Meet the Real Pope's Exorcist - The Truth about Fr. Gabriele Amorth
Summary
The International Association of Exorcists has condemned the new Russell Crowe film, "The Pope's Exorcist," based on the life of the real-life exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth. They say the film distorts and falsifies what is really lived and experienced during the exorcism of truly possessed people.
Transcript
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May God bless you. Hey, my friends. I think maybe some of you have already seen the new Russell Crowe
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movie called The Pope's Exorcist. It's being billed as being based on the life of the famous
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Rome exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, on his own memoirs and writings. You know, I haven't seen it.
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But the association that Father Amorth himself founded has condemned the movie, stating that
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Russell Crowe's portrayal of Father Amorth does not represent the priest's actions or mannerisms. In fact,
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they accused the film star and the producers of having missed the spirit of service that
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characterized Father Amorth in his ministry of consolation, they said. Now, this association is
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called the International Association of Exorcists, and they said, and I'll quote it for you,
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The Catholic Church is then represented by an equally unbelievable Pope, played by Italian actor
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Franco Nero. And finally, the Vatican environments, painted with the usual tried-and-true range of
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chiasso curo, whatever that means, hues, gives the film a Da Vinci code-esque effect to instill in the
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audience the usual doubt, who is the real enemy, question, the devil, or the ecclesiastical power.
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End quote. So that's some pretty severe condemnations. In fact, they didn't end there.
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The International Association of Exorcists wrote that the film's presentation of Amorth's exorcism,
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quote, besides being contrary to historical reality, distorts and falsifies what is really lived and
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experienced during the exorcism of truly possessed people that we, Catholic exorcists, celebrate
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according to the directives given by the Church, end quote. They accused the film of being a danger to
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viewers, and they said the film's depiction of exorcism is, quote, a spectacle aimed at arousing
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strong and unhealthy emotions thanks to a gloomy set design with sound effects such as arouse only
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anxiety, disquiet, and fear in the viewer. So the end result, of course, and this is from them again,
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they say the end result is to instill the belief that exorcism is an abnormal, monstrous, and frightening
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phenomenon whose only protagonist is the devil, whose violent reactions can be confronted with great
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difficulty, which is the exact opposite of what occurs in the context of exorcism celebrated in
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the Catholic Church in obedience to the directives it issues. Wow. You know, that's really too bad,
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because I was very much looking forward to a film about the real Father Gabriel Amorth, who, you know,
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I was so grateful to him for his clarity over the many years that we were able to report on him at
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LifeSite News. LifeSite, we were actually honored to get, I don't know, what may have been
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his final press interview while he was already in hospital. We did it with him in December of 2015.
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He died just in early 2016. And Father Amorth was always with us under JP II. I mean,
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he was appointed by JP II as the chief exorcist in the Diocese of Rome. And that was, I think, done in 1985.
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He stated in 2013 that he had driven out 160,000 demons using, you know, the prayers of the church,
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the exorcism prayers of the church. And he had this unbelievable career, which he really did. He had
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thousands of exorcisms. Now, it wasn't 160,000 exorcisms, because some of you may know that in one
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exorcism of one person, you may cast out many, many, many demons. In fact, in the Bibles,
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we already hear that, you know, Jesus asks, what's the name of this demon? And the man says,
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Legion. And he's cast out into the many, the demons are cast out of the many swine. So
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Father Amorth died when he was 91. And I thought, you know, instead of being misled,
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with the falsehoods in this film warned about by the International Association of Exorcists,
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I wanted to provide you with an accurate portrait of Father Gabriel Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome
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for so many decades. You know, when his last book was published, LifeSite News' Claire Chrétien covered
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it. And in that book called An Exorcist Explains the Demonic, the Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen
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Angels. Father Amorth wrote that demonic disturbances that torment individuals called
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diabolic obsession, and get this, and this is direct quote, they can lead to confusion about
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one's gender, particularly in the young, he said. Now, it's an incredible thing that he was so on point,
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and this is back in 2016, remember, 2015, when he would have written this book. And he warned that
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many of the devil's ordinary temptations are passed off as modern ideas, but really serve to unhinge the
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principles of the faith, which include abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, divorce, cohabitation.
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Now, isn't that amazing? Listen to that. And that's why I was so enamored with the film Nefarious,
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which did exactly what, you know, give you a real portrayal of evil and Satan. So here's what Father
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Amorth said. He said, the loss of a sense of sin that characterizes our era helps Satan to act nearly
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undisturbed. And inducing man to sin takes man progressively away from the love of God.
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Father Amorth added that suggestions like, everyone does it, applied to grave sins,
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that causes the weakening, in his words, they weaken the consciences of men and women and lead
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them toward closing their hearts, egoism, lack of forgiveness, and doing everything for money,
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power, and sex. He said, he went on, he said, everything that seduces and enslaves souls leads
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to their death, which is Satan's objective. Father Amorth explained that even though Satan's promises
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of money, pleasure, power seem alluring, they actually come at a terrible price and don't allow those who
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choose them any peace at all. The principle of total personal liberty, the promise of no obligation to
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anyone, the denial that all truth comes directly from God, are seductive in appearance, but ultimately
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unfulfilling, especially for young people, he said. Now these notions, he said, delude people into thinking
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that life is a beautiful holiday where everything is permitted and where your eye, that's your ego,
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does not recognize any limits regarding pleasure or enjoyment, he said. Now this is all because Satan
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wishes to lead people away from God. So other ways that Satan infects and attacks the modern culture,
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according to Father Amorth, are certain types of music, he said, which can provoke, and I quote,
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violence, suicide, sexual perversion, and acts of destruction against the state,
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the civic order, and the church of God. He said, today's families are among the most targeted by the
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ordinary action of Satan. And in order to counter it, Father Amorth recommended that all married
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couples pray together and extend the habit of prayer to their children. So I wanted to give you also
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another glimpse. Back in 2006, Ed Penton, who's a friend, interviewed Father Amorth for the National
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Catholic Register. And these are quotes from that interview, which was truly fantastic. And Father
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Amorth told Ed Penton, it's very important today, that exorcism is, because there are so many requests
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for them. People have lost the faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or Ouija boards have taken its place,
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place, which then open all the doors to the presence of demons, end quote. Wow. Let me just go through
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that again. Basically, he said, people have lost the faith. And he said, superstition, magic, Satanism,
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or Ouija boards have taken its place, that's the place of the faith, which then open all the doors to
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the presence of demons, end quote. So Father Amorth lamented that too few exorcisms occur today. And
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this is, again, back in 2006. He said, and I quote, many bishops and priests don't practice the material,
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and they don't believe in it, or they believe only a little, despite the fact that canon law is very
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clear, as clear as the gospel, where it says, pray and cast out devils and evil spirits, end quote.
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So isn't it amazing that already back in 2006, Father Amorth was calling out the bishops themselves
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for their lack of belief in exorcism, in evil spirits at all. And it's no surprise then that
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Father Gabriel Amorth was such a friend to the movements for life, faith, family, and freedom
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all throughout the pontificate of John Paul II and onward. We're so sorry to lose him when we did in
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late 2015, early 2016. But here's another glimpse. He was so prescient, he was so able to see into,
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almost into the future, but it did exist back then too. He had an interview, this was published in 2001,
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so even earlier than that. It was with Stefano Maria Paci. It was published in an Italian journal
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called Trenti Giorni, or Thirty Days. And in it he said this, the questioner said,
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the legions of demons that have taken up residence in the Vatican. And that's what it was about. Are you
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saying that there are, this was Paci saying, the interviewer saying, are you saying that,
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as in any war, Satan wants to conquer the opposing generals? And referring, of course, to higher-ups in
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the Vatican. And this was Father Amorth's response. Get this, and I quote, it is a winning strategy. One
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always tries to implement it, especially when the defenses of one's opponents are weak. Satan also
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tries. But thankfully, there is the Holy Spirit who governs the church. The gates of hell shall not
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prevail, despite the defections, and despite the betrayals, which should cause us no surprise. The
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first traitor was one of the apostles closest to Jesus, Judas Iscariot. But despite this, the church
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continues on her way. She is held up by the Holy Spirit, and therefore all the efforts of Satan can
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have only partial results. Of course, the devil can win some battles, even important ones, but never
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the war. Now, isn't that amazing? That almost tells us everything we need to know about what's going on
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in the Vatican today. In addition, Father Amorth was unafraid to speak the truth even in the face of
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massive political incorrectness. Now, one of the things that was massively politically incorrect back in
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the day, this was in the early 2000s and so on, was the notion of the consecration of Russia.
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Because that request by Our Lady of Fatima to the three children of Fatima and to Sister Lucia
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specifically in 1929 basically went ignored and not done for years and years and years and years.
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And when John Paul II made his March 25, 1984 consecration, a lot of people said,
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that's it, it's got to be it. And you had people rallying saying, yes, it's absolutely done. Now,
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in that consecration, of course, John Paul II never mentioned the word Russia at all. In fact,
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he consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart, and that was always a point of contention.
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Well, many, many people would eat you up alive if you said that there was a problem with it. But
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Father Gabriel Amorth did so nonetheless. Father Amorth did not believe that the 1984 consecration
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was what was requested by the Blessed Virgin. And here's what he said. He said, and I'll quote,
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the consecration has not yet been made. I was there. Now, this is Father Amorth himself speaking.
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He said, I was there on March 25 in St. Peter's Square. I was in the front row,
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practically within touching distance of the Holy Father. That's John Paul II. And he continued,
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John Paul II wanted to consecrate Russia, but his entourage did not, fearing that the Orthodox
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would be antagonized as, of course, the Russian Orthodox. And they almost thwarted him. Therefore,
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when his holiness consecrated the world on his knees, he added a sentence not included in the
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distributed version that instead said to consecrate, quote, especially those nations of which you
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yourself have asked for their consecration, end quote. So indirectly, and this is again,
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these are the words of Father Amorth. So indirectly, this included Russia. However,
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a specific consecration has not yet been made. You can always do it. Indeed, it will certainly be done,
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end quote. You know, and that's really, for his time, it was incredible. Almost no church leader
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alive would have said something like that. But Father Amorth, I guess, after working with demons
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and fighting them all his life, had no real fear of anything mankind could muster up. So he was very
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forthright. It was such a joy to report on him. And let me bring you some of that exclusive LifeSite
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news interview with Father Amorth that was conducted again as he was already dying in hospital in
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December of 2015. Our reporter there asked, Our Lady is foretold at Fatima, the blood of martyrs,
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if penance were not done, the blood of the martyrs has begun to flow copiously. How long
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will it be before God sends his punishment? Father Amorth responds, Look, today there are more
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martyrs than during the first centuries of Christianity. Just think of the Middle East,
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where so many Christians are killed simply because they are Christian. There's a huge amount of
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martyrs. But let us not forget what Our Lady said. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.
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The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted, and the whole world will be
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granted a period of peace." End quote. Now that's Father Amorth quoting Our Lady, of course. And he
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continues with his own answer. He says, Soon we will have great happenings. And of course the LifeSite
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reporter asks, When? And Father Amorth says, It is hard to give details of what you do not live.
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I'm not a prophet. At one time, Israel pulled away from God to embrace idolatry. Prophets were treated
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very badly. Finally, God punished. Today, the world does not turn from God because it is idolatrous.
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Rather, it pursues pure atheism so as to put science on the altar. But science does not create. It only
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discovers that which God has made. In turning away from the Lord, it is breakthroughs.
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Its breakthroughs are put, that's science's breakthroughs, are put to disastrous use.
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Without the Lord, progress too is misused. We see it in laws that go totally against nature,
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such as divorce, abortion, gay marriage. We have forgotten God. Therefore, God will soon admonish
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humanity in a very powerful manner. He knows how to remind us of his presence. Think about that for a
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minute. We have worshipped or made an idol of science and put it on the altar and that can have
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very dangerous consequences. We just had a warning from Elon Musk about the possible horrific
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consequences to humanity of AI and what's going on. You know, who knows? Perhaps God will punish us by
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letting us reap the benefits of our false gods of science. Who knows? But Father Amor thought that
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the time of times or the time of punishment where the Lord will do something was coming and coming
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soon. And that was already back in early 2016. So Lifesight then asked him, there are rumors that
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you had recently indicated a period of eight months, maybe less. But as I understand it,
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there's not a precise time. And that is eight months to what? To the triumph of the Immaculate Heart,
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or to some kind of event that would come previous to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. And that's
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what we were referring to there. And Father Amor responds, I think it is early. In other words,
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that the eight months time period is too early. I think we are close, he adds. More and more so,
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the Lord will make himself heard and the world will respond. I look at this with optimism because God
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always acts for us to obtain a greater good than the punishments inflicted, which are meant to open
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the eyes of humanity, which has forgotten and abandoned him. I always remember the rhyme of
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metastasio. Wherever I look, immense God I see. In your works I admire you. I recognize you in myself."
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So that's him quoting a poet. And then he continues with his answer,
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"'We should always seek the Lord. We cannot forget the origin, the first cause, as unfortunately
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happens today. I was with Padre Pio for 26 years.'" Now, isn't that interesting? This is Father Amorth
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relating that he was with Padre Pio for 26 years. He goes on, "'I was with Padre Pio for 26 years,
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and remember how furious he was about the invention of television.'" Then he quotes Padre Pio.
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"'You will see what it will do,' he said." And then Father Amorth adds this, "'It has also allowed us good
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things,' that is television has. But I'm very much in the midst of people and see how many people have
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been ruined by television and the internet.'" So Lifesite then asked him,
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"'You spoke about the laws against nature of divorce, of gay unions. These are the themes of the two synods
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on the family, the extraordinary held last year, 2014, and the next one that was to be held,
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and the ordinary synod. Do you believe that these issues have been adequately addressed or should they
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be addressed from another perspective at the next meeting in October? That's October 2016." So Father Amorth
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then replied, "'Certainly it pleases me that the Pope has called the synod on the family, but you have to
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aim to the united family. Divorce has been a disaster. Abortion has been a disaster. Each year 50 million
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children are murdered by abortion. And euthanasia, the broken family, cohabitation, it's all destruction.
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The Lord gave us sex for a purpose, and he also declared, may no man divide what God has joined.
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One thing is sexual fun, another is love. Today there is much talk of love, but there truly is none.
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The sin that brings the most souls to hell is the impure sin, the sin of the flesh. She said this to a
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young girl who did not even know what it was. We must listen to that which Our Lady says. Words that in
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any case indicate as reasonable a single stance, conversion, penance, and prayer."
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And that, my friends, is the real Father Gabriel Amorth. Please go to LifeSiteNews.com to check out
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all of our coverage on Father Amorth and much more. For LifeSite News, this is John Henry Weston.
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Hi, everyone. This is John Henry Weston. We hope you enjoyed this program. To see more like it,
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