| ROME - Worried about the lure of the devil, a Vatican-linked university on Thursday debuted its latest course offering: a class on Satanism, black magic and exorcism.
The class for clergy and seminarians at Rome's Pontifical Academy "Regina Apostolorum" arose from alarm about what some religious officials see as Satanic practices among young people, especially in Italy. In one case in Italy in January, members of a heavy metal band called "Beasts of Satan" were ordered to stand trial for their alleged role in three ritual killings. One of the victims was a 19-year-old stabbed to death in 1998. She may have been targeted because her killers believed she was a personification of the Virgin Mary, prosecutors contend. A major theme of the first day's course was how to differentiate between a person who is possessed and someone who is simply suffering psychological problems. |
Now that's something I've always wondered about. How do you tell the difference between demonic possession and insanity? And were the "Beasts of Satan" truly possessed, or were they just crazy?
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