Monday, April 02, 2012

An exorcist named Karol

A chapter in José Maria Zavala's book "Así se vence al demonio" (Here's how to beat the devil), contains an interview with Fr. Gabriele Amorth in which he discusses two exorcisms carried out by Pope Wojtyla, against "extremely powerful demons."

According to the author, John Paul II was the first Pope in four hundred years to face down the devil in a rite of exorcism. 

It took place on 4 April 1982, during the fourth year of his pontificate. 

Fr. Gabriel says: “I remember it perfectly. I know Francesca, the young lady who was present that morning during the Papal Audience at the Vatican. Previously, the bishop of the girl’s diocese asked the Pope if would be willing perform an exorcism on her, and he gave his consent without hesitation. The Pope proceeded immediately to do the exorcism, in his private chapel in the Vatican. Francesca did nothing but spit, writhe, and crawl on the ground. The people around the Pope could not believe their eyes: ‘We have never seen a scene like the ones described in the Gospel’, they admitted, stunned."

“But it was the Pope himself who was the most struck, according to the testimony of French Cardinal Jacques Martin, according to which John Paul later confessed to Ottorino Alberti, Bishop of Spoleto: ‘I’ve never had anything like this happen to me in my life ...’ Indeed, John Paul II said: ‘Everything that happens in the Gospels still happens today’. But John Paul II didn’t just believe or say it – he ended up experiencing it himself. Although his exorcism had a certain efficaciousness, to be honest I have to say it took five full years of blessings to free Francesca.”
 
Fr. Gabriel then recalls another exorcism involving John Paul II. 

“It is a much more recent case, taking place in September of 2000. A girl of nineteen, from a village near Monza in northern Italy, came to Rome for a week to be exorcised by me, along with my colleague and brother, Giancarlo Gramolazzo. The sessions took place early in the afternoon, from Monday to Thursday. So Wednesday afternoon the girl was occupied with us, but she was free in the morning. Well, she decided to attend the general audience with the Pope in St. Peter’s Square. When she got there, the guards noticed that her attitude was abnormal, and they put her in the front row, near the sick people. Shortly afterward, while the Pope was giving his blessing to a crowd of more than forty thousand pilgrims, the beautiful girl began to scream like a banshee.”

Fr. Amorth says again: “The staff tried to calm her, but in vain. Then the girl, endowed with superhuman strength, managed to push several of them away. She shouted unintelligibly, hurling insults at Bishop Gianni Danzi, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City, who also tried to calm her down, blessing her with a crucifix. Realizing that the girl was possessed, Msgr. Danzi informed John Paul II’s secretary, Msgr. Stanislaw Dziwisz, who finally told the Pope. The Pope ordered him to bring the girl to a secluded place, where he could exorcise her after the public audience was over. So they brought the young woman from the Arch of the Bells, turning behind the basilica of St. Peter, finally bringing her inside, where the Pope exorcised her in the presence of her parents, Bishop Danzi, and several security officers who could barely keep her restrained. That same afternoon, Giancarlo Gramolazzo and I returned to bless the girl, accompanied by Msgr. Danzi. She herself told us what had happened that morning in the Vatican."

"The Pope’s exorcism had some beneficial effect, however, it was not enough to free her from the devil. John Paul II treated the girl, a person like this, with great affection for half an hour, and told her he would offer the Mass on the following day for her release. On Thursday we repeated the exorcisms for two hours. The devil then alluded to the meeting held the day before with the Pope He was so happy. How that wretch laughed! He forced the poor girl to tell me: ‘Even your boss (John Paul II) couldn’t do anything about me!’"
 
When asked about the origin of the possession, Fr. Amorth said that “she was a marvel of goodness and purity. She offered all her atrocious sufferings to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” Perhaps she was the victim of a curse. “I think so. When she was twelve she was already possessed ... it lasted until she was nineteen. But I want to emphasize that when she wasn’t affected by her possession, she was good, innocent; she offered up her ordeal especially for the expiation of souls.” 

Fr. Amorth remembers that he once asked the devil why he was so afraid of John Paul II. 

“He told me that this had happened for two reasons: first, because the Pope had foiled his plans with the fall of communism in Europe. And then because he had snatched the souls of many young people during his papacy. And when I asked him why he feared the Virgin so much, he replied: ‘because I was very humiliated and defeated by a human.’”