Shameless:
I mean you no disrespect but why are you talking badly of Fr. Gabriel Amorth? He IS a priest in good standing and is the leading exorcist of Rome, he was appointed by the Vicar of Rome, he is no wacko
All those things are not guarantees against being a wacko. I seem to remember a certain African Cardinal getting married in the Moonies cult, a Cardinal named by the Pope himself. On the other side of the spectrum Karl Rahner and Hans Kung are/were priests in good standing and periti (theological experts) at VII though I doubt you take their word as literal truth. The FACT is that this priest is on record for stating that the Vatican has made the liturgy a “farce” (direct quote). It is in the authority of the Holy See to alter any liturgiy as it sees fit. This priest has espoused a kind of hocus-pocus view of the liturgy of exorcism and sided with people who see boogey-men under the bed rather than the Vatican which has taken a moderate approach informed by modern psychology.
I take my theology from the Vatican, not from Hollywood movies like “The Exorcist”.
I have seen no evidence that Fr. Corapi believes these curses carry any weight. The most your example gives is that Hollywood has some serious issues and their priorities are askew. Let drug dealers put spells on heroin all they want…heroin is no more addictive and disruptive because some self-proclaimed “Priest of Satan” repeats some worn-out pig-latin phrases over the drug.
A quick aside about Led Zepplin. Many of their songs, including The Battle of Evermore, Misty Mountain Hops and Ramble On, are songs inspired by the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit: two stories written by the devoutly Catholic Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien. If anyone can find anything objectionable in “When the Levee Breaks” then I’ll eat my CD.
All this reminds me of the Tipper Gore fiasco.
Oh Beckyann, it has been a lifelong dream of mine to write a book…but this subject never crossed my mind. Of course I should be hung, drawn and quartered for forgetting The Grateful Dead. Whiskey in the Jar (later covered by Metallica…a nice job I might add) caused me to rob Colonel Pepper, punch a police officer and foreswear women. For shame Gerry Garcia…for shame.
RobNY, Neil Young is great…with or without Crazy Horse. His later stuff like Silver and Gold have a different feel. Harvest Moon was likely his last great album. Cortez the Killer (though terrible history) was likely his best song, but who can forget Ohio…even Richard Nixon has got soul!
hurst:
Fr. Amorth is well respected from all accounts in my circles. I ask that you consider the path you are on in what may be termed as detraction and railing.
Hurst, firstly you have deliberately misrepresented Thomism. To paraphrase the late and great Judge Reihnquist, “I can forgive anything except misrepresenting Thomas Aquinas” (well, he forgave everything but not having a sense of humour, but you get the point). Nowhere in the Summa is your quote found. Not only that but the Summa doesn’t discuss the effect of cursing (spell-casting) but rather the implications for those who WISH evil on another person. It is drawn from the same passage as those who commit adultry in their heads. Aquinas doesn’t state that cursing is wrong because it binds evil spirits to souls, but rather because it is a manifestation of a desire to harm.
*To curse is the same as to speak ill. Now “speaking” has a threefold relation to the thing spoken. First, by way of assertion, as when a thing is expressed in the indicative mood: in this way “maledicere” signifies simply to tell someone of another’s evil, and this pertains to backbiting, wherefore tellers of evil [maledici] are sometimes called backbiters. Secondly, speaking is related to the thing spoken, by way of cause, and this belongs to God first and foremost, since He made all things by His word, according to Ps. 32:9, “He spoke and they were made”; while secondarily it belongs to man, who, by his word, commands others and thus moves them to do something: it is for this purpose that we employ verbs in the imperative mood. Thirdly, “speaking” is related to the thing spoken by expressing the sentiments of one who desires that which is expressed in words; and for this purpose we employ the verb in the optative mood. *
newadvent.org/summa/307601.htm
I believe that the Vatican’s position has been clear on the issue of exorcism, seek psycheatric help first. Fr. Amorth might not like it, but the days of masturbation causing blindness and spirits causing epilepsy are over. Let’s not degrade God, man and the Church by looking for demons where none exist.
I believe that one of the leading interpretations of “The Sin Against the Spirit” (the only unforgivable thing) is: attributing to the devil that which is of God. Think about that next time you claim Led Zepplin or Elton John are “of the devil”.