Father Amorth : My Battle Against Satan

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The book was not what I expected. It’s set up as an interview Q&A format. A great deal of catechisis in the first part of the book through Father Amorth. Good for those who haven’t had a catechism course. When Father Amorth died in 2016, he was the world's most famous exorcist, a legendary, miraculous chaser of demons. To the many he served, Father was a godsend, freeing them from years of demonic oppression; to others, he was just a crank – an extremist priest who saw the Devil everywhere. Now, in these never-before-published interviews, Father Amorth takes you into his private world, giving you a harrowing vision of his daily battles with the Devil. Here you won't meet a wizard or a crazy man. Instead, you'll encounter a solid Christian and a humble priest, one who jokes and takes life as God "€" or the Devil! "€" hands it to him. The two books An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories are not official Roman Catholic documents, rather personal accounts of his office as Exorcist. The books use witness accounts and personal experience as evidence.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose, one of the films mentioned by Acuña, is inspired by the true story of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman with a long psychiatric history. After her death at the age of 23, in 1976, her parents and the two priests who had performed 67 exorcisms on her were convicted of negligent homicide, due to severe malnutrition and dehydration (she weighed only 66 pounds), two broken knees from the numerous genuflections and a case of pneumonia. Michel claimed to be under the possession of different demons, including Adolf Hitler. In 2014, the Archbishopric of Burgos admitted to having authorized exorcisms on a minor with a history of anxiety, anorexia and suicide attempts, who would end up taking her own life in 2019, when she was 22. Her story was also included in a film: the Spanish 13 exorcismos (or, 13 Exorcisms, 2022). Exorcist Arnold Renz (right) with his lawyer, in 1978, during the trial for the negligent homicide of Anneliese Michel. Manfred Rehn (Getty Images) (picture alliance via Getty Image) In these never-before-published interviews, Father Amorth takes you into his private world, giving you a harrowing vision of his daily battles with the Devil. Here, you won’t meet a wizard or a crazy man. Instead, you’ll encounter a solid Christian and a humble priest, one who jokes and takes life as God—or the Devil!—hands it to him. Meanwhile, the trailer for The Pope’s Exorcist makes it clear that the new film will have plenty of spitting, as well as flying objects, vomit spiked with nails or dead animals, levitating bodies and phrases spoken in occult or dead tongues, all elements associated with these rituals (thanks, in part, to the writings of Amorth), along with one of the priest’s most famous quotes, one that seems to have been written to be uttered by Crowe: “I’m not afraid of the devil. The devil is afraid of me.”Now, in these never-before-published interviews, Father Amorth takes you into his private world, giving you a harrowing vision of his daily battles with the Devil. Here you won't meet a wizard or a crazy man. Instead, you'll encounter a solid Christian and a humble priest, one who jokes and takes life as God – or the Devil! – hands it to him. In Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan, Father Gabriele Amorth does admit to having tied up supposed victims of possession; they are so strong, he argued, that they cannot be held down. Amorth was prominently opposed to the 1999 revision of the Rituale Romanum, carried out during the papacy of John Paul II and intended to limit the criteria when applying exorcisms (that dispute was settled with the inclusion of a note in the prologue stating that the update was optional). Acuña laments how rationalism has gained a place in the Church. “There are bishops who make psychiatric and psychological referrals because they don’t believe in the devil. But the devil is not imaginary, nor a concept, nor an idea. He is a personality and has a strategy, of which possession is a part. The devil doesn’t pretend to be the devil; the devil is!” he declares. Father Gabriele Amorth, crucifix in hand, in 2000. Eric Vandeville (Getty Images) (Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) His incorporation into horror cinema was only a matter of time: shortly before his death at the age of 91, he starred in the documentary The Devil and Father Amorth (2017), made by William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist (1973), his favorite movie. In that posthumously released title, the Vatican allowed Friedkin to witness and record a real exorcism performed by Amorth — although the material was not as dramatic as that of the horror classic, nor did it contain anything paranormal beyond a woman who screams with a distorted voice. In 2016, Italian filmmaker Federica di Giacomo offered a demystifying and costumbrist look at exorcisms through the documentary Liberami (or, Deliver Us), which follows the story of a provincial priest, Father Cataldo, in his fight against the devil. Cataldo is portrayed almost as a sort of gray bureaucrat who is used to dealing, crucifix in hand, day in and day out, with people rolling around his parish’s floor, yelling atrocities at him and reacting hysterically to his prayers. In one of the funniest moments of the film (which, just like Friedkin’s documentary on Father Amorth, shows no paranormal phenomena of any kind), Cataldo discusses with one of his collaborators the problem of exorcising an elderly lady who, due to her loneliness, “lives better” being possessed, because then she is the center of attention. In another, some parents require Cataldo’s services because their son does not want to go to school, which they see as an unequivocal sign that he is in the clutches of the devil. Father Cataldo in a scene from ‘Liberami.’ Not only will you learn from Father how he proceeds and why; you'll discover the source of his profound faith and remarkable courage: strengths essential not only to exorcists, but to every person who would truly love and serve God.

Exorcism is not a Hallmark movie. It is hard and can be prolonged. If the struggles of a life of faith are harsh and sometimes incomprehensible, so are the struggles of obtaining a person’s liberation in an exorcism. Faith that never gives up is critical. So is humility rather than ego or arrogance (“It is I, the exorcist, I am here, all is well!”) Tall and balding with laughing eyes and a welcoming smile, Father Gabriele Amorth spent decades battling the Devil one-on-one, performing literally tens of thousands of exorcisms. Amorth authored two books specifically on exorcism. The publications marked a defining moment in literary history, being the first public documents to treat this subject. This is the man played by Russell Crowe in the current movie The Pope’s Exorcist. However in this book Fr Amorth’s focus is on the why of human suffering. This review is written from his POV. A priest of the Congregation of San Paolo, Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016) was internationally recognized as the world's greatest exorcist. His mission of expelling the devil through incessant dedication has earned the gratitude of thousands of believers and the esteem of the most important authorities of the Catholic Church. He has written various successful works and has a very popular radio program on Radio Maria in Rome.When Father Amorth died in 2016, he was the world's most famous exorcist, a legendary, miraculous chaser of demons. To the many he served, Father was a godsend, freeing them from years of demonic oppression; to others, he was just a crank an extremist priest who saw the Devil everywhere. You may believe me or not, but I have seen a six-year-old boy levitate 10 centimeters [four inches] above the ground and stay there for five minutes, violating all the laws of nature. In my first exorcism, I saw a 42-kilo [92.5-pound] teenager push big men aside as if they were made of paper. That is known as Samsonism. He was possessed by three spirits. When I was done, I went outside to cool down and got in my car. With the key still in my hand, the doors shut closed, the lights came on, including the interior light, and the horn began to sound. That day I knew that I had just exchanged business cards with the devil.” From madness to possession