exorcism

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2 Guilty of Terror Charges Linked to Boy's Disappearance

3-year-old was found dead at New Mexico compound

(Newser) - Jurors on Tuesday delivered split verdicts in a case that stemmed from the search for a 3-year-old boy who went missing from Georgia and was found dead hundreds of miles away at a squalid compound in northern New Mexico. Four members of the family were on trial. Three were found...

Mom on 3-Year-Old's Alleged 'Exorcism' Death: 'It Is What It Is'

Claudia Elisia Hernandez Santos faces 25 years to life for her alleged role in the ceremony

(Newser) - A California mother who said her 3-year-old daughter would wake up screaming and crying at night took her to have her demons cast out. The girl didn't survive the exorcism. Claudia Elisia Hernandez Santos, mother of Arely Naomi Proctor, is charged with assault on a child resulting in death...

Priest Who Held Voter-Fraud Exorcisms Leaves Diocese

Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, who didn't have OK from bishop, says he's going to work on his 'mo jo'

(Newser) - Earlier this month, the Diocese of Madison announced a "mutual" agreement between itself and one of its "freelancer" priests regarding his departure. Now, more on what prompted that. Per the Wisconsin State Journal , the Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a member of Wisconsin's clergy who also runs his own...

Exorcism Performed Where Statue Came Down in California

The archbishop of San Francisco said prayers in Latin

(Newser) - The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150...

7 Killed in Panama Exorcism Ritual
7 Killed in Panama
Exorcism Ritual
Jan 17, 2020 3:08 AM CST

7 Killed in Panama Exorcism Ritual

Police say residents were rounded up by preachers

(Newser) - Seven people—including a pregnant woman and five of her children—were murdered by preachers in a remote area of Panama holding a bizarre ritual to make them "repent their sins," authorities say. Ten people, including the children's grandfather, were arrested in an area controlled by the...

Man Accused of Killing 6-Year-Old Son in Horrific Tub Exorcism

Complaint says Pablo Martinez held boy he said was 'demonic' under faucet of scalding water

(Newser) - A horrific crime out of Arizona, where a father is accused of the first-degree murder of his 6-year-old son after an apparent exorcism attempt. The Arizona Republic reports that Pablo Martinez, said to be in his 30s, was arrested after the incident on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation outside Tucson,...

Entire City to Undergo Exorcism via Helicopter

Move comes after girl's murder in Buenaventura, Colombia

(Newser) - A Colombian port city plagued by violent crime is about to get an exorcism. The bishop of Buenaventura, Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya, will hop in a helicopter Sunday in order to sprinkle holy water over the streets while reciting a prayer meant to expel demonic spirits. In...

Vatican to Hold International Conference on Exorcisms

Friar says there are 500K cases requiring exorcists every year in Italy alone

(Newser) - Anyone who has sat through Exorcist II: The Heretic or Exorcist: The Beginning would rightly think the world is all set on exorcists, thank you very much. The Catholic Church would disagree. USA Today reports the Vatican will be hosting a week-long international conference on exorcisms in April after demand...

Young Mom Dies in Pastor's Fiery Exorcism Attempt

Nicaraguan woman was bound, put into fire

(Newser) - A story out of a remote mining town in Nicaragua whose details are still being confirmed now has a clear and tragic outcome: The mother of two young children is dead, having suffered burns across 80% of her body. The Washington Post reports on the pieces being put together. It...

One of Rome's Busiest Exorcists Tells of Woman Vomiting Pins

Fr. Vincenzo Taraborelli performs as many as 30 exorcisms on a given day

(Newser) - Italy is no stranger to exorcisms, with half a million Italians reportedly requesting them each year. The Independent in 2015 reported on an exorcism of an entire town, performed via helicopter. Three years prior, the Catholic diocese of Milan instituted an exorcism hotline, reported the BBC . But in the wake...

Exorcist Director Says He Filmed Real-Life Version

'I don't think I will ever be the same'

(Newser) - "I don't think I will ever be the same having seen this astonishing thing," says William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist. No, he's not talking about the movie that terrorized you with a scene of a possessed child doing a backward spider crawl down the stairs....

Live Exorcism Airs on TV Friday Night
Live Exorcism Airs
on TV Friday Night
Oct 30, 2015 11:54 AM CDT

Live Exorcism Airs on TV Friday Night

Bishop, psychic will be on hand for 'dangerous' rite: network

(Newser) - This should get you in the Halloween mood: The cable channel Destination America says it will broadcast a live exorcism on the St. Louis residence that once housed the inspiration for the film The Exorcist at 9pm EDT on Friday. Catholic priests performed a series of exorcisms on a Maryland...

Family Fears It Buried Pregnant Teen Alive

Relatives say Nelsy Perez, 16, had bruises on her fingers as if she had tried to escape

(Newser) - If you suffer from taphephobia , you may not want to read on. The family of a pregnant teen in Honduras who died and was buried yanked her body out of her tomb a day after the funeral, convinced she was still alive, the Guardian reports. The incident reportedly happened in...

Priest Confirms Exorcism Video Is Authentic

Was secretly filmed through keyhole in Czech city of Vranov nad Dyji

(Newser) - On Feb. 19, a shriek-filled video was posted to YouTube. What made this one noteworthy: It supposedly captured an exorcism that took place in the Czech city of Vranov nad Dyji. Now, a Catholic priest at the Assumption of the Virgin Mary church confirms the video is authentic. "We...

Vatican OKs Exorcist Group
 Vatican OKs 
 Exorcist Group 
Jul 2, 2014 1:18 PM CDT

Vatican OKs Exorcist Group

Formally recognizes International Association of Exorcists

(Newser) - Exorcists now have a legal weapon at their disposal. The Vatican has formally recognized the International Association of Exorcists, a group of 250 priests in 30 countries who liberate the faithful from demons. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported yesterday that the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy had approved...

Pope Gets Medieval in Fight Against Devil

Old-school attitude raises Vatican eyebrows

(Newser) - Pope Francis has become known for his progressive attitudes but Vatican insiders say his approach to Satan is decidedly old-school, far more so than his recent predecessors, the Washington Post finds. In many sermons, the pontiff has warned that the devil is a real, ever-present evil entity that people need...

Women Charged in Exorcism Killings Met in Church

Cops release chilling 911 calls

(Newser) - The Maryland mother and the friend who police say helped kill two of her children in what they called an exorcism had only recently met in a church where services feature the casting off of demons, ABC7 finds. Zakieya Avery and Monifa Sanford, who have been charged with murder in...

Maryland Mother Kills Her Toddlers in 'Exorcism'

2 older siblings also hurt but expected to survive

(Newser) - A Maryland mother and a second woman stand accused of killing two toddlers and attempting to kill two more in what they say was an exorcism. The Washington Post reports that 1-year-old Norell Harris and 2-year-old Zyana Harris were found stabbed multiple times and dead in the bed of their...

Priests Performing Exorcisms Almost Daily in Mexico

Priests: Santa Muerta responsible for death and demons in Mexico

(Newser) - An unexpected side effect of Mexico's rampant drug violence: more exorcisms. Seven years of brutal killings have created "an infestation of demons," says exorcist Father Francisco Bautista, who sees expelling the evil spirits as the solution. Another priest and exorcist tells the BBC that exorcisms are in...

Illinois Is 16th State to OK Gay Marriage

'Triumph of democracy' as church attempts exorcism

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn invoked Abraham Lincoln as he signed a marriage equality bill into law, making the state the 16th to legalize gay marriage—and the third in the space of a month, after Hawaii and New Jersey. Lincoln "said our nation was conceived in liberty," the...

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