Posted on 12/30/2007 3:23:52 AM PST by ninonitti
Satanism on the rise: Pope Benedict has unveiled plans to set up specialist exorcism squads
The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism.
Vatican chiefs are concerned at what they see as an increased interest in the occult.
They have introduced courses for priests to combat what they call the most extreme form of "Godlessness."
Each bishop is to be told to have in his diocese a number of priests trained to fight demonic possession.
The initiative was revealed by 82-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican "exorcistinchief," to the online Catholic news service Petrus.
"Thanks be to God, we have a Pope who has decided to fight the Devil head-on," he said.
"Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the Devil. You have to hunt high and low for a properly trained exorcist.
"Thankfully, Benedict XVI believes in the existence and danger of evil - going back to the time he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." The CDF is the oldest Vatican department and was headed by Benedict from 1982, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, until he became Pope in 2005.
Father Amorth said that during his time at the department Benedict had not lost the chance to warn humanity of the risk from the Devil.
He said the Pope wants to restore a prayer seen as protection against evil that was traditionally recited at the end of Catholic Masses. The prayer, to St Michael the Archangel, was dropped in the 1960s by Pope John XXIII.
The 1973 film The Exorcist deals with the demonic possession of a young girl: Now the Pope wants specialist exorcism squads in every parish
"The prayer is useful not only for priests but also for lay people in helping to fight demons," he said.
Father Paolo Scarafoni, who lectures on the Vatican's exorcism course, said interest in Satanism and the occult has grown as people lost faith with the church.
He added: "People suffer and think that turning to the Devil can help solve their problems. We are being bombarded by requests for exorcisms."
The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet.
In theory, under the Catholic Church's Canon Law 1172, all priests can perform exorcisms. But in reality only a select few are assigned the task.
Under the law, practitioners must have "piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life."
The rite of exorcism involves a series of gestures and prayers to invoke the power of God and stop the "demon" influencing its victim.
(This does seem like it's from The Onion but the link takes you to the Mail Online)
Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan
We need some of those people to exorcise the Joe Isuzu Romney supporters on FR.
My mistake I searched for “Pope” and didn’t see this article. BTW confusing “rebuttal”
Hillary and McCain have gone into hiding.
VATICAN CITY, Dec. 29 (UPI) — The Vatican is denying reports it plans to install more exorcists around the world so possessed people can get help quickly.
“Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of ordering local bishops to bring in garrisons of exorcists to fight demonic possession,’’ Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters in Rome Friday.
On Thursday, the Roman Catholic Web site Petrus said the pope planned to install more exorcists in every diocese next year and reintroduce a prayer during mass to St. Michael the Archangel, believed to be the prime protector against evil, The Telegraph in Britain reported Saturday.
Paolo Scarafoni, a priest at Vatican University who teaches how to recognize and expel Satan, said exorcists increasingly are in demand because devil worship has become so common, reported ANSA, the Italian news agency. “Priests are being bombarded,” Scarafoni told ANSA.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/12/29/vatican_denies_exorcist_expansion/7287/
But what if the demon is a Hindu or Buddhist demon?
“My name is Paolo Scarafoni. You possessed my father. Prepare to die”
Are they going to the democrat convention?
We need to dispatch these guys to Washington D.C. and the halls of Congress pronto!
Personally, I would like to see what would happen if Hillary got splashed with holy water.
Smoke? Flames? Hideous laughter? Oh wait she already has the laugh thing going on.
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