CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Many Romanians have turned to the online petition platform, demanding that the Romanian Orthodox Church changes the rite of baptism after a child died during a religious ritual.
According to various media reports, the six-week-old infant suffered cardiac arrest after being immersed in the holy water three times during the christening ceremony last week. The child was immediately taken to the hospital but was declared dead soon after. The autopsy report later revealed that the child's lungs were filled with liquid.
"Given the tragic cases in which babies died after being immersed in water, the church must urgently adjust this practice. We do not demand the rite of baptism be removed, we demand changes to avoid unnecessary and even absurd risks," a petition posted on the CampaniaMea website read.
By the latest count, about 60,000 people have signed the petition.
Prosecutors have launched a manslaughter case against the priest who performed the ritual in the north-eastern city of Suceava.
