By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International and an exorcist who is authorized to perform exorcisms in several dioceses said there is a definite connection between the abortion industry and demonic influence.
According to a report appearing in The Bulletin, Fr. Euteneuer called abortion a “demonic industry” during a recent presentation in Philadelphia.
“Abortion is blood sacrifice of innocent blood to the devil,” he said. “The clinics are like temples, the doctors are like priests, the medical table is like their altar. It’s a ritualized sacrifice. They have a dogma called choice, a hierarchy called Planned Parenthood, and guardian angels in the form of police guards that will arrest you if you try to stop them.”
He also said he knows of abortionists who have actually referred to abortion as “their sacrament.”
Prayer is a necessary step to destroying this evil, he said.
“Abortion is a spiritual evil. If we are to beat it, we can’t just fight it in the political realm. It derives its power from below. To confront a force this strong, you need a massive amount of prayer.”
An experienced exorcist, Fr. Euteneuer said the devil uses a variety of tactics to possess a person, such as seducing them into inviting the devil into their lives.
“Most people with demonic problems have opened a door somewhere,” he said and cited the popularity of the occult in bringing people closer to demonic interaction, primarily through the growth of the New Age movement and other paraphernalia.
“I’m very set against Harry Potter,” he said. “It’s pumping into our children’s minds the language and imagery of the occult. It’s extremely spiritually dangerous.”
Another danger to youth is the growing fascination with vampires which are being exalted in shows such as Buffy the Vampire and the Twilight book series.
“I predict that in the next 10 years or so, we’ll see an explosion of occult activity,” Fr. Euteneuer saiod. “The number of soft-core occultism in the form of things like Harry Potter, Wicca and the New Age is on the increase. These are the gateways to the hardcore stuff. Ask any inner-city police department if they’re seeing evidence of Satanism. They’re organizing whole task forces to deal with crimes having to do with these things. As society becomes more faithless, this wickedness comes and fills the vacuum.”
Fr. Euteneuer also dispelled the mythical image of the devil presented in Hollywood movies.
“The devil doesn’t have the power you see in the movies,” he said. “He cannot hold onto a state of possession for a given length of time. The movies glorify his power. They do a good job in showing the priest coming to care for these people, but the priest carefully binds that devil, and he is a prisoner in that person.”
Exorcism requires prayer and fasting, and requires a long period of discernment to determine whether or not the problem is psychological.
“A report is made to the diocese, and then the bishop must authorize a solemn exorcism,” explained Fr. Euteneuer.
The priest will then use a ritual in Latin where he binds whatever demonic entity is troubling a person and commands him. Fr. Euteneuer told the audience that the process is not unlike a trial, where the priest is the prosecuting attorney and the demon is trapped. The word “exorcism” itself means to put somebody on trial. The devil is required to answer any demands the priest makes to him in the name of Christ, because of the authority that the priest has from Christ.
“Exorcism is a pastoral ministry of the Church, and it’s an important ministry,” said Fr. Euteneuer. “But confession is a much more important ministry, because it pulls out the sins which are the conditions for a possession.”
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