Spanish exorcist Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea Cucurull
Posted on 09/21/2010 10:18:48 AM PDT by NYer
.- Spanish exorcist Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea Cucurull stated in an interview last week that though Satan does indeed exist, he does not have “horns, wings or a tail.” The priest recommended that the faithful seek the counsel of a priest if they suspect someone is possessed.
Fr. Fortea is a priest and theologian who specializes in demonology and is now studying for his doctorate of theology in Rome
In an interview with the newspaper El Tiempo during his recent visit to Colombia, Fr. Fortea said, “The devil does not have a body, a color, or a visual form, nor does he have horns, wings or a tail. He is an invisible, bodiless entity.”
“Believing in God means believing in what he has said. And he has spoken of the existence of the devil,” the priest remarked, recalling that “at the end of the 'Our Father' he warned, ‘Deliver us from evil’.”
Fr. Fortea then explained that though he has never seen a demon, he knows they exist, saying he has felt the presence of evil. “I have approached this like a scientist: even though I wear a habit, I am not void of reason.”
“On a certain number of occasions, alone at my house or other places, I have felt an evil presence.” He continued. “I would be lying if I did not acknowledge that I felt that evil presence in an intense and powerful way.”
The priest said that during one of these instances, his cat quickly scurried behind the curtains, staring at a particular spot in the room.
“It is not normal for a cat to hide, tremble and stare at a particular point,” he added.
“Although we tend to speak of the demon, in reality there are many demons, each one is different, but there is one who is head over all the demons, the most powerful one: Satan,” the priest continued.
Fr. Fortea went on to say, “Anyone who resorts to spiritism, witchcraft, or worse yet, Satanism, is in danger of being possessed. That is the general norm, but there are cases that have no explanation, even if someone has not engaged in these practices.”
“When someone possessed receives an exorcism, it takes a reasonable amount of time for him or her to be liberated. A number of sessions are required. The devil resists because he knows he is condemned to leave,” he added.
Fr. Fortea said he does not feel “especially harassed, but reason does tell me that since he exists, the devil does have outstanding issues with me.”
“I know someone will ask me, ‘Do you really mean, at this time of day, to reintroduce our old friend the devil—hoofs and horns and all?’ Well, what the time of day has to do with it I do not know. And I am not particular about the hoofs and horns. But in other respects my answer is ‘Yes, I do.’ I do not claim to know anything about his personal appearance. If anybody really wants to know him better I would say to that person, ‘Don’t worry. If you really want to, you will Whether you’ll like it when you do is another question.’”
—C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”
Honest exorcists will admit that not all exorcisms work.
I do not know where this priest gets the idea that the devil has no visual form. All one needs to do is read revelations and see what the dragon who will be chained looks like..yikes!
Also, something that he may be missing because you don’t go to school to learn this...that almost everyone has a demon in them which talks through their mind and seems like the person whom is it’s host. It is truly through irritations and anger that they get inside us. That is why the remedy is patience...”through patience possess ye your souls” which means we get dispossessed through love!
Fhu.com has the simple be still exercise which is the remedy and is even being used widely by our very own military to overcome post traumatic stress.
Here's another, equally relevant:
"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Good easy to understand article.
Do not tempt darkness.
:) My exact first thought after reading the article but with Brass as the pre word.
I didn’t know this until recently,but “satan” actually means “prosecutor” in Hebrew.
Ouch!
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