Spirituality

Vatican denies Pope performed exorcism

By T.K. Randall
May 22, 2013 ·  21 comments

Image Credit: CC 2.0 Casa Rosada The video was recorded during Sunday mass and showed a man reacting to the Pope placing his hands on his head, a scene typical of an exorcism. The footage was shown on a TV channel owned by the Italian bishops' conference along with quotes from exorcists who suggested that it did indeed show Pope Francis performing such a ritual.

In an official statement however, spokesman Federico Lombardi was quick to deny that the Pope had performed an exorcism. "Rather as he frequently does with the sick or suffering who come his way, he simply intended to pray for a suffering person," he said. The director of the TV station, Dino Boffo, later apologized, stating "I apologise for having altered the truth of the facts and for the people who are involved, in particular I apologise to the Holy Father."[!gad]The video was recorded during Sunday mass and showed a man reacting to the Pope placing his hands on his head, a scene typical of an exorcism. The footage was shown on a TV channel owned by the Italian bishops' conference along with quotes from exorcists who suggested that it did indeed show Pope Francis performing such a ritual.

In an official statement however, spokesman Federico Lombardi was quick to deny that the Pope had performed an exorcism. "Rather as he frequently does with the sick or suffering who come his way, he simply intended to pray for a suffering person," he said. The director of the TV station, Dino Boffo, later apologized, stating "I apologise for having altered the truth of the facts and for the people who are involved, in particular I apologise to the Holy Father."

Source: BBC News | Comments (21)

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