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

lucky charm to win over a new girlfriend. According to exorcists, this could not only lead to financial ruin, but in extreme cases, also to possession.
    To many people, belief in curses might seem far-fetched. However, casting and removing spells are widespread in many native cultures, including some that have embraced Christianity. Haiti, for example, is a predominantly Catholic country, yet voodoo is popular.
Dedication to a demon: This category deals with people who belong to a satanic cult specifically to harness the power of evil by dedicating themselves or family members to a demon. In the case of a child being dedicated, as with a curse, the victim is blameless. It is said that parents sometimes offer newborn babies (or even fetuses) to Satan in black masses. Father Bamonte is quick to point out, however, that any such “gifts” given in return by the Devil are almost always fleeting and have the effect of “dazzling” people so that they give themselves over completely to the Devil, becoming like slaves.
A life of hardened sin: As defined by the Church, deciding to commit a sin is a free-will choice to do evil rather than good. According to the Catechism , “Sin is before all else an offence against God, a rupture of communion with him.” One sinner who became possessed as a result of his actions was Judas Iscariot, whom the Bible describes as having the Devil enter him. According to theologians, however, sin in and of itself is usually not enough to cause possession. Certain sins (such as worshiping false idols), however, can open the door to demonic possession. Sins can also be an impediment to liberation, say exorcists. It is said that the demon can latch on to a specific sin (such as an unwillingness to forgive), accentuating it until the person is in bondage to that particular sin. Until the person renounces this sin, he will have no chance to break the bondage and become liberated. In these milder possessions, say exorcists, a sincere conversion and a good confession is usually enough to liberate the person.

    S HORTLY AFTER he had attended one of these lectures, Father Gary spoke with a seminarian originally from the Midwest who'd had a frightening experience before entering the seminary. The two met one afternoon for a panino at a busy coffee shop near the Trevi Fountain. Amidst the busy afternoon lunch crowd they found a spot at a counter, and the seminarian told Father Gary his story.
    When the seminarian was a teenager, he and his friends had been bored, so they bought a book on spells at the local bookstore and then purchased some ingredients online. First they decided to cast a spell calling forth a particular spirit. Much to their shock, as they read out the incantations (which required that they make a pact with the Devil for maximum efficacy, though they didn't do it), a flame appeared and floated in the middle of the living room before disappearing. During another incident, a huge crow appeared outside his kitchen window, even though there were no crows around the neighborhood. Scared, they performed a different spell that made the crow disappear. According to the seminarian, however, it didn't fly away; it vanished. Realizing that he was in over his head, he'd thrown away the spell book the following day.
    The story got Father Gary thinking about what might be waiting for him when he went back to San Jose. He knew from the course that the occult was rampant in Italy and growing. Perhaps even more alarming to Father Gary was that in the suburbs of a major Midwestern city, where kids were relatively wealthy and had a lot of free time, the occult was far more widespread than people realized. Had he missed warning signs in his own parish?
    To Father Gary, the most interesting aspect of the lecture on Satanic cults was the list of reasons people became attracted to such a world. While the traditional reasons had been trotted out by Dr. Strano—namely rock music and the lack of a strong family