Gabriele Amorth

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Gabriele Amorth SSP (born May 1, 1925 in Modena , † September 16, 2016 in Rome ) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and exorcist . From 1986 he was an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, from its founding in 1994 to 2000 he was chairman of the International Exorcist Association ( AIE for short ). Then he held the office of honorary chairman. Amorth was a student of Father Candido Amantini (1914-1992) of the Passionist Order (CP), who was exorcist of the Diocese of Rome from 1961 until his death in 1992.

Life

Amorth participated as a captain in the Second World War and was awarded the Medal of Honor awarded. He fought in resistance against the fascists . He then took part in building the Christian Democratic Party (DC) in Italy.

In 1947 he received his doctorate in law and joined the Society of St. Apostle Paul at. In 1951 he was ordained a priest . Gabriele Amorth then worked as a journalist and became editor of the Marian monthly Madre di Dio .

In 1986 he was appointed exorcist of the Diocese of Rome . In numerous books as well as articles and interviews in newspapers, radio and television, Gabriele Amorth campaigns for greater attention to be paid to the subject of exorcism. On his initiative, the number of Italian exorcists rose to over three hundred. In 1994, Amorth was elected President of the International Association of Exorcists , which he remained until 2000. He died of a lung disease in September 2016 at the age of 91.

Work and views as an exorcist

Gabriele Amorth relied on biblical texts such as Lk 9.1  EU to prove the real and not only symbolic existence of demons and the task of Christians to cast them out. He emphasized the difference between Christian exorcists or liberation prayers and magical or pagan practices. As a frequent cause of obsession, he named the occupation with occultism through pendulum, necromancy or card reading as well as the visit of fortune tellers and magicians , whereby he explicitly did not differentiate between "white" and "black" magic , but both as dangerous, since not of divine origin, looked at.

In his books, Amorth castigated the lack of faith in the real existence of Satan and demons, even among priests today : "Whoever does not believe in the devil does not believe in the Gospel" (quote from Pope John Paul II ). Amorth lamented how the Roman Catholic Church is failing the obsessed people today. At the same time, however, he emphasized that the exorcism only accounts for ten percent of the effect and 90 percent must be worked by the person concerned through a living life of faith.

The 1999 revised guidelines for an exorcism, in which the Vatican recommended not only to carefully examine a possible possession, but also to coordinate with doctors and psychiatrists, he criticized: It was like wanting “the devil with an uninvited Fight weapon ". He also stated that he had a daily conversation with the devil, speaking Latin, but the devil in Italian.

In January 2008 he told Vatican Magazin about his exorcist activities :

“I tell everyone to ask the doctors and psychologists for advice first. Because in the vast majority of cases there are psychological or physical causes, natural causes such as schizophrenia, hysteria [...] The psychiatrist says whether these are symptoms of a mental illness. "

In early 2010, he claimed to have performed around 70,000 successful exorcisms.

Amorth considered the Indian guru Sai Baba to be the "firstborn son of Satan". He also considered both the practice of yoga and the reading of Harry Potter novels to be satanic .

After the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Amorth thanked the outgoing head of the church. At an audience, Benedict XVI. Received "exorcists from all over the world" and gave them "great encouragement" that he had "given effective prayers to drive out devils". Even before his election as Pope, he had reformed the Church as a cardinal in such a way that "the front in the fight against Satan" had been strengthened.

Amorth warned Pope Francis of an attack on his life: By advocating a “poor church” he, like his predecessor John Paul I , who died under unexplained circumstances , would challenge the Freemasons .

By decree of June 13, 2014 by Pope Francis, the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) was recognized by the Congregation for the Clergy as a canonical legal entity. About 250 exorcists from 30 countries belong to the association. It now has the canonical status of a private association of believers.

To disseminate his views he used various media and operated a. a. also his own Facebook page, which he called "The Last Exorcist".

Statements on the Emanuela Orlandi case

In May 2012, Gabriele Amorth presented a new possibility in relation to the Vatican citizen Emanuela Orlandi, who disappeared in 1982 . He accused a group, which included Vatican State Police officers and foreign diplomats, of kidnapping the girl and sexually exploiting her for parties . Later, Amorth said, she was murdered and her body disposed of.

Publications (selection)

  • An exorcist tells. (Original title: Un esorcista racconta. Translated by Maria von Camminetz), 5th edition. Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2006, ISBN 3-7171-1045-4 . (German first edition by Kral, Abensberg 1993, ISBN 3-87442-045-0 ).
  • New reports from an exorcist. (Original title: Nuovi racconti di un esorcista. Translated by Franz Müller), Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2008, ISBN 978-3-7171-1067-5 .
  • Exorcists and psychiatrists. (Original title: Esorcisti e psichiatri. Translated by Reinhold Ortner and Maria Ortner) Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2002, ISBN 3-7171-1092-6 (Appendix: The new Roman ritual about exorcism ).
  • Padre Pio . Life story of a saint. (Original title: Padre Pio - breve storia di un Santo, translated by Franz Müller), 3rd edition. Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2008 (German first edition 2002), ISBN 978-3-7171-1108-5 .
  • Memoirs of an Exorcist: My Fight Against Satan. Gabriele Amorth in conversation with Marco Tosatti. (Original title: Memorie di un Esorcista. Translated by Carl Franz Müller), Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2013, ISBN 978-3-7171-1227-3 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ E 'morto a 91 anni il sacerdote esorcista padre Gabriele Amorth. (No longer available online.) In: bcrmagazine.it. September 16, 2016, archived from the original on September 17, 2016 ; Retrieved September 16, 2016 (Italian).
  2. ↑ a b c Catholic chief exorcist is dead - SPIEGEL ONLINE. Website spiegel.de. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ Gabriele Amorth: An exorcist tells . Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2001, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Gabriele Amorth: New reports of an exorcist . 2nd Edition. Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2000, p. 57.
  5. ^ Gabriele Amorth: Exorcists and Psychiatrists . Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2002, p. 246.
  6. ↑ Gabriele Amorth: An exorcist tells. 4th edition. Christiana. Stein am Rhein 2001, p. 101.
  7. ↑ a b Italy's most famous exorcist is dead . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ Exorcist of the Pope: Devil stuff in the Vatican. on: Spiegel online.
  9. ↑ Richard Owen: Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican , Times Online. March 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2011. 
  10. ^ Gabriele Amorth: Exorcists and Psychiatrists. Christiana, Stein am Rhein 2002, p. 62.
  11. ↑ Article in the Telegraph
  12. ↑ Rome's chief exorcist thanks the Pope
  13. ↑ Exorcist warns Francis of a quick death
  14. ↑ Vatican recognizes exorcist , faz.net of July 3, 2014
  15. ↑ Nick Squires: Emanuela Orlandi 'was kidnapped for sex parties for Vatican police'. In: The Telegraph. May 22, 2012, accessed May 25, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Amorth, Gabriele
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Roman Catholic priest and exorcist
DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Modena
DATE OF DEATH 16th September 2016
Place of death Rome