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Possession is not the "most common" or "dangerous" aspect of the demonic realm but temptation is, according to an exorcist ordained and trained by the Catholic Church. When many consider demonic possession, images come to mind from films such as "The Exorcist" and other examples from popular culture. Yet, the greater way the devil works is through temptation to commit evil, said Father Francois Dermine, a priest who has been an exorcist for more than 25 years, in a recent interview with Catholic News Agency. “The most common manifestation of the demonic is temptation, which is much more significant than...

Flanked by banners of the four evangelists, and gathered under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an international coalition of 200 Catholic laity today assembled in silence near St. Peter’s Square, to pray “as a united army against the enemies of God and the Church.” Standing at the foot of Castel Sant’Angelo on the eve of the liturgical feast of St. Michael the Archangel, the international lay coalition launched an “appeal to the angels against the evil spirits” ahead of the Amazonian Synod being held at the Vatican Oct. 6-27. LifeSite also learned that another act of spiritual...

Full title: Protesters in Ulan-Ude want to scrap Sunday's mayoral election results and free followers of a ‘Putin exorcist’ Demonstrators have assembled without a permit in the central square of Ulan-Ude, a city in East Siberia. According to the news website Babr24, protesters initially demanded that police release the arrested followers of Alexander Gabyshev, a Yatkutsk resident who calls himself a “warrior shaman” and since March has been traveling on foot to Moscow, where he intends to perform an “exorcism” to remove the spirit of Vladimir Putin from the city. Irkutsk Senator Vyacheslav Markhaev and Buryatia parliament member Bair Tsyrenov...

A woman in Texas is suing the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and her parish claiming she suffered psychological and emotional abuse through a lay-led exorcism during a retreat. Beth Ann Andrews filed her lawsuit on July 25 after attending a “Faith in the Fire” event, which is associated with the Catholic Charismatic movement. “The parishioner plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to non-physical, psychological and emotional abuse by a lay volunteer. The parishioner further alleges that the Archdiocese and the parish failed to properly train and supervise the lay volunteer,” the statement said.

An international organization of Catholic exorcists said Thursday that the existence of Satan as a real and personal being is a truth of Christian doctrine. “The real existence of the devil, as a personal subject who thinks and acts and has made the choice of rebellion against God, is a truth of faith that has always been part of Christian doctrine,” the International Association of Exorcists said in an Aug. 22 press release. The organization’s release came in response to recent remarks on the devil from Jesuit superior general Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, which the organization called “grave and...

Reverend Patrick Conroy serves as the House of Representatives Chaplain in Washington, D.C. and regularly starts the day off for lawmakers with prayer. Thursday's invocation was a little more serious than most days for Rev. Conroy. The Roman Catholic Priest prayed specifically to cast out the demons inside Capitol Hill. As reported by Fox News, Rev. Conroy said, "This has been a difficult and contentious week in which darker spirits seem to have been at play in the people’s House." Then, in a dramatic moment, Conroy raised both hands and said, 'In Your most holy name, I cast out all spirits of...

Talk about spiritual warfare. An LGBT pride parade took place this last weekend in Odessa, Ukraine. LGBT pride parades are not particularly noteworthy these days. But what happened after the parade this weekend is: an Eastern Orthodox priest visited the parade site and cleansed the space with holy water. (Pictures below!) The head of the Missionary Department of the Eastern Orthodox Diocese of Odessa Fr. Oleg Mokryak led the cleansing, with help from a group of laypeople. Together, the dispensed holy water on people, the road, and on monuments as they walked, explaining to onlookers that they were specifically cleansing...

That at Least Peter’s Shadow Might Fall on Them: A Challenge to the Church in the Acts of the Apostles Msgr. Charles Pope • May 16, 2018 • Peter Healing the Sick with his Shadow, Masaccio (1426-27)As this Easter Season is nearing a close, we do well to ponder the picture of the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles. The kind of persecution and suffering they endured in those days should serve to remind us of the sacrifices we are often unwilling to make.Yet these early descriptions are also an affirmation of what we in effect...

Disturbing footage has captured an 'exorcism' performed on man claimed to be heavily possessed. Celebrity psychic Lizzy Rose was filmed chanting and pouring red liquid over the man's body as he snarls and thrashes around on the floor. In the video, a female voice can be heard saying "speak with your true tongue" before running a knife along his chest. Lizzy then appears to douse the man with a substance as she tells him "I purify you, I consecrate you, I cleanse you" while he writhes on the ground. The clip ends with Lizzy speaking towards the camera as she...

Laying out this year’s edition on Monday, Professor Giuseppe Ferrari, who heads the “Group for Socio-Religious Research and Information” which sponsors the annual gathering, went over the history of the course and also what’s new in the 2018 edition. One novelty, Ferrari said, is that for the first time, the course will feature a section on witchcraft in Africa. “We will deal with the theme of the kidnapping and murder of children for ritual sacrifice, linked to witchcraft, in order to obtain favors for clients,” he said, calling it a “cruel and inhuman practice.”

The demand for exorcisms around the world has been growing with the decline of Christianity and some priests are so overwhelmed with requests for liberation from evil spirits they are being forced to rebuke demons by telephone. At a weeklong conference that kicked off at a Catholic university in Rome Monday, more than 250 priests, theologians, psychologists and criminologists from 51 countries rang the alarm on exploding demonic activity being fueled in part by access to the occult via the internet, The Telegraph reported. "Demand is growing, absolutely," Father Anthony Barratt, a British priest who is based in Albany, New...

The 19-year-old who is accused of killing 17 people and injuring dozens more when he opened fire on a South Florida high school Wednesday afternoon told investigators that he heard voices in his head, giving him instructions on what to do to conduct the attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The voices were described as "demons" by law enforcement sources. Those who knew suspect Nikolas Cruz described him as a troubled teen who was largely alone in the world. An attorney for the family who had taken Cruz in after his adoptive mother died said he was "depressed" following...

Pastor Begley: Melania Trump Demanded Spiritual Cleansing of WH, Removal of Pagan, Demonic Idols Michael W. Chapman By Michael W. Chapman | February 8, 2018 | 1:04 PM ESTWhile commenting on President Donald Trump's very public support for Christianity, as well as the frequent Bible studies and prayer gatherings held at the White House, evangelical Pastor Paul Begley said first lady Melania Trump demanded that the White House be spiritually cleansed and that pagan, demonic items and artifacts from the Obama and Clinton years be removed. Melania Trump reportedly said, "IÂ’m not going to go into that White House unless...

White House evangelical Pastor Paul Begley said first lady Melania Trump demanded that the White House be spiritually cleansed and that pagan, demonic items and artificats from the Obama and Clinton years be removed. Melania Trump reportedly said, “I’m not going to go into that White House unless it has been completely exorcised,” according to Pastor Begley. One thing was left, a cross on the wall. “They cleansed the White House,” he said. “They had people in there anointing it with oil and praying everywhere.”

A British imam has opened his doors to cameras to show what happens during an Islamic exorcism. He allowed himself to be filmed performing a ‘ruqyah’ ritual on an unmarried woman at a mosque in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to dispel myths about the practice. The ceremony was one of thousands carried out every year in the UK where imams rid men and women of evil spirits or ‘jinni’ which they believe live inside them. In the video a young Muslim woman dressed a in burqa and with her face covered is seeking help to rid her of spirits which she...

A leading exorcist in Ireland, Fr. Pat Collins, has warned that cases of demonic possession and other evil phenomena are rising in the country, urging leaders of the Catholic Church to appoint a team of exorcists, according to a report. "It's only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially," Collins told The Irish Catholic. "What I'm finding out desperately, is people who in their own minds believe — rightly or wrongly — that they're afflicted by an evil spirit," he said. "I think in many cases they wrongly think it, but when they turn to the Church, the...

An Irish Catholic priest and exorcist has requested support from Ireland’s bishops as the number of exorcism requests has skyrocketed as he’s noticed an increase in demonic activity around the country. In an open letter, Father Pat Collins urged Ireland’s bishops to train more priests to deal with the demand for exorcisms. In an interview with The Irish Catholic, he said, “(I)t’s only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially.” […] Collins’ claims are backed up by the views of other exorcists, including the International Association of Exorcists (IAE). This is a group of 400 Catholic leaders and...

Ireland’s most prominent exorcist has accused the church of abandoning its flock by failing to train priests in the religious practice of demon hunting. In a special RTE Would You Believe documentary about evil, Fr Pat Collins, who is also a trained psychologist, claims he has experience in dealing with demonic spirits. “The Church is rightfully admitting its sinfulness in child sex abuse, that we did not defend children. Now it has all the safeguarding measures and that’s excellent," he said. “But it appals me that we have no safeguarding from the evil spirits. “I say that in the sense...

Pope Francis gets a lot of attention for his modern views on Catholicism, but he's now backing an ancient and controversial practice in the church. The pope told priests that they should be willing to call on an exorcist if they feel it's warranted, but they should make sure the person is actually possessed first. There are no official statistics, but exorcisms are reportedly on the rise — at least in the U.S. Father Vincent Lampert of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis said, "The problem isn't that the devil has upped his game, but more people are willing to play it."...

Pope Francis on Friday advised priests who hear troubled confessions from parishioners to not hesitate to call on the services of an exorcist. A good confessor has to be very discerning, particularly when he has to deal with "real spiritual disorders," the 80-year-old pontiff told priests at a Vatican training seminar on the art of hearing believers recount their sins. Disorders could have their roots in all manner of circumstances, including supernatural ones, he suggested. In such circumstances the confessor "must not hesitate to refer to exorcists... chosen with great care and prudence." It is not the first time the...