Official statement – Bodnariu case: Latest developments
Dear friends, those who stand with us,
We are grateful to God for all of you and for your support during this period, 40 days starting March 7; a period of time devoted to fasting and prayer for the Lord to return the Bodnariu children home to their parents, Marius & Ruth Bodnariu!
To clarify, here are a few very specific points we are highlighting in our prayers:
- that the Lord may encourage Marius & Ruth throughout this great hardship, one that He is allowing for a limited period of time; that He may bless them with peace, strong faith, & Godly vision in order for Marius & Ruth to be victorious in the trials that are yet to follow; that God may grant Marius & Ruth health and His protection throughout this entire ordeal!
- that the Lord will ensure His powerful protection over all of Marius & Ruth’s children: Eliana, Naomi, Matei, Ioan, and Ezekiel!
- that the Lord may touch the hardened hearts of the Barnevernet workers and of those in positions of authority at the Barnevernet and in Norway’s governing leadership!
- that the Lord may bless Marius & Ruth’s extended family, and the entire coordinating support team, with wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit in all decisions they need to make and in all actions they must undertake!
Another very important prayer request relates to one of Marius & Ruth’s trial that will take plane on Monday and Tuesday, March 14-15. On these two days, Marius & Ruth will appear in court to contest the Barnevernet’s decision to confiscate the Bodnariu children and place them in foster homes. We know that God only needs to say “Enough! Today, the children return home!” and that the very same result will take place.
In preparation for this trial, Marius & Ruth hired a psychological expert to analyze the situation from the parent’s perspective; the Bodnariu parental relationship with their children, the fact that the Bodnariu children miss their parents, that the children are glad to see their parents, that the children want to return home, that the children are not afraid of their parents, that the children are sad when they have to repeatedly part with their parents, and that the children do not understand why they cannot go home with their parent. This specialist’s report findings would’ve been of great help in court for Marius & Ruth case and in their achieving the reunification of the family.
While Marius & Ruth could have legally engage this specialist, and to commission the specialist’s supervision of the meetings with the children and report, the Barnevernet’s prosecutor, surprisingly and unexpectedly, disallowed this specialist’s expert testimony despite the fact that (1) this particular specialist is endorsed and recognized by the Barnevernet as an authorized expert on such matters specific to the Bodnariu case and (2) this same specialist has been previously engaged by the Barnevernet themselves in cases very similar to that of the Bodnariu family. The prosecutor reasoned that using this specialist would “add too much stress upon the Bodnariu children!” This turn of events screams of a double standard tyranny and oppressive activism in which a prosecutor, utterly unqualified as a psychologist specialist, takes it upon himself to adjudicate the “best interest of the child” by single-handedly dismissing a highly qualified and Barnevernet sanctioned specialist because this specialist’s findings favor Marius & Ruth and denounces the actions, and conflicts with the position, of the Barnevernet’s agents.
In short, the Barnevernet prosecutor fears, and is covering up, the expert testimony of this psychologist specialist as the report exceedingly highlights and undeniably proves the healthy and commendable familial relationship between Marius & Ruth Bodnariu and their 5 children. Said another way, the Barnevernet is only interested in expert testimony that enables the Barnevernet and its agents to irrevocably abduct children from their parents.
Another point to consider is that while the meetings Marius & Ruth had with their children have been wonderful, these same meetings have been simultaneously and unbearably painful. The children are unable to understand why they can’t go home with Marius & Ruth and the Barnevernet categorically prohibits Marius & Ruth from providing any reasoning for this terror to the children; a conundrum that frustrates the children, makes the children lose their patience, and fabricates an inculpating situation for the Barnevernet to claim a dysfunctional family relationship between Marius & Ruth and their children.
Marius & Ruth, awaiting the Country Board Review proceeding in May, are so far only allowed to see baby Ezekiel twice a week for two hours at a time, visit with Matei and Ioan for two hours once a week, and only visit with Eliana and Naomi for a couple of hours every other week (with only a limited few minutes, 5-8 minutes at most, to talk on the phone on the alternating weeks).
We continue to pray and hold strong to the Holy Scriptures verse that says “all things work together for the good of those who love God!” God is just and will soon bring justice and deliverance!
Pastor Cristian Ionescu, Spokesman
The team for organization and initiative: Pastor Daniel Bodnariu, Steven Bonica, Peter Costea, Timotei Dinică, Pastor Cristian Ionescu, Vinicius Sabău, Dennis Stoia, Paul Susman, extended Bodnariu family