Aphelion

This story appeared in today's Toronto Star. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! :o<br><br>Murderer points a finger at God<br>Suing Him for failing to save him from Devil <br><br>Reneged on `baptism pact' to keep evil at bay<br><br>A convicted murderer says the Devil made him do it — but he wants God to pay for his sins.<br><br>The inmate, a Romanian identified only as Pavel M., is suing God for failing to save him from Satan.<br><br>Pavel says when he was baptized as a child, he was in fact making a pact with God that was supposed to protect him from all evil and keep him out of trouble.<br><br>"God received ... valuables from me, as well as prayers in exchange for promises of a better life," he notes in his lawsuit.<br><br>"In reality, this did not happen — I found myself in the devil's hands."<br><br>Pavel, who's serving 20 years in the Timisoara jail in western Romania, has fingered the Romanian Orthodox Church as God's direct representative here on Earth.<br><br>And he says it's the church that should be forced to compensate him for the God-inflicted damage wrought by His alleged crimes: "Cheating, concealment, abuse against people's interest, taking bribe and traffic of influence."<br><br>Pavel's complaint was sent to the Timisoara Court of Justice and forwarded to the prosecutor's office.<br><br>But court officials say the suit will likely be dropped because the defendant — identified as "God, resident in Heaven" — is neither an individual nor a company, and therefore not subject to a civil court's jurisdiction.<br><br>And besides, they could have difficulty delivering the subpoena.