Free The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio

they are hurting someone, they rejoice in it.” According to Father Buonaiuto, the hotline gets around twenty calls a day, running the gamut from ex-cult members on the run to people just seeking attention. It can be hard to break away from these groups, in part because the destructive lifestyle is fueled by addiction. “LSD, music, sex and violence work together to form a kind of psychological dependence,” he says.
    However, even while he is convinced that satanic cults pose a threat, he is quick to point out that the nefariousness associated with these groups doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the demonic. “We have to be clear: The world of satanic cults is one thing and demonic possession another. Satanism is more about an exterior thing, a cultural movement in which people perpetrate crimes such as fraud and in extreme cases murder. Some people in these groups don't even believe in the Devil but use him as a shield to victimize impressionable people. Demonic possession, on the other hand, is an individual thing, which if it affects a person, does so on an internal, spiritual level.”
    One, of course, could lead to the other, say exorcists like Father Bamonte. If a person were to enter such a group and perform magic or certain rituals, that could open the person up to demonic attack. Or, claims Father Bamonte, the individual could sign a “pact” with a demon and thereby open a doorway to “direct contact” with him.

    A CCORDING TO EXORCISTS , a variety of factors can contribute to a person becoming possessed.
    The first thing to note, say theologians, is that demonic possession cannot occur unless God allows it. It may seem contradictory, but, according to the Church, while God does not wish evil upon any person, he does permit it for some good purpose (similar to temptation). In the case of someone with a very advanced spiritual life, such as a saint, God allows Satan to test that person in the hopes that the physical trials will give their soul sanctifying grace. According to Saint John Chrysostom, “Possessed persons can obtain a twofold benefit from their condition. In the first place they can become more holy and good; secondly, having paid the debt for their sins here on earth, they can present themselves pure before the Lord.”
    Demonic possession in and of itself is not evil; it is not considered a sin. In addition, there is apparently no physical or otherwise inherent quality in a person's nature that predisposes him or her to becoming possessed. Demonic possession is not contagious. A person cannot become possessed by sitting in a room or living with someone who is possessed. Generally speaking, say exorcists, one has to either open the door to the Devil, or be a victim of one who has opened the door. These are some ways the Church says a person can do this:
    Occult ties: According to the Church, becoming involved in the occult is a form of idolatry that goes against the first commandment and is a common way to come into contact with the demonic.
    In his book Possessioni diaboliche ed esorcismo (Demonic Possession and Exorcism), Father Bamonte lists the following occult activities that can potentially open the door to possession: participating in a séance; frequenting a medium or magician (the Church makes no distinction between “white” or “black” magic); using an amulet or talisman, especially if it is received from a magician; transcendental meditation, the use of crystals, and other such New Age practices that stress “out of body” experiences; divination or the practice of automatic writing; practicing satanic rituals, especially signing a “blood pact” with a demon. The Bible is clear (and rather graphic) on the dangers involved in practicing magic and divination: “No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or