Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan {WTF?!}

[Echo In Light]

"The power of Christ compels you!...The power of Christ compels you!..."

No shit.

Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan
By NICK PISA

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.

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=504969&in_page_id=1811&Satan=Santa

[hobbit709]

1. Who will exorcise us from fanatic catholicism?

[Submariner]

2. I want some of what the Pope is smokin'

Maybe they should offer up the pervs and those that aided and abetted them first, starting with Bernie Law, before they start trying to distract the sheep with exorcism rituals and fake wars against a fake satan.

[0007]

10. Calling Agent Mike.........

Not harsh at all, this Panamanian Red!

[XboxWarrior]

13. another script in the making?

[jimshoes]

3. Oh good,

maybe we can burn a few witches too. :eyes:

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Or not - 'Petrus' may have got a bit overexcited

and the Daily Mail is not a paper that would let accuracy get in the way of a story.

New emphasis on exorcism? Vatican denies report

Vatican, Dec. 28, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has denied a report that Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) plans a new emphasis on exorcisms.

In an interview with Italy's Petrus web site, which concentrates on Vatican affairs, Father Gabriele Amorth, the official exorcist of the Rome diocese, said that the Holy Father would soon undertake a new campaign to combat demonic possession. "Thank God," said the Italian priest, "we have a Pope who has decided to confront the devil head-on."

Father Amorth-- who has gained a worldwide reputation as an expert of the subject, and the author of a popular book on exorcism and demonic possession-- told Petrus that a new Vatican document would call for the designation of exorcists in every Catholic diocese around the world. He also said that Pope Benedict would restore the tradition of reciting the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, composed by Pope Leo XIII, at the end of every Mass.

But Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, flatly denied the Petrus report. The papal spokesman said: "Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of ordering local bishops to bring in garrisons of exorcists to fight demonic possession.”

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=55627

[Echo In Light]

7. Not so sure I'd rank Catholic World News as being any better

Get a load of the reader comments after the article.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Well, there's UPI too

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/12/29/vatican_denies_exorcist_expansion/7287/

The Petrus article seems to be a guy trying to make his job sound more important than it is.

[robbedvoter]

5. Is this from "His Dark Materials"? tell me it is!

Dayum! Everyone wants to go back to the Middle Ages...Everyone in power, that is.
Will a pedophile squad also be formed?

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Enough fear-filled dogma from pedophile-protecting Pope Ratzinger." - Iorek

"Now face the consequences: the armored bear of reality." - Iorek

[0007]

9. Does this mean that little boys will be safer from now on?

[bemildred]

11. Bring back the inqusition. The old ways are best. nt

[ladjf]

12. This is "psycho" stuff. Anyone who believes in the efficacy of

such superstitious lunacy should be placed in psychiatric care.