Catholic Pope orders bishops to set up “exorcism squads”

“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.”

The Daily Mail, “Pope’s exorcist squads will wage war on Satan“

Concerned with a “rise of Satanism” and “an increased interest in the occult”, the Catholic Pope has introduced courses for priests to combat “the most extreme form of “Godlessness”" – as opposed to other, milder forms of atheism? One wonders.

Naturally, rock music and the Internet are to blame. (Yet, strangely, the Catholic Pope looks far more sinister and demonic than anything I’ve ever conjured¹, and certainly more ostentatious.)

Eighty-two year old Vatican “exorcistinchief” Father Gabriele Amorth has stated that each bishop is required to have in his diocese “a number of priests trained to fight demonic possession”.

They’re also on a kick to restore a prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel which was originally dropped in the 1960s. The claim is that it’s “useful not only for priests but also for lay people in helping to fight demons”.

Personally, I find an almond wand and a sense of conviction work just fine, too.

Thanks to Lupa’s LiveJournal for the head’s up.

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Footnotes:

1. Mind you, I am fond of gargoyles and absurd animals, so I may not have a “typical” basis of comparison… [back]

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