A priest from Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca in Romanian) was fined RON 2,000 (EUR 400) for saying to a gendarme on patrol, “May you and your family go to Heaven,” a blessing that was somehow interpreted as a curse. The priest had been warned by the officer because he refused to wear a mask, Romanian news portal ziare.com reports.
“The [priest] was stopped at Train Station Square in Kolozsvár because he was not wearing a protective mask, as required by the law in force. When I drew his attention to this, he told me that he does not wear a mask, as he is not obliged to do so. I told him that he is violating the legal provisions and will be sanctioned, so he told me that he takes me and my family to Heaven,” the police record says.
“In Kolozsvár, a priest was fined for RON 2,000 by a gendarme because he wished him, ‘May you and your family go to Heaven.’ He believed that it was a curse. I thought the gendarmerie don’t get jokes, but it seems, they don’t get blessings either,” a man from Kolozsvár posted on Facebook, together with the record of the fine.
