The Vatican's Exorcists: Driving Out the Devil in the 21st Century
By (Author) Tracy Wilkinson
Little, Brown & Company
Grand Central Publishing
5th July 2007
United States
General
Non Fiction
Worship, rites, ceremonies and rituals
Theology
Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church
264.020994
208
300g
John Paul II was the first pope since the early 1600s to view the evil and his minions not only as formidable foes, but as tangible forces which the Catholic church must battle on a daily basis. The priest charged with spearheading this mission is Father Gabriele Amorth and his Office of Exorcism.
Revitalising a long-dormant practice, Father Amorth has re-established exorcism as a common rite in the church with a series of seminars and training sessions during which priests from all over the world learn how to fight Satan here on Earth. Tracy Wilkinson gained access to the Vatican's highest authorities,allowing her to cover this story from every angle - both beneficiaries and victims of exorcism, sceptical scientists, devout believers and even those priests within the church who question the revival of the practice.Tracy Wilkinson is the Rome bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and she is the winner of the Polk Award for Foreign Reporting for her work in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s.