Pope Francis meets members of the voluntary organization Ho Avuto Sete at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, March 21, 2022. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Mar 22, 2022 / 04:20 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Monday said that spending money on weapons is an outrage that sullies humanity and takes resources away from the things people need to live.
“Certain choices are not neutral: to allocate a large part of spending to weapons means taking it away from something else, which means continuing to take it away from those who lack the necessities. And this is an outrage: spending on weapons,” the pope told an Italian volunteer organization on March 21.
“This is serious. We need to create the awareness that continuing to spend on weapons sullies the soul, sullies the heart, sullies humanity.”
Speaking in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, he asked: “Why, then, wage war on each other over conflicts that we should resolve by talking to each other as fellow people?”
“Why not rather join our forces and resources to fight together the real battles of civilization: the fight against hunger and thirst; the fight against disease and epidemics; the fight against poverty and slavery of today. Why?”
Pope Francis noted that arms are used in wars not only in Ukraine, but also in places in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
“What is the use of committing ourselves all together, solemnly, at an international level, in campaigns against poverty, against hunger, against the degradation of the planet, if we then fall back into the old vice of war, into the old strategy of the power of armaments, which takes everything and everyone backwards?” he said.
“A war always takes you backwards, always. We go backwards. We will have to start over again.”
Francis was addressing the group Ho Avuto Sete, which is Italian for “I was thirsty,” taken from Matthew 25:35, when Jesus says: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me.” The organization helps provide access to clean drinking water to those who do not have it.
On Monday, Pope Francis also sent a message to the 9th World Water Forum, which is meeting in Dakar, Senegal, this week to discuss water access and its contribution to peace-building and development.
“Our world thirsts for peace, for this indivisible good which requires the constant effort and contribution of everyone and which is based in particular on the fulfillment of the essential and vital needs of each human person,” the pope said in the March 21 message signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
“Water security is today threatened by various factors, including pollution, conflict, climate change and the misuse of natural resources,” he said.
“Yet water is a valuable asset for peace. As a result, it cannot be considered simply as a private good, generating commercial profit and subject to the laws of the market.”
“It should also be emphasized that ‘addressing issues related to water scarcity and improving water management, especially by communities, can help create greater social cohesion and solidarity,’ to initiate processes, to build relationships.”
“In fact, water is a gift to us from God and a common heritage whose universal destination must be ensured for each generation,” he said.
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The trailer of the upcoming Russell Crowe movie “The Pope’s Exorcist” indicates that the film might not do justice to the Italian exorcist Father Gabriel Amorth or the rite of exorcism as practiced in the Catholic Church, according to an exorcist organization Amorth himself helped to found.
The International Association of Exorcists on March 7 voiced concern that the film seems to fall under the category of “splatter cinema,” which it calls a “sub-genre of horror.”
The Vatican, the statement said, is filmed with a high-contrast “chiaroscuro” effect seen in film noir.
This gives the film a “‘Da Vinci Code’ effect to instill in the public the usual doubt: Who is the real enemy? The devil or ecclesiastical ‘power’?” the exorcists’ association said.
While special effects are “inevitable” in every film about demonic possession, “everything is exaggerated, with striking physical and verbal manifestations, typical of horror films,” the group said.
“This way of narrating Don Amorth’s experience as an exorcist, in addition to being contrary to historical reality, distorts and falsifies what is truly lived and experienced during the exorcism of truly possessed people,” said the association, which claims more than 800 exorcist members and more than 120 auxiliary members worldwide.
“In addition, it is offensive with regard to the state of suffering in which those who are victims of an extraordinary action of the devil find themselves,” the group’s statement added. The statement responded to the release of the movie trailer and promised a more in-depth response to the film’s April 14 theatrical release.
Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of Rome, speaks to CNA on May 22, 2013. Steven Driscoll/CNA
Amorth, who died at age 91 in 2016, said he performed an estimated 100,000 exorcisms during his life. He was perhaps the world’s best-known exorcist and the author of many books, including “An Exorcist Tells His Story,” reportedly an inspiration for the upcoming movie.
Several of Amorth’s books are carried by the U.S. publisher Sophia Institute Press. The publisher’s newly released book “The Pope’s Exorcist: 101 Questions About Fr. Gabriele Amorth” is an interview in which the priest addresses many topics ranging from prayer to pop music.
Michael Lichens, editor and spokesperson at Sophia Institute Press, voiced some agreement with the exorcist group.
“The International Association of Exorcists is right to be concerned and I’m thankful for their words,” Lichens told CNA. “My hope is that audiences will remember that Father Amorth is a real person with a great legacy and perhaps a few moviegoers will look up an interview or pick up his books.”
“This was a man who included St. Padre Pio and Blessed Giacomo Alberione as mentors, as well as Servant of God Candido Amantini, who was his teacher for the ministry of exorcism,” he said. “Father Amorth fought as a partisan as a young man and grew to fight greater evil as an exorcist. His life is an inspiration and I know that his work and words will still reach many.”
Amorth was born in Modena, Italy, on May 1, 1925. In wartime Italy, he was a soldier with the underground anti-fascist partisans. He was ordained a priest in 1951. He did not become an exorcist until 1986, when Cardinal Ugo Poletti, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, named him the diocesan exorcist.
The priest was frequently in the news for his comments on the subject of demonic forces. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph in 2000, he said: “I speak with the devil every day. I talk to him in Latin. He answers in Italian. I have been wrestling with him, day in, day out, for 14 years.”
The movie “The Pope’s Exorcist” claims to be “inspired by the actual files of the Vatican’s chief exorcist.” The Sony Pictures movie stars the New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe as Amorth. Crowe’s character wears a gray beard and speaks English with a noticeable accent.
“The majority of cases do not require an exorcism,” the Amorth character says in the movie’s first trailer. A cardinal explains that Crowe’s character recommends 98% of people who seek an exorcism to doctors and psychiatrists instead.
“The other 2%… I call it… evil,” Crowe adds.
The plot appears to concern Amorth’s encounter with a particular demon. Crowe’s character suggests the Church “has fought this demon before” but covered it up.
“We need to find out why,” he says.
The trailer shows short dramatic scenes of exorcism, including a confrontation between Amorth and a girl apparently suffering demonic possession.
The International Association of Exorcists said such a representation makes exorcism become “a spectacle aimed at inspiring strong and unhealthy emotions, thanks to a gloomy scenography, with sound effects such as to inspire only anxiety, restlessness, and fear in the viewer.”
“The end result is to instill the conviction that exorcism is an abnormal, monstrous, and frightening phenomenon, whose only protagonist is the devil, whose violent reactions can be faced with great difficulty,” said the exorcist group. “This is the exact opposite of what occurs in the context of exorcism celebrated in the Catholic Church in obedience to the directives imparted by it.”
CNA sought comment from Sony Pictures and “The Pope’s Exorcist” executive producer Father Edward Siebert, SJ, but did not receive a response by publication.
Amorth co-founded the International Association of Exorcists with Father René Laurentin in 1994. In 2014 the Catholic Church recognized the group as a Private Association of the Faithful.
The association trains exorcists and promotes their incorporation into local communities and normal pastoral care. It also aims to promote “correct knowledge” about exorcism ministry and collaboration with medical and psychiatric experts who have competence in spirituality.
Exorcism is considered a sacramental, not a sacrament, of the Church. It is a liturgical rite that only a priest can perform.
Hollywood made the topic a focus most famously in the 1973 movie “The Exorcist,” based on the novel by William Peter Blatty.
“Most movies about Catholicism and spiritual warfare sensationalize,” Lichens of Sophia Institute Press told CNA. “Sensationalism and terror sell tickets. As a fan of horror movies, I can understand and even appreciate that. As a Catholic who has studied Father Amorth, though, I think such sensationalism distorts the important work of exorcism.”
“On the other hand, ‘The Exorcist’ made the wider public more curious about this overlooked ministry. That is a good thing that came out, despite other reservations and concerns,” he continued. “Still, I would love it if a screenwriter and director spoke to exorcists and tried to show the often-quotidian parts of the ministry.”
An unhealthy curiosity can be a problem, Lichens said.
“When I work as a spokesperson for Amorth’s books, I am always concerned about inspiring curiosity about the demonic,” he told CNA. “As Christians, we know we have nothing to fear from the demonic but curiosity might lead some to want to seek out the supernatural or the demonic. Father Amorth has dozens of stories of people who found themselves afflicted after party game seances.”
Lichens encouraged those who are curious to read more of Amorth’s writings, some of which are excerpted on the Catholic Exchange website. Sophia Institute Press has published “Diary of an American Exorcist” by Monsignor Stephen Rosetti and “The Exorcism Files” by the American lay Catholic Adam Blai.
“First and foremost, Father Amorth was involved in a healing ministry,” Lichens said. “Like other exorcists, his work often involved doctors in physical and mental health because the goal is to bring healing and hope to the potentially afflicted.”
“Those of us who read Amorth might have been excited to read firsthand accounts of spiritual warfare, but readers quickly see a man whose heart was always full of love for those who sought his help,” he added.
The International Association of Exorcists, for its part, praised the 2016 documentary “Deliver Us,” saying this shows “what exorcism really is in the Catholic Church and “the authentic traits of a Catholic exorcist.” It shows exorcism as “a most joyful event,” in their view, because through experiencing “the presence and action of Christ the Lord and of the Communion of the Saints,” those who are “tormented by the extraordinary action of the devil gradually find liberation and peace.”
A Detroit-area pro-life pregnancy center and the home of one of its board members were spray-painted with threatening messages early Saturday morning, Dec. 17, 2022. / Pregnancy Aid Detroit
Washington D.C., Dec 20, 2022 / 09:45 am (CNA).
A Detr… […]
3 Comments
Weapons are necessary and appropriate to defend and preserve integrity and sovereignty of the individual, the family, the community, and the nation.
We exist with God at our core but demons at our door. The world is not perfect and is not heaven. Both weeds and wheat grow here, and both sheep and goats feed on them. We eat and grow into one or the other. God’s will shall be done. The resurrection of justice will come when goats shall go one way and sheep another. Until then, there will be war with weapons. Say what you will.
Instead of spending money on weapons spend it on helping the poor, the hungry and the homeless throughout the entire world. For instance donate and help support international charities like the Missionaries of Charity founded by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta serving the poorest of the poor in cities and countries across the entire world. Help another international charity like Canadian Food For Children founded by Order of Canada recipient Dr. Andrew Simone, a Harvard trained Dermatologist who was a former Treasurer for Mother Teresa’s Charity in Canada. It was at her insistence that Simone founded Canadian Food For Children serving the poor in over 22 countries. Finally the Consulata Missionaries located in over 57 different countries. These are just a few of many charities we should be supporting with our money instead buying more weapons. Weapons kill while supporting charities like the ones I mentioned in my comments helps man- kind “Build a civilization of love.”
This statement about “weapons” displays the superficial potpourri of Pontiff Francis and what his own promoters call “Team Francis.”
A – His Excellency Sorondo has already preached “the gospel” of Pontiff Francis that it is the Chinese Communist State that best exemplifies Catholic social justice in the world today.
B – And yet somehow the Chinese Communist State has sullied its soul by purchasing millions of weapons including nuclear weapons.
Such are the slogans of the “Marxist-World-Council-of-Churches” pieties of cult 2013.
Let us have Pontiff Francis preach pacifism to the Communist Chinese Partners of the Secret Accord, and when they lay down their weapons, then Team Francis can give witness to them yet again, that they most exemplify the contemporary “Krisjun” path.
(It makes one consider that “The Pillar” is onto something about the cause for concern that the CCP, having until recently owned a number pornography and hookup apps like GRNDR, have copies of all of the records of the “workers” in the Vatican city-state, etc and that this poses a problem.)
Weapons are necessary and appropriate to defend and preserve integrity and sovereignty of the individual, the family, the community, and the nation.
We exist with God at our core but demons at our door. The world is not perfect and is not heaven. Both weeds and wheat grow here, and both sheep and goats feed on them. We eat and grow into one or the other. God’s will shall be done. The resurrection of justice will come when goats shall go one way and sheep another. Until then, there will be war with weapons. Say what you will.
Instead of spending money on weapons spend it on helping the poor, the hungry and the homeless throughout the entire world. For instance donate and help support international charities like the Missionaries of Charity founded by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta serving the poorest of the poor in cities and countries across the entire world. Help another international charity like Canadian Food For Children founded by Order of Canada recipient Dr. Andrew Simone, a Harvard trained Dermatologist who was a former Treasurer for Mother Teresa’s Charity in Canada. It was at her insistence that Simone founded Canadian Food For Children serving the poor in over 22 countries. Finally the Consulata Missionaries located in over 57 different countries. These are just a few of many charities we should be supporting with our money instead buying more weapons. Weapons kill while supporting charities like the ones I mentioned in my comments helps man- kind “Build a civilization of love.”
This statement about “weapons” displays the superficial potpourri of Pontiff Francis and what his own promoters call “Team Francis.”
A – His Excellency Sorondo has already preached “the gospel” of Pontiff Francis that it is the Chinese Communist State that best exemplifies Catholic social justice in the world today.
B – And yet somehow the Chinese Communist State has sullied its soul by purchasing millions of weapons including nuclear weapons.
Such are the slogans of the “Marxist-World-Council-of-Churches” pieties of cult 2013.
Let us have Pontiff Francis preach pacifism to the Communist Chinese Partners of the Secret Accord, and when they lay down their weapons, then Team Francis can give witness to them yet again, that they most exemplify the contemporary “Krisjun” path.
(It makes one consider that “The Pillar” is onto something about the cause for concern that the CCP, having until recently owned a number pornography and hookup apps like GRNDR, have copies of all of the records of the “workers” in the Vatican city-state, etc and that this poses a problem.)