In an extraordinary act of spiritual warfare, several bishops and exorcist priests have performed what is being called a “Magno Exorcismo” (great exorcism) of the entire country of Mexico following a series of events that the bishops see as linked to the presence and influence of Satan.
On May 20, the former Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, the Archbishop of San Luis Potosi, Carlos Cabrero, as well as several exorcist priests from various Mexican dioceses held a closed-door exorcism ritual at the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Luis Potosí.
The well-known Spanish exorcist Father José Antonio Fortea acted as master of ceremonies for the exorcism rite, which has been called “unprecedented in the history of Mexico.” Father Fortea is known for his books on exorcism, including “Memoirs of an Exorcist,” and “Summa Daemoniaca.”
Mexico has been victim to a growing wave of violence, and according to official figures, there have been some 100,000 abortions performed in Mexico City since the practice was legalized in the Mexican capital in 2007. With the exorcism, the bishops asked God to end the spiral of drug-related violence in the country as well as abortion.
Bishop Cabrero explained the hush-hush nature of the ceremony, saying that otherwise “it arouses morbid curiosity and misinterpretations” when what we are after is simply “doing good for everyone.”
In a telephone interview, Father Fortea declined to give details about the ceremony, but said that “undoubtedly the abortion, Satanism, corruption, the cult of ‘holy’ death and the legalization of sexual aberrations have caused great satanic infestation throughout Mexico.”
All of this, he said, has unleashed widespread violence precisely because of the action of the devil. The purpose of the exorcism was to “drive the demons out of Mexico,” he said.
Fortea said that every Catholic bishop in Mexico should celebrate the “Great Exorcism” in his own diocese. He also urged the repeal of Mexico City’s abortion law, “the cause of all this,” and the amendment of the constitution to legally establish the right to life from the moment of conception.
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez said that the Great Exorcism “is a prayer to God to drive away the enemy, and keep him from these places—San Luis first, and then all of Mexico.”
The Emeritus Archbishop of Guadalajara stressed the importance of people becoming aware “of the seriousness of the situation that we live in Mexico, which has very deep roots, beyond human evil, which is the devil, who is closely connected with death and has been a murderer from the very beginning.”
The Mexican Cardinal expressed his regret for all “the violence against children and adults” in Mexico, adding that “when a country—a Christian country—decriminalizes abortion, it is a tragedy and a very grave sin.”
Father Fortea said that “the exorcism performed in San Luís Potosí is the first ever carried out in Mexico in which the exorcists came from different parts of the country and gathered together to exorcise the powers of darkness, not from a person, but from the whole country.”
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome
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