The devil is alive... and well

Speak of the devil and he will appear, goes the saying. The truth is that the devil, the true devil that is, is hardly ever mentioned today. Not even in churches. Neither is Hell, for that matter.

Time was, not so long ago, when devil and Hell were favourite topics and were almost never left out of sermons. Today we have gone to the other extreme.

Paradoxically, at the same time that devils have practically disappeared from sermons and homilies, Satanism and Satanic cults are becoming ever more widespread.

Even in Malta, Black Masses are not unheard of, although presumably they are rare, unlike certain other countries like Italy, where according to a report 5,000 persons, mostly in the 18-25 age bracket, are members of Satanic cults with the situation in English-speaking countries, according to the same reports, even worse.

In response to the increase in devil worship the Regina Apostolorum University in Rome is introducing a programme on exorcism and prayer of liberation next February. This course will offer priests and students of theology the opportunity to learn about Satanism and the occult in today's world. The course will focus on the effect of the mass media on the young, including magazines, comics, video games and the Internet.

The course has been welcomed by priests who are experts in exorcism. According to some, the Church has neglected the existence of the devil and the paranormal. A leading Italian exorcist has claimed that there has been "significant decrease in effective exorcism" after Vatican II. He claims "that the subject of angels and demons has been poorly taught in seminaries, if at all".

He has also said that several countries including Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and many parts of Spain are without exorcists even though Church law stipulates that there should be at least one exorcist in each diocese.

Although the introduction of the course has been largely welcomed, not all agree with the claim by the leading Roman exorcist that seminarians are not being sufficiently trained in the matter. An official of the Congregation for Education insists that as far as theory on the devil and Satanism is concerned "theology courses are enough".

One hopes Rome University's initiative will help sharpen "the perception of Satan" as another official of the same Congregation put it. "One can feel almost embarrassed about bringing the subject of Satan and evil... This of course pleases the devil, but he's alive and well in all countries."