The new Pope believes in demon possession. This is a problem.

[phantom power]

I touched on this briefly in a Slate post, but I want to dig in and talk about it some more. Anthony Faiola has an alarming piece up at the Washington Post about how the small but devout exorcist community within the Catholic church is getting a huge boost from Pope Francis. The claim that demons possess people and need to be exorcised hasn’t ever really been renounced by any popes that I know of, but it’s such embarrassingly obvious bullshit that recent decades have seen exorcists getting marginalized. (Arguably, they could have been wiped out completely if not for the book and movie The Exorcist, which painted exorcists like child-saving heroes instead of the dangerously delusional idiots they are.) Pope Francis is apparently reversing that trend and instead blowing kisses at the nutters who think demon possession is a thing that happens and that exorcism is a way to deal with it.

...

I want to be very, very clear—because this always comes up when I write about stuff like this—that I am not interested in the theological debates over this. (The classic breakdown about why debating theology is dumb.) Yes, technically the argument that demons possess people and need to be exorcised is no more or less ridiculous, based on evidence, than the more abstract theory that Satan sits underground and sends temptation vibes aboveground. But on the political, real world front, there are substantial differences between the two ideas. One kind of bullshit definitely does more damage than the other kind of bullshit. It’s one thing to pray for deliverance from Satan tempting you to cheat on your spouse or whatever. But pretty much all people subject to exorcisms are either mentally ill people who need actual help or people whose personal choices offend their families and who are being subject to an exorcism in order to punish and control them. Either way, the potential for damage is really high.

Indeed, just generally it’s irresponsible to push the narrative that demons are a thing that exist in the world. Take this story from Brazil, where a woman was accused of witchcraft on a local new outlet’s Facebook page, and the result is that some people took it upon themselves to beat her to death. Not that Americans should feel superior on this, as any perusal of the miserable history of Satanic panic in the 80s and 90s should demonstrate. The pope should be ashamed of himself for encouraging this nonsense.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/13/the-new-pope-believes-in-demon-possession-this-is-a-problem/

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Ain't it, though? n/t

[PeaceNikki]

2. far from the only problem with him, but a problem

[Rex]

3. He also believes in Big Daddy in the sky castle.

So really anything added to that is just more of the same. Demon possession is a NO DUH...we are talking about faith, not science.

[bunnies]

6. ^^ this ^^

Gods and Angels are fine and all but DEMONS??? Shit... that's just crazy.

[Go Vols]

8. +1

[Arugula Latte]

10. It's similar to reaction to the nut who predicted the day of The Rapture couple years ago

I saw all sorts of comments from religious people ridiculing him, not because the entire concept of people being sucked up into the sky to meet up with a reanimated carpenter from ancient Judea is inherently preposterous -- no, no, that all makes perfect sense and will surely happen one day if we all are patient -- but because assigning a specific date to the event struck them as literally unbelievable!

[bunnies]

12. lol. I remember that.

I've had to stop trying to figure out these kinds of situations. I can't comprehend how to differentiate between reasonable and ridiculous when it comes to religion. Especially when, imho, 99% of it is the latter. Trying to decipher the "logic" makes my brain hurt. I do get a good chuckle every now and then though.

[Arugula Latte]

13. I don't get it either.

I know people who realize that stories like Adam & Eve and Noah are just, well, stories, but somehow the resurrection of JC really did happen. How do you perform these mental gymnastics? At least the fundies are consistent -- they'll swallow anything if it's called "Biblical."

[bunnies]

15. You know...

I wish I'd thought up this whole religion thing. Its really quite genius if you think about it. I can almost imagine the MIC sitting around. "Dammit... how do we control these people?" *ding*

[Arugula Latte]

16. Lots of money to be made, too!*

There's tithing, passing the plate, donations, televangelism, merchandising, good old plunder, you name it! And no taxes, either!

If you play your cards right you can even live in a golden palace...



*applies primarily to people who possess penises

[bullwinkle428]

20. John Fugelsang describes essentially all things related to "rapture"

as "Bible fan fiction" - I can't think of a better description!

[Rex]

19. HUSH HUSH...secret government project.

Heaven forbid people find out they are working for Uncle Sam!

[2naSalit]

4. Well

maybe he's referring to the teepartee brainiacs! I mean, what's their excuse for the sh*t they spout off as being true or the whacko stuff they believe?

Maybe they are possessed, poor things. Somebody needs to help them out of their misery, he's just trying to help them.



Just sayin'..

[mwrguy]

5. he believes all kinds of silly shit

this is news?

[Prophet 451]

7. Every faith looks batshit from the outside

I'm a Luciferian Satanist. I'd imagine that, from an atheist point of view, I look just as nuts as any other believer.

Incidentally, we really need to stop referring to him as the "new" Pope. He's been in office over a year now.

[thelordofhell]

9. Beetlejuice....Beetlejuice....Beetlejuice

[Jenoch]

11. What's the big surprise?

The Catholic Church has believed in demons for centuries.

[joeybee12]

14. He's right, of course...how else do you explain Sarah Palin? nt

[Bluenorthwest]

17. He believes gay people are a 'machination of the Father of Lies' so the demon possession thing

seems fairly self evident. He also believes in remaining silent while your subordinates incite violence against minority groups, which is what he is doing in Uganda and in Nigeria where his Bishops call for the elimination of all gays, blood in the streets and parents to turn their gay children into authorities for life in prison.

[theHandpuppet]

18. Bishop Paprocki of Illinois conducted an exorcism of the entire state...

... for approving gay marriage!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/thomas-paprocki-illinois-_n_4317432.html

(short excerpt from article)
"Be gone Satan, father of lies, enemy of human salvation," Paprocki said at the Wednesday ceremony, in front of a crowd of some 500, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "Give way to Christ, in whom you found no trace of your works. Give way to the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church, which Christ himself won by his blood.”

Homily for Prayers of Supplication and Exorcism in Reparation for the Sin of Same-Sex Marriage
November 20, 2013
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Springfield, Illinois
† Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki
Bishop of Springfield in Illinois - See more at: http://dio.org/blog/item/350-bishop-paprocki-s-homily-for-prayers-of-supplication-and-exorcism-in-reparation-for-the-sin-of-same-sex-marriage.html#sthash.Uj3hniwO.NYF2xbnV.dpuf

(excerpt)
​Our prayer service today and my words are not meant to demonize anyone, but are intended to call attention to the diabolical influences of the devil that have penetrated our culture, both in the state and in the Church. These demonic influences are not readily apparent to the undiscerning eye, which is why they are so deceptive. A helpful resource in this regard is a recent book by Father Louis J. Cameli, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, called The Devil You Don't Know: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Life. While the popular tendency may be to identify the devil only with his extraordinary activity, which is diabolical possession, Father Cameli writes about the ordinary work of the devil: deception, division, diversion and discouragement.

The deception of the Devil in same-sex marriage may be understood by recalling the words of Pope Francis when he faced a similar situation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010. Regarding the proposed redefinition of civil marriage in Argentina, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote on June 22, 2010, "The Argentine people must face, in the next few weeks, a situation whose result may gravely harm the family. It is the bill on matrimony of persons of the same sex. The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy. . . . Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a 'move' of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God."

The Pope's reference to the "father of lies" comes from the Gospel of John (8:44), where Jesus refers to the devil as "a liar and the father of lies." So Pope Francis is saying that same-sex "marriage" comes from the devil and should be condemned as such.

- See more at: http://dio.org/blog/item/350-bishop-paprocki-s-homily-for-prayers-of-supplication-and-exorcism-in-reparation-for-the-sin-of-same-sex-marriage.html#sthash.Uj3hniwO.NYF2xbnV.dpuf

[LeftishBrit]

21. Hosts are locking this as GD excludes religion as a topic; suggest reposting in Religion

[LeftishBrit]

22. Unlocking, as on checking with Admins, threads about the Pope are generally regarded as news-related

[RainDog]

23. agreed n/t