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Fr. Hopkins Has No Sympathy For The Devil

Contrary to modern society’s assurances that the Devil is merely a quaint figment of the overheated imaginations of the credulous, the Devil is alive and well, according to Fr. John Hopkins, LC.

“The Catholic Church states that the Devil does exist,” the Legionaries of Christ priest said in an introduction to William Blatty’s talk October 28.

“Scripture talks about people being possessed; so does Jesus!” he reminded his audience.

Father Hopkins, who met exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth, author of An Exorcist Tells His Story, during a recent stay in Italy, described diabolical possession as “the phenomenon in which the Devil truly resides within the body of the unfortunate victim.”

But when demons come in and take over the faculties of a person, the soul remains free; they can never take the soul unless the person freely gives it to them, he said.

The Church instituted the sacramental of exorcism to deal with possession, and The Roman Ritual gives priests 58 pages of specific instructions for performing exorcisms.

The Ritual cautions the exorcist against readily believing that a person is possessed by an evil spirit:  “First, he should try to find all possible natural explanations” for what seem like supernatural happenings, said Father Hopkins.

Then the exorcist notes unnatural phenomena that would indicate possession:  the ability to speak or understand a language the person couldn’t possibly know; the display of powers, such as levitation, or strength beyond the person’s age and natural conditions; and the faculty for divulging future and hidden events.

The exorcism itself consists of an “arsenal” of prayers, blessings, sacramentals such as holy water, and the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion, said Hopkins.

Modern society is suffering “a real problem” with Satanic groups and cults, he said.

He noted that in July a follower of a Satanic cult executed a priest in the Cathedral of Santiago, Chile, after he had offered Mass.

In Europe, said Hopkins, “Satanic cults are out of control.”

The alarming growth of Satanism in Italy has created a market for the sale of consecrated Hosts.  The Hosts, which are stolen either directly from Tabernacles or during the distribution of Holy Communion, are then profaned during Satanic rituals.

New York City is also having huge problems with churches being broken into, said Father.  The thieves leave expensive gold vessels untouched, and instead, break into the Tabernacle and steal the Hosts.

“Satanism is real, possession is real,” he said.  “It’s a battle between good and evil.  Satan is obsessed with getting us to Hell.

“We should not be afraid of Satan, because of our confidence in God’s power.  But we shouldn’t fool around with him by dabbling in the occult.”