http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2005-10-13_1543134.html
Trainee exorcists start course Catholic experts warn that Satanism offers doorway to Devil (ANSA) - Rome, October 13 - The demand for exorcists is growing steadily as Satanism and the occult gain adepts, experts said on Thursday as a new course in demonology and exorcism opened at a Vatican university . "People suffer and think that turning to the Devil can help solve their problems," Don Paolo Scarafoni told students who have signed up for instruction in the art of recognising and expelling Satan . Don Scarafoni, whose university is organising the four-month course, warned that very few - perhaps one in ten - of the people said to be possessed by Satan actually were. But he said devil worship groups and occult practices were now so common in society that the services of exorcists were being sought more and more frequently . "Priests are being bombarded," he said, explaining why his university was putting on its second course in a year to train priests in the field of 'Exorcism and Prayers of Liberation' . Eager to spread awareness about the rising threat of Satanism, Rome's Regina Apostolorum university has even opened the course up to anyone with a proven interest in fighting devil worship . Doctors, psychiatrists, lawyers and youth workers are among the students accepted for the course. They will never actually perform exorcisms but they will learn about the phenomenon of Satanism . Satanism - in which followers hold pagan and occult rites to worship the Devil - is a distinct subject from exorcism, which involves freeing an individual from the Devil's direct influence. But the Vatican believes there is a strong link between the two. "Stay away - a thousand miles away - from the occult because it is a window through which the Demon can enter your soul," Monsignor Andrea Gemma, an Italian exorcist warned students at the university . Apart from offering a 'doorway' to the Devil, Catholic authorities note that Satanism and related trends generally promote anti-social, if not criminal behaviour . Italian newspapers have given ample coverage in recent years to cases such as the killing of a nun in 2000 by three girls involved in Satanic rites. Another high-profile case involved a group of youths in a rock group called the Beasts of Satan who appear to have been responsible for a string of killings . The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through the media, rock music and the Internet . The course will look at Satanism from legal, psychological and sociological angles as well as the religious one . "One of the objectives of the course was to stop such a delicate and difficult subject being viewed in a sensationalist way," commented Carlo Climati, who will lecture on Satanism in youth culture . But the studies will also try to train course members to recognise the real presence of the Devil in individuals who are possessed. Three signs that experts look out for are an ability to speak languages that the possessed person does not know, the presence of superhuman strength and an awareness of hidden or distant objects. In theory, all priests can perform exorcisms but, in reality, only a select few are assigned the task . The rite of exorcism involves a series of gestures and prayers to invoke the power of God and stop the 'demon' influencing its possessed victim . Nephilim's Paranormal Investigations - http://paranorm.cjb.net __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/98XolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Visit our Psychic/Paranormal message boards at http://www.skatemd.com/forums/index.php Arcade, Journals, Chats, Boards, Fun! Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/paranormal_stuff/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
