 “The Devil made ‘em do it!” |
Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist.
Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as “cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon”.
He added: “When one speaks of ‘the smoke of Satan’ [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia…”
Father Amorth told La Repubblica that the devil was “pure spirit, invisible. But he manifests himself with blasphemies and afflictions in the person he possesses. He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, transform himself or appear to be agreeable. At times he makes fun of me.”
He said it sometimes took six or seven of his assistants to to hold down a possessed person. Those possessed often yelled and screamed and spat out nails or pieces of glass, which he kept in a bag. “Anything can come out of their mouths – finger-length pieces of iron, but also rose petals.”
He said that hoped every diocese would eventually have a resident exorcist…
He’s also head of the Exorcist’s Union. I’d love to listen in on contract negotiations with the Pope.
Oh, one more reason placebos can only work in trials. When you are not participating in a study with informed consent, doctors must tell you what they are doing. A doctor who says “Take this placebo. It will do nothing but help you heal your own body by convincing your mind that you have taken a serious and expensive drug.” would quickly find that placebos only work when you don’t know they’re placebos.
And, doing so without your informed consent would open them up to enormous malpractice suits.
Lastly, placebos are effective in many cases, but not necessarily most and not necessarily more effective than real medical treatment. How effective they are varies from case to case, just like faith healing and for precisely the same reason. Both are placebos.
There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.