Los Angeles, Calif., Aug 20, 2017 / 03:48 pm (National Catholic Register).- What children read, what they see on the screen, can inspire them toward greater faithfulness. Conversely, Father Robert warns, it can lead them into the sordid world of the occult, even opening them to demonic possession.
Father Robert is not exaggerating. A priest for more than 10 years and an experienced exorcist, he knows firsthand the unintended consequences when children or adults open the door to demonic activity. “Oftentimes,” he says, “[demon possession] begins because kids get curious after reading Harry Potter.” He explains that kids want the unusual powers that they see depicted on the screen.
One former Satanist whom Father Robert knew personally, a man who has turned away from his past life and embraced the Catholic faith, had begun his descent into Satanism at the age of nine or 10, when he began playing a game called “Bloody Mary.” From that simple beginning, he gradually became involved with others who were Satanists.
Respecting Confidentiality
An important part of Father Robert’s ministry is training other priests at the Vatican’s official Exorcism Institute in America. From across the country and around the world, Catholic priests come to the Institute to learn the secrets of this ancient rite, so that they too can exorcize demons and evil spirits. The nature of the work that Father Robert and the Institute are involved in is so hazardous that he has requested that the National Catholic Register not publish his full name or reveal his location.
A Decidedly “Catholic” Horror Film
I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Father Robert at a recent media preview of New Line Cinema’s latest horror production, “Annabelle: Creation,” which opens nationwide on August 11. Directed by David F. Sandberg (director of the short film “Lights Out”), “Annabelle: Creation” is actually a prequel to the highly successful 2014 release of “Annabelle” – which is itself a prequel to the 2013 cult favorite “The Conjuring” and the more recent “Conjuring 2” (2016). Father Robert had seen them all, and he agreed that “Annabelle: Creation” was largely faithful to the Catholic Church’s teachings with regard to possession and exorcism.
By Invitation Only: Satan Only Goes Where He Is Invited
Father Robert explained that the devil will only go where he is invited. He talked of two cases he knew of personally in which two young women, not realizing the gravity of their request, had invited “any spiritual being” to help them. The consequence was that they exhibited symptoms of demon possession and required an exorcism.
The writers of the film, Father Robert noted, had done their homework – they understood that the demon could only enter the home of dollmaker Samuel Mullins and his wife Esther if it was invited. In “Annabelle: Creation,” Esther and Samuel Mullins are mourning the loss of their beloved daughter Bee. Miranda Otto, who portrays the mother Esther in the film, explained,
Like most parents, they are devastated. But unlike most, they decided that they would do anything to have her back…absolutely anything at all. Basically, they prayed, calling out to any kind of power that would allow them to see her or feel her presence in any way. But by doing so, they evoked certain spirits that are not the kind you would welcome into your home.
Twelve years after the tragic accident, the grieving parents seek comfort by opening their home to Sister Charlotte and several girls from an orphanage that has been closed. When one of the girls peers into the closet and sees the possessed doll, Annabelle, the doll sets her sights on the girls and unleashes a storm of terror.
A Few Inaccuracies
Father Robert and I agreed that “Annabelle: Creation” was, for the most part, faithful to the Catholic understanding of exorcism. There were, however, a few scenes which caused us both to raise an eyebrow:
A Sister heard confession? – Most particularly, there was a scene in which Sister Charlotte, played by the talented Stephanie Sigman, listens to the confession of one of her young charges. Granted, there were differences from a regular confession: The Sister and the young girl sat back-to-back, not in a confessional. But the concept of confession was renewed when Sister Charlotte said, “Well, for your penance….” Particularly during the time period of the film, Father Robert considered it highly unlikely that a Sister would ever put herself in the position of appearing to perform a sacramental function that requires a priest.
Sister Charlotte wore a contemporary religious habit. – Based upon the clothing styles, classic automobiles, and the Victorian farmhouse, it would seem that “Annabelle: Creation” is set in the early 20th century. However, Sister Charlotte wears what appears a contemporary religious habit – with a knee-length skirt and a simple headpiece which exposed her hair. When I asked director David Sandberg and actress Stephanie Sigman (Sister Charlotte) about that during our interview, both seemed surprised, explaining that they had looked at photos of nuns in different habits and had chosen a simple costume which would make it easier to act the role.
Disposal of the possessed object – In “Annabelle: Creation,” two priests come to the home to bless the doll Annabelle and to sprinkle it with holy water before it is sealed away in a Scripture-lined closet. Good as far as it goes, Father Robert thought, but he was adamant that an exorcist would never leave the possessed object there intact, to be found by someone in the future. “You would take the curse off the object,” he explained. “You could burn it or take it apart; but it would be decommissioned somehow.”
As an example of a possessed object, Father Robert described a crucifix that hangs in his office which was burned from the bottom during an exorcism, the fire consuming the corpus and leaving only the arms of the crucified Christ. “It had a plastic corpus on it,” he explained. “The cross itself was blessed. It was put in the room with a woman who practiced Brujería witchcraft in Mexico. In the middle of the night, the cross caught fire. I decommissioned it. I would never permit anyone else to get near it, because it could be used in the future for something wrong.”
The scarecrow scene, and the Tasmanian devil – A scene in which a scarecrow was possessed by the evil spirit and moved from its original position seemed unlikely, according to Father Robert. Similarly, he was unconvinced when the demon began to grow and assumed a physical likeness of what he called a “Tasmanian devil.”
Only by invitation! – In one scene, a child becomes possessed when she finds herself in the presence of a demon that manifests itself as a little girl. Father Robert rejected the idea that an evil spirit could inhabit the body of a child who happened to be in its presence – since, as he explained earlier, an evil spirit will only enter a person if he is invited.
Five Signs of Possession
Father Robert listed five signs which may indicate that a person is suffering spiritual attack:
1.Hidden knowledge. If a person has knowledge which he or she should not have, such as private information which is known by only a few people, that may signal demonic possession.
2.Languages. A possessed person may be able to speak in an unfamiliar language which he or she would not normally know.
3.Superhuman strength. Father Robert reported one case in which a young girl who was 5’4” tall and weighed perhaps 110 pounds was able to throw a number of big guys off of her, preventing them from holding her down during the exorcism ritual.
4.Extreme aversion to the sacred. A person who is possessed may be unable to look at a crucifix, or to touch a rosary which has been blessed. Father Robert knew of one woman who couldn’t be in the presence of a cross of St. Benedict, or to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
5.Levitation. Father Robert had personal knowledge of a case in Louisiana, in which a person was seated in a chair and, powered by the evil spirit, was able to levitate with the chair and proceed down the hall.
“Annabelle: Creation” opened in theaters across America on August 11. Despite the small inconsistencies which Father Robert noticed, the film is respectful of faith. The film does an effective job of building tension, and there are repeated “frights”; but it is not really gory and depends on spiritual and psychological effects rather than blood. It’s likely to enjoy wide distribution among fans of the horror genre. Rated “R”, it seems unsuitable for small children; but others can attend, confident that their faith will not be challenged.
This article was originally published at the National Catholic Register.
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Why, if McCarrick has been laicized, is he living in Missouri and at a facility operated by the Servants of the Paraclete? Who’s footing the bill? Is this another instance of the faithful of the Church being hoodwinked by our cynical hierarchy?
Who says he’s in Missouri? Nobody seems to know exactly where he is. I hope the cops can find him and take him away. He will have multiple opportunities for penance between now and death. Hope he doesn’t blow them by denying he did anything wrong. Hell is too horrible to contemplate for more than a few minutes.
The lawsuit filed in MA against him said so.
Who says he’s in Missouri? Nobody seems to know exactly where he is. I hope the cops can find him and take him away.
Wellesley Police charge McCarrick with assault in case dating to 1970s
BOSTON (CNS) — The Boston Globe reported July 29 that police in the Boston suburb of Wellesley have charged former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in a criminal complaint filed by Wellesley Police in a district court in nearby Dedham, Massachusetts.
A summons has been issued ordering McCarrick, now 91, to appear at the court for arraignment Aug. 26.
The Globe reported that McCarrick is now living in Missouri. The address listed for McCarrick in the court filings is the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri, located in Jefferson County, a suburban county of St. Louis on the eastern side of the state.(emphasis added)
The Vianney Renewal Center is a treatment center for Catholic clergy with sexual or other disorders.
According to its website, it’s a ministry coordinated by the Servants of the Paraclete, which collaborates with sponsoring diocesan and religious communities “to provide a safe and supportive environment for the rehabilitation and reconciliation of priests and religious brothers.”
Last year, the Jefferson County Leader, a weekly newspaper, reported the Dallas police arrested an ex-priest at the center on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child in North Texas that took place in 1989. The ex-priest had been laicized in 2002.
Why Is This Catholic Institution Sheltering a Laicized Serial Sexual Abuser?
Media reports describing criminal charges recently brought against Theodore McCarrick have revealed that he has been living at Vianney Renewal Center in Ditmer, Missouri which is owned and operated by the Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete (CSP).
Although some have reported that McCarrick is paying his own way at the center, the question remains why McCarrick is being allowed to reside at a facility owned by the Catholic Church? McCarrick is now officially a lay person, not a cleric. CSP’s mission is to serve troubled priests, not lay persons.
Some have speculated that the powerful U.S. prelates are trying to effectively keep McCarrick under house arrest because he knows too much about sexual depravity in the hierarchy. Faithful Catholics deserve answers, especially given the fact they have financed most of the payouts due to clerical abuse over the past 40 years.
Background on the Servants of the Paraclete
CSP is a religious congregation dedicated to ministering to Catholic clergy with personal difficulties. The organization was founded in 1947 by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
Fr. Fitzgerald started CSP to assist priests who were struggling with alcohol and substance abuse problems, but soon began receiving priests who had sexually abused minors. Initially, Fr. Fitzgerald attempted to treat such priests using the same spiritual methods that he used with others. But by 1948, Fr. Fitzgerald established a policy whereby he refused to take priests who were sexually attracted to children. The policy was changed after Fitzgerald’s death in 1969.
In a 1964 letter to Bishop Joseph Durick of Nashville, Tennessee, Fr. Fitzgerald expressed “growing concern” about the dramatic change in the nature of problems that were being referred to his order:
May I take this occasion to bring to your attention what is a growing concern to many of us here in the States. When I was ordained, forty three years ago, homosexuality was a practically unknown rarity. Today it is rampant among men. And whereas seventeen years ago eight out of ten problems here [at the Paraclete facility, Via Coeli] would represent the alcoholic, now in the last year or so our admission ratio would be approximately 5-2-3: five being alcoholic, two would be what we call “heart cases” (natural affection towards women) and three representing aberrations involving homosexuality. More alarming still is that among these of the 3 out of 10 class, 2 out of 3 have been young priests.
Fr. Fitzgerald became increasingly convinced that such priests could not be cured, could not be trusted to maintain celibacy and should be laicized. He vehemently opposed returning sexual abusers to duties as parish priests. Some bishops chose to ignore Fr. Fitzgerald’s recommendations, preferring instead to rely on the advice of medical and psychological experts who asserted that treatment was feasible.
CSP was forced to consolidate its operation in Dittmer, Missouri after a series of lawsuits related to sexually abusive priests that had been treated at its facilities. It has been subject of numerous news reports accusing it of essentially becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for sexually abusive priests. Here is a sample of some of the priests who received treatment at CSP facilities:
John Anthony Salazar Jimenez
Edmond Parrakow
Gerald B Fessard
Lawrence Joseph LJ Lovell
John F. Fitzpatrick
Herbert J. McElroy
Peter E Garcia
Michael Stephen Baker
Yusaf Dominic
McCarrick may have been laicized but his acolytes (or “nephews”) are still powerful within the Church, including Cardinal Kevin Farrell (his former Auxiliary who shared a home with him for 6 years) who is Camaralengo, Cardinal Wilton Gregory (who is the current Archbishop of DC), Cardinal Blaise Cupich (of Chicago), Cardinal Joseph Tobin (of Newark, another former McCarrick diocese, Bishp Robert McElroy (of San Diego) all of whom were nobodies until they came under McCarrick’s patronage.
Anyone remotely connected to the McCarrick network needs to be removed from office.
I couldn’t agree with you more….. as lay people have to speak up — Not that I am agree with the way liberals go about speaking up like(BLM) but we need to be more active and clean up our beloved Catholic Church.I pray for good priests.St. Vianney help us.
If the hierarchy of the Church had set out intentionally to destroy the confidence that the faithful have in the Church leadership, they could not have done a better job. How many knew what this creep and others like him were doing and turned a blind eye? Is there a real man among them? Had I been a pastor and received a valid complaint regarding sexual abuse involving one of my priests, I would have borrowed Christ’s whip for the moneychangers before I called the police. They need more real men in the priesthood, but unfortunately, many parents are afraid to encourage their boys to become priests since clowns like McCarrick turned the seminaries into perverted fishing ponds. Pray, clean house, then move forward.
Maybe powerful laity were also protecting McCarrick. Could he have been doing off-the-books diplomacy for our government?
Michael,
It is SATAN who has intentionally set out to destroy our Lord’s vineyard, and it begin with the slaughter of the Innocents at Bethlehem. For 2000 plus years we have century after century of seeing how Satan has preyed upon men and women’s sinful weaknesses to divide Our Lord’s Church. Sadly, the recent great sex scandal of many in the Hierarchy is nothing new to the Holy Mother Church. And I take great consolation and hope in our Lord Jesus’ great Holy Ascension proclamation: “The gates of hell will not overtake my Church and know that I am with you all till the end of the Age”. AMEN TO THAT!
He just earned to sit at the right hand of Francis along with Martin ,night night babe and a host of other well fed privileged” men”in red hats. Yukkk.😡while good men like cardinal Sarah mueller Burke etc going about righting their wrong
I would say: May God in His great mercy forgive this carina all his sins but I am not sure if he ever seriously repented. But using the sacrament of confession to lure young boys into sin it is a grave sin. Lord have mercy upon his soul. It incomprehensible how a bishop or a priest may use their ecclesiastical authority to induce people into sin. My unanswered question is why so many men and women kept a sexual abuse hidden and not disclose it immediately. I understand probably to avoid embarrassment and shame, but in a certain way these victim have some guilt because they cooperated to the invitation to sin. Many women accused men for sexually abusing or harass them but I always question their part in this violation of human dignity. If there is no cohers force, then is a cooperation on the abused person. These sad and unacceptable circumstance are very complex.
I would have to speak my heart, always heart breaking to hear about sins in church and sexual abuse. I wnt to ensure and remind all nomatter what gets coverd up or who hides, Truth be told one day we all face our sins and crimes and stand before Jesus nobody gets away!