Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan

VATICAN DENIES EXORCIST EXPANSION

Story Here

So ... the story is a lie. And so is this -

Originally posted by budski
your hate filled diatribes about contraception and homosexuals.

I do NOT hate homosexuals. I do NOT agree with the church interpretation of Onanism (the basis for their view on non-contraception).

AS I SAID BEFORE - The church doesn't just point to a bunch of priests and say - ya'll are now exorcists. It's a calling within a calling. Very few priests are called and very few make the grade even after being called.

CASE CLOSED. :shk:

Originally posted by FlyersFan
VATICAN DENIES EXORCIST EXPANSION

Story Here

Yeah, I posted that on page one

Not so much a denial, as a retraction when they realised how stupid it sounded.

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.

original story

and retraction

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.

source

So now we are being told that either Father Gabriele Amorth or Federico Lombardi is in fact, a liar.

A retraction is not a denial - and they seem to have really messed this one up because they are pretty much saying that one of their key brethren is a liar if they are denying.
Of course if they are simply retracting or clarifying the statement, then it's a different matter - but why can't they just come clean and say it right out?
Oh yeah - the old infallibility thing

After all is said and done, they are still saying that people who choose to worship a different form are wrong, therefore they are telling people how and what to worship - nothing new there though.

Why does this christian sect believe that they have the right to tell others what they can and cannot do - if someone wants to worship satan or the occult, that's their business, not the RCC's.

This particular christian sect is constantly interfering in how people live their lives, what or who they should worship, involving themselves in politics which don't concern them - even to the point of telling their members how to vote.

The sooner this sect gets an overhaul and is dragged into the 21st century, the better.

Case still very much open

- jeez, now my PC is possessed



[edit on 31/12/2007 by budski]

Originally posted by budski
Organised religion (christian) is gradually dying out, except for the pockets of extremists which STILL try to enforce their view on the rest of us - and that's not really any different from muslim extremists.

I agree with you there. Extremisim in ANY religion or cause is just that: extreemism. It does not matter who you worship.

I am not going to get into Catholic bashing. I just think that the blame game that the Pope is playing is absurd. He's blaming people who aren't even remotely involved with what is currently going on in the world. I think it's much like FredT suggested and they are just trying to recoup members of their "flock" they have lost...

As far as expanding exorcisms, that's fine. They have every right to do that if they so wish. I have not a solitary problem with it.

reply to post by FredT


well FredT,
I view any organised religion which tries to indoctrinate and enforce their view on others as extreme, and religions which are not organised for that matter.

My faith and spirituality is a matter for me and no-one else, unless I choose to share it with them.

Someone tells me I'm wrong for choosing to believe what I believe? then I view them as an extremist - albeit of the softer variety.

Call it extremist-lite.

They have no right to say these things or tell others how to behave.

They seem to forget that it is not the 18th century, and that they are not dealing anymore with illiterate peasants.

Originally posted by budski
The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism.

Maybe they should start with the pedaphile priests and all those other priests & bishops...ect who are complicit because of their silence and turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by their fellow priests.



[edit on 31-12-2007 by Sparky63]

reply to post by Sparky63


Maybe they should - but that's not really the issue at hand or relevant to the topic.

Despite what some may think, I don't hate catholics, but I'm not very fond of the organisation.

The issue now seems to be the validity and relevance of the two different statements and how they have managed to mess up yet again.

reply to post by budski


Rock music eh?

I can see it coming. Robed gate crashers barging in on the Taste of Chaos tour and 'exorcising' all the goths and emos because they are possessed by satanic music and this gives them the urge to dance badly.

Might do them some good actually.

Agreed, everyone can address their own deamons...

But i also feel its a bit rich coming from a religous institution that has a history bordering on these lines itself. Would the religous institutions also cleanse themselves. Perhaps then we might actually get some justice for all those young people that were abused under their care. hmmm, they dont wanna talk about that now do they...

Originally posted by fooffstarr
Might do them some good actually.

Maybe if what caused the musicians to play songs like that and the emo kids to attend the concerts in the first place wasn't the forcefull tactics of their catholic or other variety of religion - parents, etc.

People are driven away from the thought police, we no longer like them. Just let everyone be however they want to be and there'd be no more anger and pain.

The root of psychological pain/anger/suffering/outlash/frustration is the attempt to control, invade, and/or dictate... especially through ignorance. See if you can find a scenerio where it isn't.

[edit on 31-12-2007 by LastOutfiniteVoiceEternal]

reply to post by LastOutfiniteVoiceEternal


couldn't have put it better myself.

Starred

Nice one

The so-called devil that they speak of were also created by them in order to not only have something to blame, but to create a movement for the weak minded to adopt as a rebellion against the church. This not only creates fear, leading more people to the church, but gives a false verification to the enemy of which they speak. It creates a "see how they are, we told you they have nothing but hate!" back-up. This is a religious creation to divert people from looking into the past to see where they have stollen their rituals and hidden the truth from humanity. Everything the religions of today have in their books comes from a far older story, and has been changed and twisted to fit their agenda.

I sometimes cruise the religion forums for the laughs, and this is no exception. The passions of people about this subject are borderline hilarious. I seldom post, as it is not my intention to impose my beliefs on anyone else, or to justify them in anyone's eyes.

But for those impressionable young folks that cruise by, I'll make an exception this time, because this thread is such a classic case.

When you die, and whatever comes afterward happens, will these be your arguments for the way you lived your life? What part of all these religions has meaning beyond the purely personal aspects? (I'm using the term religion to cover a multitude of belief systems.)

Doesn't any relationship between man and "Whatever" come down to a one-to-one basis? To what purpose is the organization (affiliation) of groups, except to forcefully, or otherwise, change the belief system of other human beings?

Can it not be said that once religion goes beyond exercising control over self it becomes politics? (Politics being the practice of establishing conformity to a set of rules agreed to in part or whole by those involved.)

I love the whole "My God can whip your God! And (S)He has every right to!" mindset that runs rampant here. Thanks.

[edit on 31-12-2007 by NGC2736]

In case I wasn't clear in the above post, the idea of priests with the mission of casting out demons from unsuspecting, therefore un-cooperating, people in a holy war, is really a political power move. And the reactions by most others here highlights the lines of the opposition.

Yet it seems that both, (or three or nine?) sides are also organized to battle back. Too many have taken what is a personal concept and tried to put it in the public arena for a beauty contest.

Just my opinion.

I found it most interesting that the article stated:

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."

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Pius? Integrity of life?

In my opinion that rules out using any priests that went along with the practice of allowing pedophile priests to continue to hold their positions in the church. The stench of what they did goes right to the top. The Papacy will forever be tainted by what they did.

All this talk about exorcism is just a ruse to draw attention away from the real evil that exists in the corrupt clergy. They propose to go out to battle Satan? who are they kidding?

[edit on 1-1-2008 by Sparky63]

When the Vatican sells a few chandaliers and gives the money back to the poor people of the world they extorted it from in the first place, I may become more interested in what the pope has to say, ... but I doubt it.

And so many are 'turning to occultism' because of the absolute failure of the 'modern' religions to provide the answers we are now seeking as a race.

My guess on that is the desire for freedom and self expression. No organised religion can offer much of that, with their never ending list of rules and regulations, possibly with the exception of Taoism, which is probably not accurately classed as a religion anyway - still, it's an ism.

PS. Happy New Year's

[edit on 1-1-2008 by RogerT]

The Pope should not be telling the followers the people who should be in the knowledge that evil entities exist and we should up the positive vibe to combat it. I believe that people are being taken over by evil spirits and forces around the world and they will do everything to ban Christ in any way they can. The void that is left is consumed by evil so that people do not go back to what was once good, a lock is put in place.

Yes there are these evil menaces that science can not prove but maybe one day technology will pick up on it, and even so it will take time to convince people.

I am sorry for the people who just don't see it, but then again I admire because these things are far from them. There is something weired out there going on but we can only use what we know as the best way to interpret certain things and experiences.

To me it sounds like people are to earthly mattered to care or even comprehend which in a way makes us weak if these things are going on.
It's up to people what to believe but some people do not have a choice, it comes to them.

reply to post by The time lord


To me, this is less about spiritual matters and more about the pope trying to become a major player in foreign affairs.

Lets get one thing straight - the RCC is a religious organisation and has no business telling people outside its influence how to live their lives.

It's also about freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression - 2 things the RCC hate, because if we have more freedom they have less control and therefore less customers and then less money.

One of the things I admire about Islam, is that the money they receive goes straight back to the community, apart from the money to build mosques.
There are no priceless works of art, tapestries, gilded decorations, stained glass etc in a mosque - it is purely functional, and the money they gain goes to helping and feeding the less fortunate members of their community.

The pope is making these pronouncements in a PR campaign aimed at the balance sheet - they're losingmoney and they don't like it.



[edit on 1/1/2008 by budski]

I am not sure what the Popes or the Vatican’s take on this is as in if it's for money. But to me it seems that whatever religion in the high ranks will need money to help support the buildings and art or mosaics and stain-glass. Many Churches are not so arty and are plane jane, but I guess with the Catholics it is more of an image with idol based art that takes up the money side of things.

But the question is that even if that is so, a message about spiritualism should not be flung back because it is made known. Is there an agenda with it? Do they want to set up new jobs where priests get paid to fight like the Ghost Busters?
Why not I bet many people would pay for one to get rid of a few demons where they live.

People go to witches, psychics and fortunetellers and mediums for this and pay thousands for it, and yet most of these people are in forbidden practices that the Bible states. Italy if anywhere is full of these types of people and they have their own underground TV shows where people pay thousands just to hear all they mystical arts.

If any thing, Italy really needs some help and if the Pope sees this and it could for once be a good thing even though they have a tarnished image now I think it could well be better than the alternatives that people seek.

JUST ADDED:
Seconds thoughts I say GOOD ON HIM and people are too easy to judge and dismiss cases. People have experts in fields of UFO's to Lock Ness so why not this? I am in support and would do it my self if I could, and the people who never come across anything of the sort then I am happy for their peace of mind.


[edit on 1-1-2008 by The time lord]