Italian exorcist to Jesuit leader: No, the devil isn't a just 'symbol'

Lima, Peru, Jun 2, 2017 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Italian priest and exorcist Fr. Sante Babolin said that "the devil, Satan, exists" and that "evil is not an abstraction," in response to recent comments from Fr. Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Fr. Arturo Sosa said that "we have made symbolic figures, like the devil, to express evil."

"Social conditioning can also represent this figure, since there are people who act [in an evil way] because they are in an environment where it is difficult to act to the contrary," Fr. Sosa added.

Speaking to ACI Prensa June 2, Fr. Babolin recalled several places in documents and statements of the Church that show the true existence of the devil.

Fr. Babolin recalled the documents of the IV Lateran Ecumenical Council in 1215, state that Christians "firmly believe and simply confess" that God created "from nothing...the spiritual and the corporal, that is, the angelic and the mundane, and then the human. "

"(T)he devil and other demons were created by God good in nature, but they themselves through themselves have become wicked," notes the text of the council.

Fr. Babolin, known as the "exorcist of Padua," also recalled two speeches of Pope Paul VI in 1972, which also confirm the existence of the devil "to the faithful, who tend to doubt the existence of Satan...his presence and action. "

On June 29, 1972, Paul VI, alluding to the contemporary situation of the Church, said in his homily that it seemed "the smoke of Satan" entered the temple of God. That same year, on November 15, Paul VI warned that "one of the major needs of the Church" is to defend ourselves "from that evil that we call the Devil."

Fr. Babolin also noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the devil exists in reality, not in the abstract. In the section of the Catechism regarding the "deliver us from evil" petition of the Our Father, in para. 2851, it states that "in this petition, evil is not an abstraction, A person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The 'devil' (dia-bolos) is the one who 'crosses' in the design of God and his work of salvation fulfilled in Christ."

Fr. Babolin said that the faithful should see the statement of the Fourth Lateran Ecumenical Council, the assertions of Paul VI and what is recorded in the Catechism as "three irrefutable points" about the existence of the devil.

More people are being possessed by demons because of porn and drugs, says priest who's calling on more exorcists

MORE and more people are being possessed by the devil through porn and recreational drug use says priest.

Father Vincent Lampert, head priest at St. Malachy’s in Indianapolis, Indiana has called for more people to be trained as exorcists to fight what has been called an “army of demons.”

The priest is just one of 400 Catholic leaders claimed to have gathered in Rome in October in order to plan how to recruit and train more exorcists.

In recent years there having been numerous stories of people possessed by demons.

Janet Moses, a mum of two was drowned in her bed when 40 members of her family tried filled her lungs with water and tried to ‘suck the evil’ out of her eyeballs.

The 22-year-old awoke in the night ‘possessed by the devil’ and screaming death threats to her family.

As a result they decided an exorcism was necessary to fight these evils.

They threw bowls of water on her and sucked her eyeballs in an attempt to rid Janet of the devil, sadly resulting in her death.

But why does Father Vincent believe so many people are possessed by the devil?

“We’re in a fight with drugs, the occult, pornography,” he said, describing these habits as: “an entry point for evil.”

He went on to explain: “We need to take these souls back.”

Vincent claims he recently was forced to chase a demon out of one of his parishioners who had been cursed by his mother-in-law.

And the priest warns that without new recruits, there are no longer enough exorcists to deal with the growing devil problem in the world.

“Exorcism is like triage. We’re the emergency crew — but there aren’t enough of us,” Lampert explained to The New York Post.

Worryingly, he’s not the only person that is concerned about the rise in devils due to porn and illegal drugs.

Valter Cacioli, a psychologist and scientific consultant for the exorcist’s association has also raised his concerns over the growing number of people claiming to be ‘possessed by the devil’.

In an interview with the Italian Newspaper, La Stampa, he said: “The lack of exorcists is a real emergency.”

According to the exorcism expert, devils are making their way into people through vices, such as porn, drugs and the occult.

Ouija boards and ‘Satanic games’ have also been to blame for the rise in the number of people possessed by the devil.

One young child was ‘possessed’ earlier this year and was exorcised by a preacher.

Catholic Online have warned of the effects of being possessed by demons.

“A demon’s purpose is to drag your soul to hell upon death. By disturbing your body and behaviour, they turn you from God, keep you away from church, and will encourage you to harm yourself.

“They encourage suicide,” claimed the article.

However, there are many concerns amongst exorcists that there’s no one to deal with the growing demon problem.

One priest, Father Vincenzo Taraborelli is so afraid of the rise in the number of people being 'possessed by the devil' that he refuses to retire.

The 79-year-old priest, who exorcises around 30 people each day, claims that young priests are too scared of exorcism.

The process can involve the 'possessed' screaming and writhing on the floor.

But why are drugs specifically being linked to the rise in demons?

Catholic priests blame drug traffickers who incorporate voodoo and black magic into their products.

A chaplain in New York, Marco Quinones believes that this is having a more addictive and dangerous effect.

He has also pointed to synthetic drugs, such a K-2, a synthetic marijuana as making people more at risk of being possessed by the devil.

"If demons exist and you take a drug that changes your thinking pattern, that opens itself up to the entities of these Demons," he said.

For these priests avoiding recreational drugs, pornography and spiritual talismans is the only way to be safe from the devil.