The Devil Made Him Do It: Exorcist Priest Admits to ‘violations of Chastity’, by Barbara Hijek, Sun Sentinel, February 3, 2011

The Devil Made Him Do It: Exorcist Priest Admits to ‘violations of Chastity’

By Barbara Hijek
Sun Sentinel
February 3, 2011

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/specials/weirdflorida/blog/2011/02/the_devil_made_him_do_it_exorc_1.html

Thomas Euteneuer

Thomas Euteneuer, a Catholic priest and exorcist assigned to Palm Beach Diocese, who abruptly left a high-profile post in August, has confessed to "violations of chastity," reports The Palm Beach Post.

Euteneuer said his actions involved "one person only, an adult woman under my spiritual care" and "did not involve the sexual act."

The head of a victims' organization expressed skepticism about Euteneuer's confession.

"We hope Father Euteneuer is telling the truth, but we suspect he's not," Barbara Dorris, outreach director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told The Palm Beach Post. "Rarely do clerics who abuse their power do so only once."

He denied that he "targeted vulnerable women." He said that he conducted exorcisms on women with witnesses, except for occasional emergency sessions . He denied soliciting money, other than to cover his travel, reports the Post.

From 2000 until August of this past year, Euteneuer was president of Human Life International, a prominent anti-abortion group. More recently he began conducting exorcisms. Though he traveled throughout the world, he was officially assigned to the Palm Beach Diocese, where he was ordained in 1988.

Earlier this year, Euteneuer wrote that in 10 years with HLI he traveled more than 1.1 million miles, visited 58 countries and made thousands of public appearances.

"I'm disappointed that HLI apparently didn't monitor the activities of Father Euteneuer very closely," said Matt Abbott, a blogger for RenewAmerica.com, a Catholic website. "Some of these so-called exorcisms reportedly occurred at HLI's headquarters, which is disturbing."