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What happens during the exorcism to the person afflicted by the possession? Above all, it is necessary to say that normally a person affected by possession desires to be liberated from the influence of the demon and as a result will ask to be exorcized. A difficulty can arise in approaching the rite. When the person enters the room where the exorcist works, it sometimes happens that he will begin to feel the influence of the spell more intensely and will manifest a nervousness and discomfort, or, in more serious cases, the person will enter into a trance and must...

Father Gabriele Amorth, perhaps the best known Catholic exorcist in the world, has died at the age of 91, Italian media are reporting.Father Amorth, who frequently made headlines beyond the Diocese of Rome, where he was the official exorcist, had been hospitalized for several weeks for complications from pneumonia at the Saint Lucy Foundation Hospital in Rome, according to Corriere delle Sera.Born in Modena on May 1, 1925, Father Amorth joined the Society of St. Paul in Alba in 1947, and was ordained in Rome in 1951. In 1985, he was appointed exorcist of the Diocese of Rome by Cardinal Ugo Poletti.Over...

Vatican City, 17 June (AKI) - The Catholic Church's most famous exorcist says more should be done to fight the devil. Father Gabriele Amorth has conducted 70,000 exorcisms for the church during his lengthy career. In an interview with Italian daily, Corriere Della Sera, the 85-year-old priest said it would be worth extending the practice of exorcism. "It would not be a bad idea," he told the daily. "In Italy moral decay is evident. Families are often breaking down. "Do you know what I would do if I was the Pope for a moment?" he asked. "I would provide every...

On the bumpy flight to Rome I read The Bible all the way. The passenger on my left - a wiry businesswoman from Wisconsin - found this disconcerting. As the turbulence worsened and I moved from Jude to Revelation, she hissed at me, "Do you have to?" "It's only background reading," I murmured. She grimaced. "What for?" I turned to her and whispered: "I'm going to meet the exorcist." "Oh Christ," she gasped, as the plane lurched and hot coffee spilled over us. Father Gabriele Amorth is indeed the exorcist, the most senior and respected member of his calling. A...

In early December the official exorcist of the Rome diocese, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series. The priest, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said Satan is behind the works. In an interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Father Amorth said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the devil.” The exorcist, drawing on his decades of experience in directly combating evil, observed that young people could become involved in Satanic practices because they see the invocation of supernatural powers as a simple and attractive...