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GHOST

Exorcist squad hired to fight Satan in Madrid

The church has selected eight recruits who will undergo special training to combat what has been described as an "unprecedented rise" in cases of "demonic possession".

Published: 24 May 2013 11:40 CEST
Exorcist squad hired to fight Satan in Madrid
Catholics in Spain are taking on Beelzebub with a crack damned-buster exorcism squad. Photo: GIULIO NAPOLITANO/AFP

The Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio María Rouco Varela, has taken the unprecedented step of selecting eight priests to lock horns with Satan as expert exorcists.

Press agency EFE reports that the exorcists' specialist ghostbuster training will be led by Cesar Franco, one of the Spanish capital's three auxiliary bishops.

According to online website 'Religious Freedom', the decision was taken personally by Archbishop Rouco Valera to meet an avalanche of requests for help from the faithful to fight their otherworldly foe.

Many alleged victims of demonic possession and evil influence claim to have opened the gateway to hell with occult practices such as black magic, palmistry, Ouija boards and fortune telling.

Sources close to the Archbishop would confirm only that the issue is "being studied".

No priests are currently licensed to perform exorcisms in the Madrid area, and all would-be banishers of evil must be personally approved by the Archbishop himself.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that : "When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism."

Church rules say that a "Major Exorcism" can only be performed by a priest authorized by the bishop.

Seasoned exorcists are said to begin with the textbook Rituale Romanum but improvise somewhat once the tête-à-tête with Satan is underway.

Author José María Zavala, whose book, 'This is how you beat the Devil', will be used to train the rookie damned-busters, said that only 18 active exorcists are currently registered in Spain.

Zavala named Father Salvador Hernández Ramón of Cartagena in Murcia, as the Spanish priest generally considered most fit to battle Beelzebub after years of doing regular exorcise routines around the country .

He noted: "Father Salvador spent a year in Rome exorcising with Father Gabriele Amorth. Father Salvador is the top exorcist in Spain, very famous within the church but barely known outside it."

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CHURCH

Denmark planning to reopen churches for Easter Sunday

Denmark's government is planning to open the way for limited church services over Easter, so that Christians can celebrate the resurrection, even during the coronavirus lockdown.

Published: 1 April 2020 19:00 CEST
Denmark planning to reopen churches for Easter Sunday
In the Church of Denmark, those taking community traditionally drink from the same silver cup. Photo: Church of Denmark
If services go ahead, it will mark the first relaxation of the country's lockdown since it was imposed on March 11. 
 
“Easter is the most important celebration of the church year,” Denmark's church minister Joy Mogensen said in a press release. “This is especially the case during a sombre time when the Danes are looking for community and meaning, which is why the government is now working on a solution so that we can celebrate Easter in church in a responsible way.” 
 
Churches and church halls have been closed in Denmark since March 11, along with mosques, synagogues and other places of worship. 
 
 
But with the country set to begin gradually lifting its coronavirus restrictions after Easter, the leadership of the Church of Denmark is now holding discussions with the Danish Health Authority and the Church Ministry on how to safely allow services to proceed on Easter Sunday. 
 
The government gave no details on what a responsible church service might entail, or whether it would be possible for churchgoers to pray and sing together in church or to receive communion. 
 
In the National Church of Denmark, communion typically involves a long queue to go the alter where all who are receiving the sacrament drink sips of wine from the same cup. 
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