Sunday Mail (UK)

Exorcists We blame Harry for hauntings

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Two of the Catholic Church’s top exorcists have blamed Harry Potter, porn and booze for a rise in reports of supernatur­al incidents.

The priests bel ieve popular culture and fading Christian values are helping grant the Devil access to our lives.

One clerg yman, an exorcist covering London and Kent, said: “It’s true to say there is a greater interest in exorcisms.

“There are lots of reasons. Popular culture is full of the preternatu­ral.

“Young people watch things about vampires and Harry Potter and however much people claim to have moved away from mainstream religion, there remains the need to bel ieve in something invisible.

“It’s normal for humans to have a morbid fascinatio­n with the idea of a battle with evi l and to the point of caricature, the exorcist coming like a wizard to help.”

Another exorcist, based in Liverpool, said: “Only when it is obvious there’s something other than mental il lness going on would we get involved.

“Otherwise I would pray with them but say, ‘ You should go to your GP.’”

Both claim use of ouija boards and tarot cards increase the risk of your home becoming haunted.

The pai r spoke out following the death last week of the Vatican’s chief exorcist Gabriele Amorth, who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms.

 ??  ?? WIZARD Harry Potter
WIZARD Harry Potter

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