decentfilms.com
Hey @Bruised_Reed for the sake of folks elevation, don’t quote such a low-quality article. I recon if indeed you are a Harry Potter fan, you’d be the first to appreciate the due context of “back&forth” criticism surrounding this old-debate. And, the main point would be: Ratzinger and Amorth. I’m astonished that both are taken so out-of-context about what they said. And someone who had read them both with some care would have a different reed.
The first thing noteworthy is that Fr.Amorth personally gave a justification to this number in his latter works. So quoting the number like that (arguing it’s timewise impossible) means they haven’t read the part of Fr.Amorth’s work where the author himself justifies how he kept his “accounting”. (I’m a few pages short of having read everything by Fr.Amorth that was translated to Portuguese, so going by his books alone an English speaker wouldn’t have much more material to read.) And the logic is as follows: after an initial “full exorcism” the person afflicted returns to the exorcist a few more times over a certain period - and the entire ritual isn’t carried out in those subsequent sessions. Only specific prayer/blessing session (that may take around 15 minutes) to complete the “liberation” of that person afflicted.
This line of criticizing is again “way out of line”. If you spent some time with the consecrated religious, you’ll see from the “liturgy of the hours” alone, besides their performance of everyday chores and prayers that consecrated religious are expected to spend everyday of their lives entirely immersed in God and whatever specific charisma and duties they hold. In the case of an Exorcist, well: they’d be immersed in what they were assigned to do.
Here comes a very interesting part of the logic governing. There is a difference between “possessed” and “tempted”. And, looking at certain “social structures” of power and governance: there is little doubt left they are entirely Godless. Up to what extent the “prince of this world” holds power and influence over those structures and the persons constituting them is up for speculation: But you’ll know them by their fruits. And there is no short amount of evil going about.
In the specific article quoted, and as I have tried to demonstrate, the author holds little grasp over the principles governing the first 3 paragraphs.
Looking carefully at the timing of those declarations. We have to notice the CDF had just written an historical document on “Eastern meditation” which was likely to have far reaching effects and even impact on inter-religious dialogue. It suffices to say: because of that document we today see hundreds (thousands) of authors legitimized in talking about (and against-in a way) Yoga.
I disagree with the sequence of events as they analyze it. For this simple fact: If you read “La mi vita” by Ratzinger you’d know he wasn’t the man to “shy away” from anything. To the contrary, he was the man to take things on, against any and all, saying what needed be said. His critic of the “academic world” is second to none rivaling with the best. If for some reason, pope Benedict XVI didn’t go to further lengths to dissect the Harry Potter phenomenon it’s because: it wasn’t worth it, or there were bigger fish to fry.