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ROME — In a small room, well away from the street so that no one hears the screams, Father Gabriele Amorth does battle with Satan. He is a busy man.
As the Vatican's top exorcist, Amorth performs the mysterious, ancient ritual dozens of times a week. A confused world engulfed in tragedy and chaos is turning increasingly to black magic, the occult and fortune-telling, he said, proof that the devil and his handmaidens are having a field day.
"These customs open the door to evil spirits and to demonic possessions," Amorth said. "Exorcism is God's true miracle."
The practice of exorcism — driving demons and evil spirits from people or places — has been experiencing a renaissance of late, from Europe to the Americas to Africa.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-fg-exorcist30apr30.story