"Exorcist: Devil Influences Abortion Industry"

A woodcut from 1598 shows an exorcism performed on a woman by a priest and his assistant, with a demon emerging from her mouth. In Pierre Boaistuau, et al., Histoires prodigieuses et memorables, extraictes de plusieurs fameux autheurs, Grecs, & Latins, sacrez & prophanes (Paris, 1598), vol. 1.

Exorcist: Devil Influences Abortion Industry

By John P. Connolly, The Bulletin
Tuesday, February 3, 2009

An exorcist authorized to perform exorcisms in several dioceses spoke at a religious ministry luncheon on Sunday, explaining the basics of exorcism and its connection with abortion.

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International and an exorcist, spoke at a luncheon hosted by In His Sign Network (IHS). He is an exorcist authorized to perform exorcisms in several states, and highlighted the connection between the abortion industry and demonic influence.

“Abortion is a demonic industry,” he told The Bulletin. “Abortion is blood sacrifice of innocent blood to the devil. 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 said that there have been abortionists who have called abortion “their sacrament.” Fr. Euteneuer advocates prayer as a necessary step to successfully fighting abortion.

“Abortion is a spiritual evil,” he said. “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. That’s why I like the 40 Days For Life group, because they bring us what we need where we need it.”

Fr. Euteneuer explained the basic exorcism procedure, and the tactics the devil uses to possess a person. The first tactic relies on seduction, trying to get the victim to invite him into their lives.

“Most people with demonic problems have opened a door somewhere,” said Fr. Euteneuer. He 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. He said that even Hasbro markets Ouija boards to children.

“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.”

He also called attention to a growing fascination with the cult of the vampire, especially through the popularity of books and movies like Twilight, where the main character falls in love with a vampire.

“I predict that in the next 10 years or so, we’ll see an explosion of occult activity,” said Fr. Euteneuer. “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 said the other tactic a devil uses is victimization of a person. The person in question doesn’t always need to invite demonic activity, but can have it placed on them by other groups or people.

Nevertheless, Fr. Euteneuer stressed that exorcism is not often the dramatic thing the movies make it out to be.

“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 if the problem is not, in fact, 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.”