Halloween is now over and the shops are no longer filled with all the gaudy paraphernalia of a witch’s Sabbath. But given the restless and curious spirit of the times it is fitting that the voice of the Church, in these memoirs of the chief exorcist of Rome, is on hand to give us a timely warning.

Readers of a certain age will recall having to learn by heart these lines from the Penny Catechism: ‘The First Commandment forbids all dealing with the devil and superstitious practices, such as consulting spiritualists and fortune-tellers and trusting to charms, omens, dreams and such-like fooleries.’ Father Amorth readily endorses this injunction; with a wealth of practical experience in ministering to those needing exorcism, he demonstrates the great harm that can result from dabbling with the occult in any form. Many people, he says, turn to magic as a ‘quick-fix’ solution to problems in their lives. Inevitably this only compounds the problems and causes great suffering to the person and his/her family.

To a society awash with crystals and pentacles the author remarks, ‘Where religion regresses, superstition progresses.’ In Italy today, there are three times more occult ‘healers’ than there are priests - a sobering thought. Father Amorth’s particular ministry has been given sensational publicity by films such as The Exorcist (which, it is reported, sent Catholics in the US flocking back to confession) but although some of his material is certainly bloodcurdling, he is very matter-of-fact in his narrative.

Perhaps because he has been dealing in ‘demonopathy’ for decades, he has forgotten how foreign his stories sound in a milieu where New Age occult practices abound but where the devil is no-where to be seen. To an exorcist this is no surprise; Satan is devilishly clever and his demon legions who, in Pope Leo XIII’s famous Prayer to St Michael ‘wander the world for the ruin of souls’, do their best to stay hidden, only revealing themselves under furious protest when forced by the exorcist to do so.

Victims of demonic activity are often brought to exorcists by their distressed families but, as the author says, they themselves have to want to be healed. This is fundamental to the healing process. One young man, Giuseppe, taken to the exorcist by his mother and sister and told that he was possessed, answered chillingly, ‘I knew that already and I am happy; I get along fine with the devil’. ‘I never saw him again’, relates the author, so we do not learn the fate of this unhappy youth.

Father Amorth explains the five types of diabolical activity - possession, oppression, obsession, infestation and subjugation - and with many anecdotes shows how exorcism deals successfully, if sometimes laboriously, with these manifestations of evil. He emphasises that the ‘ordinary means’ of overcoming satanic malice are always prayer, the sacraments, fasting and striving to live a Christian life – ‘Confession is stronger than an exorcism’ – yet accepts that sometimes exorcisms (‘extraordinary means’) are vital to the life and health of a sufferer. One tormented individual wrote about his possession thus: ‘I started to suffer as I had never done before…I felt my body was a stranger. I was prey to the strongest despair and I saw, I know not with whose eyes, a terrible darkness that was not part of the room in which I was…It was as though I was been killed by an unseen knife and I felt that whoever was pressing this knife hated me and wanted something more than my death…’

Among many other graphic stories, the author includes the letter of gratitude he received from a husband whose wife had suffered for fifteen years before exorcism gave her peace. He wrote, ‘She went through a period when sudden blindness would strike at random. Alternately, she behaved like a deaf-mute or would cry out with horrible screams. She even tried to throw herself out the window...At night she would rise and run through the streets or see diabolic visions...I constantly had to leave work and run home; it was a nightmare...She could not pray. The mere presence of a priest enraged her. I began to despair.’

This man concludes with a moving plea to sceptics: ‘It seems strange that at the dawn of the third millennium, man is able to walk on the moon; we take computers, electronics and robotics for granted; but we no longer know anything about realities of whose existence and dangers we were warned at least 2,000 years ago. Is it right to allow individuals to suffer the pains of hell only because we refuse to believe in the reality of diabolic possession?’

Those possessed need to be distinguished from those suffering from a psychiatric illness; much experience (and co-operation with psychiatrists) is needed for this discernment. ‘Aversion to the sacred is, without a doubt, a significant symptom of evil interference’, the author informs us, although he also seeks other corroborative signs such as blasphemy, outbursts of rage and uncontrollable violence.

Often people come to him because they have been ‘cursed’. One unfortunate family was the victim of an evil spell; the father was suddenly ruined; the children had inexplicable misfortunes; they all began to suffer ill-health; strange noises were heard in the house. Father Amorth also explodes common misunderstandings: there are no ‘wandering souls’( as spiritualists suggest), only good and bad angels; there is no such thing as ‘white magic’, only black; ‘Wicca’ is no benign earth-goddess but a servant of Satan. (Phew! That’s a relief to know. She is invoked so often nowadays by feminist theologians that one is inclined to forget her true status.)

There are also positive recommendations: we need to ask for the help of our guardian angels, and not discard them when childhood is over; we should be aware of the protective importance of sacred images in our homes. Where some Protestant sects see the devil at work everywhere, Father Amorth is reassuring: ‘Most people require conversion, not exorcism’. Finally he reminds us that God always respects our free will. No-one can be damned against his/her will; we are free to sanctify or ruin ourselves.

Both books end with powerful prayers of deliverance. All Christians can pray them, not just those afflicted souls for whom, in his memorable phrase, ‘birdsong sounds like the cawing of crows’. And yes, witches often use cats as familiars. You (and Moggy) have been warned.

© 2004 Francis Phillips

Theotokos Catholic Books - Book Reviews Section - www.theotokos.org.uk