by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer (April 10, 2008) A religious sister who was recently declared a martyr after being killed by Satanists in 2000 received high praise from Pope Benedict XVI for her heroic sacrifice. At the end of a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on April 8, the Pope said Sister Maria Laura Mainetti, “with a total giving of self, sacrificed her life while praying for those who were attacking her.” The murder of Sister Laura, who belonged to the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, occurred in Chiavenna, Italy, a small town on the border between Italy and Switzerland. She was well known in the area for her charitable work with dispossessed youth and the poor. On the night of June 6-7, 2000, three teen girls who were involved in Satanism lured Sister Laura into a trap by saying that a pregnant girl was in difficulty and needed help. The unsuspecting sister followed the girls into a isolated place where she was struck on the head and stabbed. Still alive, she was then ordered to kneel, which is a gesture of submission used in satanic rituals. According to accounts told by the murderers during the inquiry, Sister Laura began praying and asking God to forgive her attackers, at which time the girls began to stab her repeatedly. She was later found dead with nineteen stab wounds. The three girls were arrested twenty-two days later. At first, the girls told police they did not intend to kill Sister Laura, but were just looking for a way to break the monotony of their existence. However, during the investigation, they found evidence the girls were involved in a Satanic subculture that involved other teens in the area. Police found various lyrics from the songs of controversial Satanic rock singer, Marilyn Manson, in the girls’ diaries. Their computer hard drives also contained evidence of a deep interest in Satanism. When confronted with the evidence, the girls confessed that they performed the crime as a sacrifice to Satan. The case of Sister Laura is just one of a rising number of crimes linked to Satanism that have been assailing Italy for some time. One of the most heinous cases involved members of a heavy metal rock band called the Beasts of Satan who were found guilty of killing a woman and burying her alive in 2004. The group is also responsible for murdering a teenage couple six years earlier and police believe there may be other victims buried in the same woods as several people are still missing. Experts say the new wave of Italian Satanists are mostly youth who indulge in a lethal blend of black magic, hard drugs, sex and heavy metal music. The juvenile form of Satanism is considered to be the most dangerous, they say, because it is usually related to deviance such as drugs, crime, violence  and sexual excess.  All three teens were convicted of the premeditated murder of Sister Laura and received prison sentences from eight to twelve years which must be followed by at least three years in a judiciary reforming house. Meanwhile, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has officially recognized the death of Sister Laura as a martyrdom, which opens the way for her beatification. © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com Experts believe the New Age fascination with the occult is one of the leading causes of the rise of Satanism among youth. Let New Age expert Johnnette Benkovic explain these dangers in the 5 CD set entitled, “The New Age Counterfeit” available in our store at www.womenofgrace.com/catalog