those who investigate....

Lord, have mercy.


Peace,

Mary Jo