Funny thing. My wife told me the other day, that the priest at the church she attends said that when Robertson talks about the deal the Haitians made with the devil he is talking about their decision to convert to Catholicism.
--- In [email protected], "ShempMcGurk" <shempmcg...@...> wrote: > > I thought the devil was inhabiting Pat Robertson's body. > > Isn't Pat privy to the deal Satan made with the Haitians 200 years ago? > > --- In [email protected], "do.rflex" <do.rflex@> wrote: > > > > > > Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican > > From The Times - March 11, 2010 > > Richard Owen in Rome > > > > [Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in the diocese of Rome poses in Rome, > > 2005.] Giulio Napolitano, AFP / Getty Images Rev. Gabriele Amorth, who > > served as > > the Catholic Church's chief exorcist for > > 25 years, claims the devil has infiltrated > > the Vatican. > > Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that > > that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican", according to the Holy > > See's chief exorcist. > > > > Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican's chief exorcist > > for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic > > possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included > > power struggles at the Vatican as well as "cardinals who do not believe > > in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon". > > > > He added: "When one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' [a phrase coined by > > Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true including > > these latest stories of violence and paedophilia." > > > > He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican > > "cover-up" over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then > > commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a > > Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead. "They covered up everything > > immediately," he said. "Here one sees the rot". > > > > A remarkably swift Vatican investigation concluded that Corporal Tornay > > had shot the commander and his wife and then turned his gun on himself > > after being passed over for a medal. However Tornay's relatives have > > challenged this. There have been unconfirmed reports of a homosexual > > background to the tragedy and the involvement of a fourth person who > > was never identfied. > > > > Father Amorth, who has just published Memoirs of an Exorcist, a series > > of interviews with the Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti, said that the > > attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981 had been the work of > > the Devil, as had an incident last Christmas when a mentally disturbed > > woman threw herself at Pope Benedict XVI at the start of Midnight Mass, > > pulling him to the ground. > > > > Father José Antonio Fortea Cucurull, a Rome-based exorcist, said that > > Father Amorth had "gone well beyond the evidence" in claiming that > > Satan had infiltrated the Vatican corridors. > > > > "Cardinals might be better or worse, but all have upright intentions and > > seek the glory of God," he said. Some Vatican officials were more pious > > than others, "but from there to affirm that some cardinals are members > > of satanic sects is an unacceptable distance." > > > > Father Amorth told La Repubblica that the devil was "pure spirit, > > invisible. But he manifests himself with blasphemies and afflictions in > > the person he possesses. He can remain hidden, or speak in different > > languages, transform himself or appear to be agreeable. At times he > > makes fun of me." > > > > He said it sometimes took six or seven of his assistants to to hold down > > a possessed person. Those possessed often yelled and screamed and spat > > out nails or pieces of glass, which he kept in a bag. "Anything can > > come out of their mouths finger-length pieces of iron, but also > > rose petals." > > > > He said that he hoped every diocese would eventually have a resident > > exorcist. Under Church Canon Law any priest can perform exorcisms, but > > in practice they are carried out by a chosen few trained in the rites. > > > > Father Amorth was ordained in 1954 and became an official exorcist in > > 1986. In the past he has suggested that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin > > were possessed by the Devil. He was among Vatican officials who warned > > that J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels made a "false distinction > > between black and white magic". > > > > He approves, however, of the 1973 film The Exorcist, which although > > "exaggerated" offered a "substantially exact" picture of possession. > > > > In 2001 he objected to the introduction of a new version of the exorcism > > rite, complaining that it dropped centuries-old prayers and was "a > > blunt sword" about which exorcists themselves had not been consulted. > > The Vatican said later that he and other exorcists could continue to > > use the old ritual. > > > > He is the president of honour of the Association of Exorcists. > > > > > > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7056689.ece > > >
