Learning My Catholic Faith: Thoughts, Research, Documents

The info on this blog is Public. . But I use this blog as my personal library or file dedicated to exploring and learning my. faith. Anything that I want to save pertaining to ' all things Catholic'. will be found here.. It contains,Church documents, catechisms, pages or articles from Catholic sites: Catholic bloggers ,forums, news, apologetics, videos(link always included).There may even be a post that I have written myself but that does not happen very often...

Monday, February 24, 2014

Courageous PriestCardinal Burke: Does the Pope Affirm the Teachings of the Church?

Courageous Priest

Cardinal Burke: Does the Pope Affirm the Teachings of the Church?

Posted: 23 Feb 2014 05:01 AM PST

Pope Francis Through the Lens of Cardinal Burke:
An Honest, Surprising, Re-assuring and Revealing Peek

Note: We know many feel uncomfortable with Pope Francis. Can we let Cardinal Burke put your mind at ease? If you only read one thing today, than read this. To the surprise of many, “the Holy Father has in fact affirmed the unchanging and unchangeable truths of the Church’s teaching on the inviolable dignity of innocent human life, and the integrity of marriage and the family.” Cardinal Raymond Burke

_____________

Pope Francis: the Faithful Servant of the Church

During a recent visit to the United States, I was repeatedly impressed by how deeply Pope Francis has penetrated the national conversation on a whole range of issues. His special gift of expressing direct care for each and all has resonated strongly with many in my homeland.

At the same time, I noted a certain questioning about whether Pope Francis has altered or is about to alter the Church’s teaching on a number of the critical moral issues of our time, for example, the teaching on the inviolable dignity of innocent human life, and the integrity of marriage and the family. Those who questioned me in the matter were surprised to learn that the Holy Father has in fact affirmed the unchanging and unchangeable truths of the Church’s teaching on these very questions. They had developed a quite different impression as a result of the popular presentation of Pope Francis and his views.

Pope Francis has a strong gift . . .

Clearly, the words and actions of the Holy Father require, on our part, a fitting tool of interpretation, if we are to understand correctly what he intends to teach. My friend and colleague at the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, put it this way in a recent article in this newspaper: “The Holy Father instructs with his words, but effectively teaches through his actions. This is his uniqueness and his magnetism” (L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, [ore] 13 December 2013, p. 7). In other words, Pope Francis is exercising strongly his gift for drawing near to all people of good will. It is said that when he manifests his care for a single person, as he does so generously whenever the occasion presents itself, all understand that he has the same care for each of them.

Here is where the confusion comes . . .

With regard to his manner of addressing the critical issues, the Holy Father himself has described his approach, when he stated: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods…. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time” (“The Pope’s Interview”, ore, 25 September 2013, p. 14). In other words, the Holy Father wants, first, to convey his love of all people so that his teaching on the critical moral questions may be received in that context. But his approach cannot change the duty of the Church and her shepherds to teach clearly and insistently about the most fundamental moral questions of our time. I think, for instance, of the Holy Father’s words to the participants in the second annual March for Life in Rome on 12 May of last year, or of his Twitter message to the participants in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on 22 January.

Pope Francis chose the moment for himself to speak unambiguously on these issues, and to do so within the context of pastoral charity, when he addressed the Dignitatis Humanae Institute at our Fifth Anniversary Papal Audience. Exhorting the assembled politicians, the Holy Father warned of a modern-day “throwaway culture” which threatens “to become the dominant mentality”. He went on to identify those who suffer most from such a culture, declaring: “The victims of such a culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings — the unborn, the poorest people, sick elderly people, gravely disabled people… who are in danger of being ‘thrown out’, expelled from a machine that must be efficient at all costs. This false model of man and society embodies a practical atheism, de facto negating the Word of God that says: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness’” (lor, English edition, 13 December 2013, p. 7).

Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Church’s perennial teaching on the indissolubility of marriage . . .

In a similar way, Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Church’s perennial teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, as well as the practical importance of the Church’s canonical discipline in seeking the truth regarding the claim of the nullity of a marriage. I think in particular of his words to the Plenary Assembly of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura: “It is always necessary to keep in mind the effective connection between the action of the Church which evangelizes and the action of the Church which administers justice. The service of justice is an undertaking of the apostolic life…. I encourage all of you to persevere in the pursuit of a clear and upright exercise of justice in the Church, in response to the legitimate desires that the faithful address to their Pastors, especially when they trustingly request that their own status be authoritatively clarified” (ore, 15 November 2013, p. 8).

How are we to understand Pope Francis?

Pope Francis has clearly reaffirmed the Church’s moral teaching, in accord with her unbroken tradition. What, then, does he want us to understand about his pastoral approach in general? It seems to me that he first wishes to have people set aside every obstacle which they imagine to prevent them from responding with faith. He wants, above all, that they see Christ and receive His personal invitation to be one with Him in the Church.

Here is the Key.

The Holy Father, it seems to me, wishes to pare back every conceivable obstacle people may have invented to prevent themselves from responding to Jesus Christ’s universal call to holiness. We all know individuals who say things like: “Oh, I stopped going to Church because of the Church’s teaching on divorce”, or “I could never be Catholic because of the Church’s teaching on abortion or on homosexuality”. The Holy Father is asking them to put aside these obstacles and to welcome Christ, without any excuse, into their lives. Once they come to understand the immeasurable love of Christ, alive for us in the Church, they will be able to resolve whatever has been troubling them about the Church, His Mystical Body, and her teaching.

Surely, persons whose hearts are hardened against the truth will read something very different into the approach of Pope Francis, claiming that, in fact, he intends to abandon certain teachings of the Church which our totally secularized culture rejects. Their false praise of the Holy Father’s approach mocks the fact that he is the Successor of Saint Peter, totally grounded in the Beatitudes, and that, therefore, with humble trust in God alone, he rejects the acceptance and praise of the world.

It is not that the Holy Father is not clear . . .

in his opposition to abortion and euthanasia, or in his support of marriage as the indissoluble, faithful and procreative union of one man and one woman. Rather he concentrates his attention on inviting all to nurture an intimate relationship, indeed communion, with Christ, within which the non-negotiable truths, inscribed by God upon every human heart, become ever more evident and are generously embraced. The understanding and living of these truths are, so to speak, the outer manifestation of the inner communion with God the Father in Christ, His only-begotten Son, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In seeking to put the person of Jesus Christ at the heart of all of the Church’s pastoral activity, the Holy Father is following closely the teachings of his predecessors in the See of Peter. Over a century ago, Pope St Pius x wrote in his first encyclical letter, E supremi: “Should anyone ask Us for a symbol as the expression of Our will, We will give this and no other: ‘To renew all things in Christ’” (n. 4). Ten years after the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, the Venerable Pope Paul VI stated in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi: “There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed” (n. 22). At the close of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II reminded the Church: It is not therefore a matter of inventing a “new programme”. The programme already exists: it is the plan found in the Gospel and in the living Tradition, it is the same as ever. Ultimately, it has its centre in Christ himself, who is to be known, loved and imitated, so that in him we may live the life of the Trinity, and with him transform history until its fulfilment in the heavenly Jerusalem (Novo millennio ineunte, n. 29).

In the Mass for the inauguration of his ministry as Successor of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI, echoing the words of his predecessor, summed up the invitation which the Church proposes in every age: “Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ — and you will find true life” (Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, 24 April 2005) It is this invitation, to the fulness of life in Christ, which Pope Francis wishes to put at the center of his pastoral outreach.

At the same time,

we should not think that such an invitation requires that we be silent about fundamental truths of the natural moral law, as if these matters were somehow peripheral to the message of the Gospel. Rather, the proclamation of the truth of the moral law is always an essential dimension of the proclamation of the Gospel, for it is only in light of the truth of the moral law, written on every human heart, that we can recognize our need to repent from sin and accept the mercy of God offered to us in Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that Our Lord begins His own proclamation of the Kingdom of God with the challenge to “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). The call to repentance involves both the reminder of our sinfulness and failure to keep God’s law and, at the same time, the offer of God’s forgiveness. Thus, we see the Apostles, in their preaching after Pentecost, both admonishing their hearers for their sins, and inviting them to accept the mercy that God wishes to offer them through the Risen Christ (Acts 2: 38-40; 3:14-20). St Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, begins his comprehensive presentation of the Gospel precisely by reminding us of the natural moral law, written on every human heart, which reveals to us our sinfulness and our need for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 1-3).

In this way, the Church’s insistent proclamation of the moral law, especially regarding the issues most disputed in our time, provides an essential service to her mission of evangelization. This proclamation, however, is always in the context of the call to life in Christ, in whose merciful Heart, opened for us on the Cross, we find the grace to be converted from our sins and to live in accord with God’s commandments, above all the supreme commandment of charity.

The Pontificate of Pope Francis should therefore be seen as a radical call to redouble our efforts for the new evangelization. Radical in the sense that, in our dialogue with others and with the world, we must start with the beginning, Christ’s call to life in Him. This call of Christ is the good news of God’s love and mercy which our world so badly longs for. At the same time, as Simeon foretold to Our Blessed Mother when Our Lord was presented in the temple, it is also “a sign that will be contradicted” (Lk 2:34), in every age and particularly in our “post-Christian” society. This is because the proclamation of Jesus Christ can never be authentic without the proclamation of his Cross. Pope Francis reminded us of this most eloquently in his homily to the cardinal electors on the afternoon following his election: When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord. My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward (Homily of Pope Francis, 14 March 2013).

In the face of a galloping de-Christianisation in the West, the new evangelization, as Pope Francis underlines, must be clearly grounded in Christ crucified who alone can overcome the world for the sake of its salvation.

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke
Prefect of the Sacred Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura;
President of the Advisory Board of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Rite of Sodomy - The Rite of Sodomy

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The Rite of Sodomy

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The Rite of Sodomy – Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church

Randy Engel $64.00 US Softbound: 1318 pages Publisher: New Engel Publishing Language: English
Library of Congress Control Number: 2006923167 ISBN: 0-9778601-3-2 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2.25 Shipping Weight: 3. 3 pounds Bibliographical references Index Book Description

The Rite of Sodomy tracks the rise of homosexuality in the Catholic hierarchy, diocesan priesthood and religious life in the United States over a span of 100 years and three generations of prelates. It examines all facets of this inter-generational phenomenon on the life of the Church – yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The text is broken down into five mini-book sections each examining a different aspect of homosexuality in the Roman Catholic Church.

Section I looks at pederasty, homosexuality in its most pervasive and universal form, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, to the Renaissance, to the rise of the Modern State in the mid-to-late 1800s.
Section II exams the complex nature and causes of male homosexuality, describes homosexual acts and behaviors, and provides an in-depth look at the secular Homosexual Collective and the inordinate power it exerts over the individual homosexual.
Sections III and IV document the growth of the vice within the American Church (AmChurch) with special attention to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/U.S. Catholic Conference and Catholic dioceses headed by homosexual cardinals and bishops. There is biographical data on more than 30 homosexual prelates and detailed case studies on homosexuality and pederasty in six major religious orders. A carefully researched report on New Ways Ministry, one of the most influential pro-homosexual auxiliary organizations in AmChurch, illustrates the total ineptitude of the Holy See in confronting morally subversive agencies within its own ranks.
Section V brings all elements of the controversy over homosexuality in the Catholic Church under one roof – the dome of St. Peter’s. An examination of the role played by Pope
Section V brings all elements of the controversy over homosexuality in the Catholic Church under one roof – the dome of St. Peter’s. An examination of the role played by Pope Paul VI in connection with the rise of a “gay” clergy in the Universal Church brings this blockbuster work to its startling conclusion.
The Rite of Sodomy contains 4,523 endnotes, a bibliography of over 350 books, and a full index.

Price: $64.00

Bishop Loverde, Where is Fr. James Haley?: The Forbidden Question

Bishop Loverde, Where is Fr. James Haley?: The Forbidden Question
The Forbidden Question

Why is Fr. Haley really in trouble? What did he do that was so wrong?

HE ASKED THE FORBIDDEN QUESTION:

Is it prudent, moral, and good for the Church to ordain homosexual men to the priesthood?

Seems pretty clear to me as a mom and gramma. You don't put a kleptomaniac in charge of the jewelry store and you don't hire an alcoholic as a bartender. So, for the same reasoning, you don't put men with same-sex attraction in an environment where they will be forced to live in close proximity with other men, socialize with them, attend recreation and retreats solely with them, etc. -- all in secret.

Homosexual priests live a continual lie. Parishioners believe they gave up a wife and family for a life of sacrifice dedicated to their Church family. But in reality, the homosexual gave up nothing. He entered a sheltered sheltered, secure community where he will receive false honors, false respect for his penitential life, and has all the benefits of enjoying the fellowship of men whom he prefers. Is this right, holy, and good? No, it's an occasion of sin.

Consider what happens with a homosexual in the seminary. He lives in close quarters with other young men, some of whom are what the girls call, "Fr. What-a-waste" because they are so handsome. What a temptation!

Let's role play. You are a normal, manly candidate for the seminary. Your roommate is a homosexual which you figure out pretty quickly. Undressing in your room becomes very uncomfortable for obvious reasons. The communal bathroom where nudity is inevitable is even a bigger problem and sometimes it's pretty obvious why. Do you get dressed in the closet or the toilet stall?

You go to the rector and he asks for proof that there is a problem. Has your roommate "acted" on his homosexuality?

You don't know, but you argue with the rector that it is wrong to put someone with same-sex attraction in this type of environment. In theology classes you are discussing penance and occasions of sin and the necessity to tell penitents they must avoid them and get out of them. How can a homosexual living his entire life in close and intimate proximity with other men not be in a constant occasion of sin, you ask?

The rector demurs and you ask him if you may live in a convent of nuns (some of whom are young and beautiful and filled with passionate zeal), share a bathroom, eat all your meals together, spend your hours of recreation with them, etc. The rector laughs.

And nothing happens. Your homosexual roommate and the other homosexuals at the seminary continue their studies toward ordination.

Now let's flash forward five years. Father homosexual has tried to be chaste, but he lives with a fellow priest whom he finds sexually attractive. He is tempted to seek opportunities to spend as much time as possible with this priest and he occasionally engages in self abuse using pornography on the internet. He confesses his sexual temptations and his falls from grace. His confessor tells him he has to get out of the situation, it's untenable.

What next? Father goes to the bishop and asks to be moved for personal reasons. So he goes to another parish. Maybe there he is tempted by the male youth director and some of the teenage altar boys. His porn collection grows. Say he becomes a pastor and the bishop sends him newly ordained priests including Fr. "What-a-waste." What happens next?

Is this a life of holiness or stupidity and continuous temptation? If it isn't holy and heroic for a heterosexual priest to live in a convent full of nuns, how can it be holy and heroic for a homosexual to live in continuous proximity with other men? Especially when he is living a lie.

So...how would you answer Fr. Haley's question? Is it prudent, right, moral, and good for the Church to ordain homosexuals? It's not a complicated question. What's the answer?

NB. There is no doctrine in the Catholic Church that states a homosexual may not be ordained. Homosexuality is not listed in Canon Law as an impediment. There is nothing in Canon Law that gives a bishop recourse if he discovers one of his priests is homosexual. It was rumored that on the day he died, Bishop John Keating, Loverde's predecessor, who was in Rome for his ad limina visit, asked in a meeting, "What can I do about my homosexual priest problem?" Unfortunately, his death occurred before the question was answered. But the laity is still asking. What, Holy Father, can be done about the homosexual priest problem? And why is Fr. Haley out in the cold for asking the question while homosexual priests still fill our rectories?

Bishop Loverde, Where is Fr. James Haley?: A Humble Proposal for Solving the Homosexual Problem in the Church

A Humble Proposal for Solving the Homosexual Problem in the Church

When Bishop John Keating was alive Fr. Haley took the homosexual problem to him as his shepherd. At that point he had lived in a rectory with a priest who was physically involved with another and the walls of the rectory were thin. Initially, Bishop Keating offered him the door, but Bishop Keating was a fatherly man who loved his spiritual sons. To illustrate, once a year (I think between Christmas and New Year's), he set aside the entire week for his priests. Everyone was encouraged to make an appointment. It wasn't compulsory, but many priests welcomed the opportunity and went. The bishop usually gave his visitors a gift. One priest I know, who has family in another state, said the bishop sometimes gave him an airline ticket so he could fly home.

Bishop Keating offered something very important to Fr. Haley. He listened when Father asked the forbidden question. Bishop Keating and Fr. Haley began to meet regularly to talk about the homosexual problem in the diocese. Presumably, those meetings caused Bishop Keating to ask the question in Rome the day he died, "What can I do about my homosexual priest problem?"

Why such a question? Doesn't a bishop have total control? Not if he's honest and does things by the book. There is nothing in Canon Law about homosexual priests. There are canons about relations with women, but not about men in relationships with other men.

What is needed?

No one is suggesting that every homosexual priest be thrown out on his heels, particularly those who are struggling to be chaste both physically and mentally.

One possible solution, however, is to add two Canon Laws: one that clearly states homosexuals may not be ordained, and a second that says, if a homosexual is ordained and discovered later, he may not occupy a position of authority as a pastor or a bishop.

Why? Because that's exactly how we ended up with a homosexual cabal in the Church which led to the sex abuse crisis. In many places soliciting homosexualls for the priesthood was (and may still be) the norm. At least a dozen bishops have resigned or been removed for abusing boys and how many others are living in secret in their chanceries like homosexual priests in their rectories?

Homosexual clerics in positions of leadership enable homosexuality. It's been suggested that the reason some dioceses have not fought more vigorously for pro-life and against the gay agenda is because so many bishops are homosexual and vulnerable to the threat of "being outed." As gay marriage becomes more likely in the United States, how many homosexual clergy will lead the fight against it?

The Church must take action on this. It isn't enough to have pastoral letters or diocesan policies that may or may not be followed. Writing legislation into the Code of Canon Law would eliminate ambiguity and offer a real solution to the homosexual problem.

The View From Camp Kreitzer: Where are they now? A Walk in the Twilight Zone with Jim Verrecchia and Jim Haley

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Putin- Defender of the Faith

Published on Dec 25, 2012

"We must secure a firm spiritual and moral foundation for our society"
"The law can protect morality and should do so...We must wholeheartedly support the institutions that are the carriers of traditional values..."
- President Vladimir Putin, December 12, 2012 at St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on Constitution Day in Russia.

Full Speech:
Putin- Presidential Address 2012
http://youtu.be/ADZrFHx-Log

Vladimir Putin's Christian Faith - in his own words
http://youtu.be/u3d_yxJhmjk

Russian Faith
http://russianfaith.wordpress.com/

Putin- Defender of the Faith
http://youtu.be/doiE3jU_AAk

Putin talks about Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
http://youtu.be/wJnIsbo5uMs

Putin at Site of Jesus Christ's Baptism
http://youtu.be/QiwEOfiMYe8

Putin Knelt & Prayed in Jerusalem 2012
http://youtu.be/X3WM_x6ZDpM

Russians Defend Christianity / защиту веры
http://youtu.be/oBXZ1nWyTZ0

Moscow Bikers Defend Faith.
http://youtu.be/Pi8Jhnq6hfY

Christianity Grows in Russia & Declines in the West
http://youtu.be/qzqnhj8W9Ac

Russia's Orthodox Church Today
http://youtu.be/yOzBdx1S9v8
Putin Blessed by Patriarch Kirill

http://youtu.be/6E_TgRPByPo

Easter 2012 President Medvedev & Prime Minister Putin
http://youtu.be/dH_s2lbmvmA

Putin Christmas, Jan 2012
http://youtu.be/ZrzAX4SJbKY

Patriarch grateful to Putin and Medvedev at Easter
http://youtu.be/tSFROD6Wjic

Putin, Patriarch Kirill and Archbishop Hieronymos
http://youtu.be/9KJwffcZSt0

Medvedev congratulates Patriarch Kirill on his Saint's Day
http://youtu.be/uB9uOZ6xG_0

Day of Slavic Language and Culture
http://youtu.be/aaael6Sm1W0

Medvedev attends consecration
http://youtu.be/wkGauGuLJPc

Russian Easter 2011
http://youtu.be/iOBYcco6CbM

Christian martyrs of Soviet persecutions - 1918 1939 † ‏
http://youtu.be/IkFQGmOeGiE

Butovo, Christian Martyrs of the 20th Century
http://youtu.be/UvWgsoVpsbI

Song of Penitence for Russia
http://youtu.be/S5mkwoeUKKc

Persecuted Church
http://youtu.be/NwyPalBSQIc

Holy Light (Holy Fire) in Jerusalem: Proofs & Testimonies
http://youtu.be/d-lBVLg7cqU

Putin Speaks About His Baptism [English Subtitles]
http://youtu.be/XXhHqfMFLCI

Putin Supports Traditional Family
http://youtu.be/ByPuBY52bYI

Soyuz Launch w/Priest Blessing
http://youtu.be/zGIKS7a52mo

V. V. P. , (Putin) Saved the Country (English subtitles)
http://youtu.be/JKsAbne393Y

Why the West Fears Putin
http://youtu.be/xNFmBJSAxUQ

article- "Why the West Fears Putin"
http://xlerma.wordpress.com/2010/12/2...

Putin- Defender of the Faith

Published on Dec 25, 2012

Celebrate Life Magazine

Current Issue

Celebrate Life

The Schindlers fight back: Terri Schiavo's family turns tragedy into triumph

By Anita Crane

It’s the anniversary of a frightening American tragedy. Last March 31, Terri Schiavo died of thirst after being deprived of food and water for 13 days. I met with Terri’s parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, as well as her brother Bobby, in Washington, D.C. on January 22. At almost every step, someone approached the Schindlers in support. Throughout our brief conversation, the Schindlers’ strength and conviction far surpassed my expectations.
Fresh wounds
Robert: We came from generations in the Catholic tradition. Certain moral standards were instilled in us, therefore I object to euthanasia and abortion. Despite the role of some Church leaders who tested our faith, ultimately the terrible ordeal of Terri’s suffering and death made our faith stronger.
Bobby: Our faith was tested because we had little to no support from our bishop and because of that we were getting little support from the priests. When the bishop and priests didn’t openly support us, people on our own home turf were confused. So very few of our fellow parishioners supported us.
Mary: Our pastor at the time did support us.
Robert: We were told that our bishop, Robert Lynch, instructed diocesan priests not to mention Terri’s name from the pulpit.
Bobby: A few friendly priests told us that. And the lack of support continues to this day—we just found out that the Diocese of Saint Petersburg let Michael Schiavo marry in the Catholic Church. To hear of him getting married in a Catholic ceremony— after cohabitating with another woman while he was married to Terri—after he denied our family the right to take Terri to Mass and denied Terri the sacrament of Holy Communion as she was being starved to death—after he threatened to have Monsignor [Thaddeus] Malinowski arrested [in 2003] for attempting to get her Communion—it’s scandalous for a Catholic bishop to endorse Michael after all that. We got tens of thousands of condolence cards from people, but none from bishops.
The real love story
Mary: The name of our book is A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo.
Bobby: It’s about our family struggle, with all of our thoughts told by my mom.
Robert: It’s about our family’s love for one another and how the struggle made our family stronger.
Mary: It’s the story of a family who fought—like any family would—to keep our daughter alive.
Robert: It illustrates what could happen to any family.
Bobby: When the guardianship laws were made, I don’t think anyone envisioned that someone like Michael would use them against the victim’s family. He used his guardianship to inflict pain on my parents and Terri. Any decent person would’ve sat down with my parents and said he wanted to move on. But he completely severed the relationship between my parents and Terri with correspondence from his attorneys. They first found out he wanted to remove her feeding tubes through an attorney.
Robert: After Terri’s collapse in 1990, we discussed the future and told Michael we’d take care of Terri—we wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to leave her.
Mary: We told him that he was a young guy and if he wanted to move on with his life, we would take care of her.
Shameless journalists
Bobby: The people who went after my sister are dishonest. Talk about aiding and abetting my sister’s death—the mainstream media put out false information. It was difficult to listen to the way they spoke of her—to listen to their lies. She didn’t have to be confined to a bed. She was bedridden because Michael wouldn’t allow her to leave her bed—all she needed was a wheelchair. You don’t know how many people we’ve met who are in worse condition than Terri was, but they came to the hospice, they came to the court room.
Robert: Before the malpractice claim was awarded, Terri was mobile. We used to bring her home.
Mary: We took her everywhere. We brought her home every holiday. We got her hair done.
Robert: Terri was out and about. When the malpractice award was made, and the money was given to Terri, everything stopped. Her whole life changed. Michael put a DNR [do not resuscitate order] on her. And yes it’s true, he wouldn’t even allow caretakers to brush her teeth.
Mary: She got no therapy, nothing. The nurses said they were feeding her and she ate Jell-O.
Bobby: She was talking in 1991 and/or 1992. And we didn’t write this stuff down. The medical people wrote it. Even Michael wrote it—he wrote how much Terri was improving in his own diary. None of that was ever reported. That’s why 25 disability organizations were fighting for her.
People should read Diana Lynne’s book Terri’s Story: The Court-Ordered Death of an American Woman. It exposes everything that happened to Terri—how the hospice, the judge and the county officials were all connected. It’s a racket. She exposed it and it’s getting no media attention.
We shouldn’t be sitting here— I shouldn’t be going around speaking about what happened to my sister. It’s so outrageous to me that this was allowed to happen. It just blows my mind.
Mary: It’s outrageous that we have to defend ourselves. The most important thing I can say is this; you shouldn’t starve someone to death. It’s the most horrific, unbelievable thing you could see. I would hope that parents with disabled children just love them and keep them home and take care of them. That’s all we wanted to do. Terri was the light of my life; she lit up every time I walked in the room. What happened to Terri allowed the world to see what’s happening to disabled people all over the world.
The family’s mission
In December 2005, Michael Schiavo launched his political action committee called Terri PAC. Schiavo’s mission is to spite the Schindler family and the Republican members of Congress who sought to save Terri—even though many Democrats took the same position.
On the other hand, the Schindlers formed the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to protect vulnerable persons of all ages. There are no egos in this organization. Each family member’s business card simply shows his or her name and contact info, minus any title.
Bobby: It’s vulgar for him to claim on his web site that politicians trampled over the sanctity of marriage and I can’t believe he said that when he desecrated his own marriage. If he wants to dedicate his life to killing the disabled by getting involved in politics, that speaks for itself. I pray to God that people can see through him and what he’s doing. He’s using Terri’s name to further his own motives. We’re gonna do what we can to protect the disabled. You have no idea—we were mourning for months, just the four of us—and we had so many people contact us and we had to get the foundation organized. So finally we’re ready to get into the fight.
Robert: I don’t care about Michael Schiavo or what he does. The only thing that connected us to him before Terri passed away was Terri. Now he’s out of our life and he’s just one of a hundred other people advocating euthanasia. We got together as a family because we don’t want any other family to suffer what happened to Terri. In June 2005, we decided we’d dedicate our foundation to preventing euthanasia—and like the Jewish motto regarding the Holocaust we say, “Never again.”
Bobby: My parents and sister Suzy will run the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation. I’ll run the Terri Schindler Schiavo Center for Health Care Ethics, working up in Washington, D.C. with pro-life and disability organizations. I want to bring pro-life groups and disabled groups together—like they came together for my sister— to change public policy. The disabled community has such powerful influence on public policy that we have to have them working with us.
Robert: When we had breakfast this morning and we were leaving, a girl in a wheelchair said, “Mr. Schindler, may I talk to you?” Her name was Ann and she couldn’t speak clearly, but I listened carefully and she said, “I keep praying that somebody does something because I’m frightened that people will come and kill all of us.” I almost broke out in tears because she was absolutely frightened. So I told her, “Don’t worry, we’re going to do something to protect you.” And I mean that.
Mary: Our ultimate objective is to open a facility to care for disabled people who have no one to care for them.
Bobby: We’d like to establish a chain of facilities and get involved in wills to live. We’ll set up a network of doctors and lawyers to protect the disabled.
Robert: Yes, because the bioethics committees in some hospitals are saying they won’t treat people and those people are dying. Some people are being starved to death in hospitals or they’re thrown out on the street and they have nowhere to go. So we’d like to be able to take those people in.
Bobby: We’re trying to live according to what Jesus said. We’re trying to care for the vulnerable, care for the weak and promote the Gospel of life. You asked about Michael Schiavo and if he’s going to do everything to kill, then I want to do the opposite.
Anita Crane is editor of Celebrate Life. For more about the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, visit www.TerrisFight.org
SIDEBAR
Bishop Lynch’s response

In Canon Law 1090, the Catholic Church declares: “Anyone who with a view to entering marriage with a certain person has brought about the death of that person’s spouse or of one’s own spouse invalidly attempts this marriage. Those who have brought about the death of a spouse by mutual physical or moral cooperation also invalidly attempt a marriage together.”
Consequently, I contacted Bishop Robert Lynch’s executive secretary respectfully asking the bishop why Michael Schiavo, a professed Lutheran, and Jodi Centonze, a professed Catholic, were allowed an official Catholic wedding in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Vicki Wells Bedard, the diocesan communications director, said that Schiavo had been granted permission by Miami Archbishop John Favalora and thus Bishop Lynch wouldn’t make a statement—although she brought up the fact that both Bishop Lynch and the parish pastor had full authority to block a wedding. She added that Bishop Lynch would not hold Schiavo responsible for what the civil courts had decided. I reminded her that it was Michael Schiavo who petitioned the courts to starve and dehydrate his wife. Bedard didn’t dispute that but said, “Terri was a great wakeup call for everyone.”

The story of Bishop Robert Lynch

The story of Bishop Robert Lynch

arch 29, 2007

The story of Bishop Robert Lynch

By Matt C. Abbott

Bishop Robert Lynch is in the news again.

The brother of the late Terri Schiavo, Bobby Schindler, recently wrote a letter to Lynch taking him to task "for not doing enough to stop [Schiavo's] death."

The following is an excerpt from chapter 14 of Randy Engel's book The Rite of Sodomy: Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church.

Palm Beach Post

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St Petersburg Times

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New York Times

Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Chicago Tribune

Seattle Times

Tampa Tribune

Miami Herald

What's Wrong With This Picture?

St. Petersburg Times

three years earlier

Sun-Sentinel

Lynch — A Modernist Bishop

Bishop Robert Lynch Manages His Own Crisis

after

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St. Petersburg Times

Tampa Tribune

largesse

Monday, February 17, 2014

exorcism

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Top Catholic Exorcist Priest - On The Battle With The Evil One

Lord even the demons are subject to us because of your name.

Jesus said, "Behold I have given you the power to trend upon serpents...." Luke 10: 19

A Talk with the Exorcist

by Gyles Brandreth of The Sunday Telegraph
On the bumpy flight to Rome I read The Bible all the way. The passenger on my left - a wiry businesswoman from Wisconsin - found this disconcerting.
As the turbulence worsened and I moved from Jude to Revelation, she hissed at me, "Do you have to?"
"It's only background reading," I murmured. She grimaced. "What for?" I turned to her and whispered: "I'm going to meet the exorcist."
"Oh," she gasped, as the plane lurched and hot coffee spilled over us.
Father Gabriele Amorth is indeed the exorcist, the most senior and respected member of his calling.
A priest for 50 years, he is the undisputed leader of the city's six exorcists (appointed by the cardinal to whom the Pope delegates the office of Vicar of Rome) and honorary president-for-life of the International Association of Exorcists.
He is 75, small, spry, humorous, and wonderfully direct. "I speak with the Devil every day," he says, grinning like a benevolent gargoyle.
"I talk to him in Latin. He answers in Italian. I have been wrestling with him, day in day out, for 14 years."
On cue (God is not worried by clichés) a shaft of October sunlight falls across Father Amorth's pale, round face. We are sitting at a table by the window in a small high-ceilinged meeting room at his Rome headquarters, the offices of the Society of St Paul.
Father Amorth has come to exorcism late in life, but with impressive credentials. Born in 1925 in Modena, northern Italy, the son and grandson of lawyers (his brother is a judge), Gabriele Amorth, in his late teens, joined the Italian resistance.
Immediately after the war, he became a member of the fledgling Christian Democratic Party.
Giulo Andreotti was president of the Young Christian Democrats, Amorth was his deputy. Andreotti went into politics and was seven times prime minister. Amorth, having studied law at university, went into the Church.
"From the age of 15," he says, "I knew it was my true vocation. My speciality was the Madonna. For many years I edited the magazine Madre di Deo (Mother of God). When I hear people say, 'You Catholics honour Mary too much,' I reply, 'We are never able to honour her enough.'
"I knew nothing of exorcism - I had given it no thought - until June 6, 1986 when Cardinal Poletti, the then Vicar of Rome, asked to see me. There was a famous exorcist in Rome then, the only one, Father Candido, but he was not well, and Cardinal Poletti told me I was to be his assistant.
I learnt everything from Father Candido. He was my great master. Quickly I realised how much work there was to be done and how few exorcists there were to do it. From that day, I dropped everything and dedicated myself entirely to exorcism."
Father Amorth smiles continually as he tells his story. His enthusiasm for his subject is infectious and engaging. "Jesus performed exorcisms. He cast out demons. He freed souls from demonic possession and from Him the Church has received the power and office of exorcism.
A simple exorcism is performed at every baptism, but major exorcism can be performed only by a priest licensed by the bishop. I have performed over 50,000 exorcisms.
Sometimes it takes a few minutes, sometimes many hours. It is hard work multo duro."
How does he recognise someone possessed by evil spirits?
"It is not easy. There are many grades of possession. The Devil does not like to be seen, so there are people who are possessed who manage to conceal it.
There are other cases where the person possessed is in acute physical pain, such agony that they cannot move.
"It is essential not to confuse demonic possession with ordinary illness. The symptoms of possession often include violent headaches and stomach cramps, but you must always go to the doctor before you go to the exorcist.
I have people come to me who are not possessed at all. They are suffering from epilepsy or schizophrenia or other mental problems.
Of the thousands of patients I have seen, only a hundred or so have been truly possessed."
"How can you tell?"
"By their aversion to the sacrament and all things sacred. If blessed they become furious. If confronted with the crucifix, they are subdued."
"But couldn't an hysteric imitate the symptoms?"
"We can sort out the phoney ones. We look into their eyes. As part of the exorcism, at specific times during the prayers, holding two fingers on the patient's eyes we raise the eyelids. Almost always, in cases of evil presence, the eyes look completely white.
Even with the help of both hands, we can barely discern whether the pupils are towards the top or the bottom of the eye. If the pupils are looking up, the demons in possession are scorpions.
If looking down, they are serpents." As I report this now, it sounds absurd. As Father Amorth told it to me, it felt entirely credible. I had gone to Rome expecting - hoping, even - for a chilling encounter, but instead of a sinister bug-eyed obsessive lurking in the shadows of a Hammer Horror film set, here I was sitting in an airy room facing a kindly old man with an uncanny knack for making the truly bizarre seem wholly rational.
He has God on his side and customers at his door. The demand for exorcism is growing as never before. Fifteen years ago there were 20 church-appointed exorcists in Italy. Now there are 300.
I ask Father Amorph to describe the ritual of exorcism.
"Ideally, the exorcist needs another priest to help him and a group nearby who will assist through prayer. The ritual does not specify the stance of the exorcist. Some stand, some sit. The ritual says only that, beginning with the words Ecce crucem Domini ('Behold the Cross of the Lord') the priest should touch the neck of the possessed one with the hem of his stole and hold his hand on his head.
The demons will want to hide. Our task is to expose them, and then expel them.
There are many ways to goad them into showing themselves. Although the ritual does not mention this, experience has taught us that using oil and holy water and salt can be very effective.
"Demons are wary of talking and must be forced to speak. When demons are voluntarily chatty it's a trick to distract the exorcist. We must never ask useless questions out of curiosity. We but must interrogate with care. We always begin by asking for the demon's name."
"And does he answer?" I ask. Father Amorth nods.
"Yes, through the patient, but in a strange, unnatural voice. If it is the Devil himself, he says 'I am Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub. We ask if he is alone or if there are others with him. Usually there are two or five, 20 or 30. We must quantify the number.
We ask when and how they entered that particular body. We find out whether their presence is due to a spell and the specifics of that spell.
"During the exorcism the evil may emerge in slow stages or with sudden explosions. He does not want show himself. He will be angry and he is strong.
During one exorcism I saw a child of 11 held down by four strong men. The child threw the men aside with ease. I was there when a boy of 10 lifted a huge, heavy table.
"Afterwards I felt the muscles in the boy's arms. He could not have done it on his own. He had the strength of the Devil inside him.
"No two cases are the same. Some patients have to be tied down on a bed. They spit. They vomit. At first the demon will try to demoralise the exorcist, then he will try to terrify him, saying, 'Tonight I'm going to put a serpent between your sheets. Tomorrow I'm going to eat your heart'."
I lean towards Father Amorth. "And are you sometimes frightened?" I ask.
He looks incredulous. "Never. I have faith. I laugh at the demon and say to him, 'I've got the Madonna on my side. I am called Gabriel. Go fight the Archangel Gabriel if you will.' That usually shuts them up."
Now he leans towards me and taps my hand confidentially. "The secret is to find your demon's weak spot.
Some demons cannot bear to have the Sign of the Cross traced with a stole on an aching part of the body; some cannot stand a puff of breath on the face; others resist with all their strength against blessing with holy water.
"Relief for the patient is always possible, but to completely rid a person of his demons can take many exorcisms over many years. For a demon to leave a body and go back to hell means to die forever and to lose any ability to molest people in the future.
He expresses his desperation saying: 'I am dying, I am dying. You are killing me; you have won. All priests are murderers'.
" How do people come to be possessed by demons in the first place?
"I believe God sometimes singles out certain souls for a special test of spiritual endurance, but more often people lay themselves open to possession by dabbling with black magic.
Some are entrapped by a satanic cult. Others are the victims of a curse."
I interrupt. "You mean like Yasser Arafat saying to Ehud Barak, 'Go to Hell' and meaning it?"
"No." Father Amorth gives me a withering look. "That is merely a sudden imprecation. It is very difficult to perform a curse. You need to be a priest of Satan to do it properly.
Of course, just as you can hire a killer if you need one, you can hire a male witch to utter a curse on your behalf. Most witches are frauds, but I am afraid some authentic ones do exist." Father Amorth shakes his head and sighs at the wickedness of the world.
At the outset he has told me he is confident he will have an answer to all my questions, but he has a difficulty with the next one.
"Why do many more women seem to become possessed than men?"
"Ah, that we do not know. They may be more vulnerable because, as a rule, more women than men are interested in the occult. Or it may be the Devil's way of getting at men, just as he got to Adam through Eve.
What we do know is that the problem is getting worse. The Devil is gaining ground. We are living in an age when faith is diminishing. If you abandon God, the Devil will take his place.
"All faiths, all cultures, have exorcists, but only Christianity has the true force to exorcise through Christ's example and authority. We need many more exorcists, but the bishops won't appoint them.
In many countries - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain there are no Catholic exorcists. It is a scandal. In England there are more Anglican exorcists than Catholic ones."
Although the post of exorcist is an official diocesan appointment (there are about 300 attached to the various bishops throughout Italy) and Father Amorth is undisputably the best known in his field, there is some tension between Amorth and the modernising tendencies in the Church hierarchy.
Devil-hunting is not fashionable in senior church circles. The Catholic establishment is happier talking about "the spirit of evil" than evil spirits.
The Vatican recently issued a new rite of exorcism which has not met with Father Amorth's approval.
"They say we cannot perform an exorcism unless we know for certain that the Evil One is present. That is ridiculous. It is only through exorcism that the demons reveal themselves.
An unnecessary exorcism never hurt anybody."
What does the Pope make of all this?
"The Holy Father knows that the Devil is still alive and active in the world. He has performed exorcism. In 1982, he performed a solemn exorcism on a girl from Spoletto. She screamed and rolled on the floor. Those who saw it were very frightened. The Pope brought her temporary freedom.
"The other day, on September 6, at his weekly audience at St Peter's, a young woman from a village near Monza started to shriek as the Pope was about to bless her.
She shouted obscenities at him in a strange voice. The Pope blessed her and brought her relief, but the Devil is still in her. She is exorcised each week in Milan and she is now coming to me once a month.
It may take a long time to help her, but we must try. The work of the exorcists is to relieve suffering, to free souls from torment, to bring us closer to God."
Father Amorth has laughed and smiled a good deal during our three-hour discussion. He has pulled sundry rude faces to indicate his contempt for the pusillanimous bishops who have a monopoly on exorcism and refuse to license more practitioners.
In his mouth it does not seem like mumbo-jumbo or hocus-pocus. He produces detailed case histories. He quotes scriptural chapter and verse to justify his actions. And he has a large following.
His book, An Exorcist Tells his Story, has been reprinted in Italy 17 times. Given his shining faith and scholarly approach, I hardly dare ask him whether he has seen the notorious 1973 horror film, The Exorcist.
It turns out to be his favourite film. "Of course, the special effects are exaggerated. but it is a good film, and substantially exact, based on a respectable novel which mirrored a true story."
The film is held to be so disturbing it has never been shown [until recently] on British terrestrial television and until last year could not even be rented from video shops. None the less, Father Amorth recommends it.
"People need to know what we do." And what about hallowe'en? The American tradition has made no inroads in Italy.
"Here it is on Christmas Eve that the Satanists have their orgies. Nothing happens on October 31. But if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that.''
It is time to go to the chapel where our photographer is waiting. Father Atnorth, used to the ways of the press, raises an eyebrow at us indulgently as he realises the photograph is designed to heighten the drama of his calling.
Pictures taken, he potters off to find me one ot his books. "What do make of him?'' asks the photographer. "Is he mad?" "I don't think so,'' I say.
The award-winning Daily and Sunday Telegraph Rome correspondent, who has acted as interpreter for the interview, and is both a lapsed Catholic and a hardened hack, is more empathic: "There's not a trace of the charlatan about him. He is quite sane and utterly convincing."
Father Amorth reappears with his book and smiles. "Remember, when we jeer at the Devil and tell ourselves that he does not exist, that is when he is happiest."
This interview first appeared in the 29th October 2000 issue of The Sunday Telegraph and is reproduced with permission

Pope John Paul II Prays for Possessed Girl

March, 2002 - As Pope John Paul II completed his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, a young woman leaped up right in front of him, hurled herself to the ground and began screaming obscenities and blasphemies in a man's raucous voice.

The Pope's encounter with the devil was not his first. The frail but dedicated pope didn't withdraw or seek safety. Instead, worried that the woman had been possessed by the devil, he bravely met the challenge head-on, reveals Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's leading exorcist.
"The pope himself is a powerful exorcist," Father Amorth said. "It took five security men several minutes to subdue the young woman. She was supernaturally strong.
"The pope remained very calm. He asked for her to be taken into a nearby room. When the girl, finally restrained, entered the room, the pontiff talked to her gently but firmly and performed an impromptu exorcism."
The young woman obtained immediate but short-lived relief, said Father Amorth, a world-renowned authority on the rite.
"The pope summoned me to perform another exorcism on her after her relapse. She started doing what we exorcists call the 'run of the mill' -- rolling around on the ground, and speaking with a man's voice."
The voice mocked the 81-year-old pope, sneering, "You see, not even your boss could do anything to chase me from the body of this beautiful, young virgin." Revealed Father Amorth: "Once a month the young woman travels to Rome to have an exorcism performed by me to keep Satan away. It's the most difficult case I've ever dealt with."
Father Amorth said John Paul II's has had face-to-face battles with the ultimate evil. "He has performed at least three exorcisms during his pontificate.
The first one took place in 1982. I was told about it by my teacher, the late Father Candido, who had witnessed the rite in the Vatican. Following the pope's orders, he would not reveal details about it." However, Father Candido did reveal the subject was a young man who had undergone exorcisms with other priests.
They had been unsuccessful in casting out the devil.
"The pope agreed to see him after being told that the young man was going through such hell that he had threatened to take his own life," divulged Father Amorth. "The long and difficult rite performed by the pope was fully successful and the man left the Vatican beaming with joy -- with a new life ahead of him."
The pope's next exorcism took place in 1998 when he was confronted by a girl who contorted herself in seemingly impossible ways... like a terrifying scene from "The Exorcist."
"The girl was taken to the Vatican and led before the pope," said Father Amorth, who has himself performed more than 50,000 exorcisms. "As soon as she saw the pope, she started wriggling as if to free herself from invisible chains. She twisted her body in totally unnatural ways, her joints bending in the opposite direction of normal movement.
She uttered blasphemies and insulted the pope, but John Paul II remained calm. "He raised the crucifix over the head of the possessed girl and said with a steady voice: 'I order you, Satan, to leave the body of this creature.' "He had to repeat it several times, but finally the devil abandoned the girl.
She instantly returned to being the kind and gentle person she was before Satan took possession of her." Father Amorth says he's seen Satan in many shocking forms.
"I've heard practically illiterate persons speaking fluently in five or six different languages, including ancient Greek and Latin -- and women speaking with men's voices and children speaking with adult voices."
These shocking scenes leave no doubt that the devil is an influential presence in the world, said Father Amorth. "The pope agreed to perform these three exorcisms to underline the real threat that Satan is to all of us in everyday life," said the priest.

Pope John Paul II performs exorcism on Raging Teen-Age Girl

Pope John Paul II performed an impromptu exorcism on a teen-age girl who flew into a possessed rage at the end of an audience in St. Peter's Square, said the chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome.

Rome's exorcist, Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, said Sept. 11 that the pope spent more than half an hour praying over the girl and ordering a demon to leave her, but failed to fully cure her.
The girl, identified as a 19 year-old Italian with a history of possession, was in the front row at the pope's weekly general audience Sept. 6. As the pope prepared to leave, she began screaming incomprehensibly and speaking in a "cavernous voice," Father Amorth said.
As security personnel struggled to restrain her "superhuman" efforts to break free, Bishop Gianni Danzi, a top Vatican City official, alerted the pope.
In an area away from the square, the pope hugged this poor little girl, tried to console her, and promised that the next day, Thursday morning, he would celebrate his Mass for her," Father Amorth said.
Father Amorth was not present at the papal exorcism, but said he had performed an exorcism on the girl the previous day. Father Amorth said that after the girl met with the pope, Bishop Danzi and he performed another exorcism that lasted for two hours.
During that exorcism, the priest said, the demon mocked the pope, saying, "Not even your (church) head can send me away." "This is a case where the possession is very, very strong," said Father Amorth, founder and president of the International Association of Exorcists.
"From what can be foreseen by us exorcists, it will take years of exorcisms" for the girl to be fully cured, he said.
The pope did not perform a full ritual exorcism, but Father Amorth said that ritual elements make only "the slightest difference" to an exorcism's effectiveness.
"Many, many exorcists don't do the ritual exorcism, but limit themselves to praying and to ordering the demon to go," he said.
Father Amorth said the girl has been possessed since she was 12 years old and was sent to him for consultation by the exorcist of the Archdiocese of Milan, who had never dealt with such a severe case.
Bishop Danzi was unavailable to comment, his secretary told Catholic News Service. The Vatican's press office also declined comment. Pope John Paul reportedly has carried out at least two other exorcisms in the Vatican: one in 1978 and one in 1982.

A famous exorcist says lay people can also cast out evil spirits.
Are laymen allowed to assist at exorcisms?

What role does the laity have in deliverance? Should they cast out demons themselves? To an extent, says Rome's official exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, the answer to each of those queries is a surprising -- to some, even a shocking -- "yes."
Laymen have a large role in the actual rooting out of evil. This is an area that deserves great caution, and let us note immediately that a full-scale exorcism can only be conducted by a priest with the permission of a local bishop. In severe cases, the Church should immediately be consulted; the stole of the priest is a tremendous protection.
Without it, there can be danger. But that doesn't exclude the laity from active spiritual deliverance, according to Father Amorth, the world's most famous exorcist. "A lay person who prays for deliverance from demons offers a private prayer, calling upon the common priesthood of the faithful and the power granted by Christ to all believers," says Father Amorth.
"The priest who prays for the same purpose also recites a private prayer. Everything being equal, it is more efficacious than the first, because he calls upon his ministerial priesthood and his mandate to bless. When an exorcist administers an exorcism, the efficacy is greater still, because he is practicing a sacramental, which is a public prayer, invoking the intercessory power of the entire Church.
"However," adds Amorth, "let us be clear on this: The Lord takes faith into account. Therefore, a simple prayer of a lay person, even though it is private, could be more efficacious than the prayer of anyone else." ?Father Amorth cites the example of Saint Catherine of Siena: When an exorcist could not liberate a demoniac, he would send the afflicted person to her. "Then the saint would pray and obtain liberation," writes Amorth.
"Her prayer was not an exorcism; she was neither an exorcist nor a priest. But she was a saint!" As Father Amorth notes, it all comes down to faith: Christ Himself admonished His followers to cast out spirits, but He also pointed to a lack of faith as the reason they weren't always able to succeed. It is faith that is our shield.
It is our faith that unlocks the power of God -- which readily overcomes all evil. What's the difference between an "exorcism" and "deliverance"? Efficacy differs in degrees, says Amorth -- but the aim is the same: deliverance from an evil presence, manifestation, or influence. "Canon Law speaks of exorcism relative to those who are possessed (CIC 1172), in other words, those who are victims of a true demonic possession," the famous priest writes in An Exorcist: More Stories.
"While there is nothing to forbid the use of exorcism for all other forms of evil influence, and all exorcists do so, there are other types of interventions for minor or less severe circumstances, such as deliverance prayers."
Amorth has criticized changes to the official exorcism rituals that he says has weakened them. He also has criticized bishops for not paying more heed to evil infestations, fretting that many dioceses do not even use the services of an exorcist despite the rise of evil around us. He especially warns about witchcraft
. "It has been practiced throughout human history and by all civilizations. Still today many fall into its clutches. Many priests underestimate the danger of witchcraft. While they rightly trust in the salvific powers of Jesus, Who died to free us from Satan's bonds, they forget that the Lord never told us to underestimate the devil's power; he never told us to defy him or to stop fighting him.
Instead God gave us the power to expel demons." Father Amorth, who has worked with the Pope himself in exorcisms, also points to the Eucharist in cases where evil seems to be present. Sacraments themselves offer relief from evil spirits. "The usual means to obtain grace -- prayer, sacraments, fasting, charitable works, and so on -- may be sufficient," he notes. "Confession and Communion are worth more than a strong exorcism.

Famed exorcist sees dangers in Harry Potter

The official exorcist of the Rome diocese, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series.
The priest, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said Satan is behind the works.
In an interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Father Amorth said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the devil.”
The exorcist, drawing on his decades of experience in directly combating evil, observed that young people could become involved in Satanic practices because they see the invocation of supernatural powers as a simple and attractive possibility, devoid of moral consequences.
He noted that J.K. Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, which he insisted must be recognized as “the satanic art.”
He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact such a distinction “does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil.”
In the interview, which was published in papers across Europe, Father Amorth also criticized the disordered morality presented in Rowling’s works, noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened and lying justified when they work to one’s benefit.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Pope Francis Through the Lens of Cardinal Burke: An Honest, Surprising, Re-assuring and Revealing Peek

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Rite of Sodomy – Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church

A Humble Proposal for Solving the Homosexual Problem in the Church

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The Schindlers fight back: Terri Schiavo's family turns tragedy into triumph

Monday, February 17, 2014

Spiritual Warfare

Top Catholic Exorcist Priest - On The Battle With The Evil One

Lord even the demons are subject to us because of your name.

Jesus said, "Behold I have given you the power to trend upon serpents...." Luke 10: 19

A Talk with the Exorcist

Pope John Paul II Prays for Possessed Girl

Pope John Paul II performs exorcism on Raging Teen-Age Girl

Famed exorcist sees dangers in Harry Potter

Pope Francis Through the Lens of Cardinal Burke:
An Honest, Surprising, Re-assuring and Revealing Peek