SPRINGFIELD (IL)
The Freethinker (UK)
BY BARRY DUKE – NOVEMBER 20, 2013
NO news is good news, so we assume that Illinois still exists, and has not been destroyed amidst roiling black clouds, fire pouring down from the heavens and people spewing pea soup – despite an exorcism that was due to take place today to protest the state’s approval of gay marriage.
I can find no reports that the exorcism by the Church’s Head Ju-Ju man in that neck of the woods actually took place. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Springfield diocese may well have changed his mind, given the outpourings of scorn that followed his announcement last week that he would offer prayers:
Of exorcism in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage.
Paprocki is no stranger to confronting The Forces of Evil. In October Frankie’s Capped Crusader single-handedly prevented a:
Blasphemous, scandalous, and sacrilegious recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Rainbow Sash Movement within the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception before the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
According to this report:
In a culture where the concept of exorcism is primarily shaped by a 1970s horror film, the announcement stirred confusion and discomfort, which Paprocki has declined to resolve. Even the Chicago Archdiocese’s designated exorcist declined to answer questions about the public rite that is more often private.
In fact, some Catholics believe the ritual could cast off more Catholics than demons. Yesterday, 14,000 petitioners called on the bishop to cancel the event.
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