{"id":17873,"date":"2017-01-19T23:22:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T23:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him-13101\/"},"modified":"2017-01-19T23:22:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T23:22:00","slug":"after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/","title":{"rendered":"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA<\/a>).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms.<\/p>\n

And, he says, the devil is afraid of him.<\/p>\n

Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, \u201cI am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now \u2013 I command you in His name that you go. Out!\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City.<\/p>\n

During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist.<\/p>\n

First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, \u201cone isn\u2019t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evil one, he added, wants \u201cto separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t enter us if we do not open doors,\u201d the priest said. \u201cBecause of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses \u2013 how can they influence us? It\u2019s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don\u2019t have. To carry a horseshoe because it\u2019s going to give me good luck \u2013 it\u2019s a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors.<\/p>\n

He said that he has observed possessed persons who \u201cbegan to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the possessed person \u201chears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,\u201d he continued. \u201cPeople who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate.<\/p>\n

Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was \u201cout of necessity\u201d after seeing \u201cvery serious and painful cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA<\/a>).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms.<\/p>\n

And, he says, the devil is afraid of him.<\/p>\n

Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!”<\/p>\n

Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City.<\/p>\n

During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist.<\/p>\n

First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.”<\/p>\n

The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.”<\/p>\n

“He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.”<\/p>\n

Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so.<\/p>\n

“He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.”<\/p>\n

“That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.”<\/p>\n

Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors.<\/p>\n

He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.”<\/p>\n

On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move.<\/p>\n

“He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.”<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.”<\/p>\n

“The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.”<\/p>\n

Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate.<\/p>\n

Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.”<\/p>\n

“A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, ‘You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.’ The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms. And, he says, the devil is afraid of him. Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!” Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City. During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist. First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.” The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.” “He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.” Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so. “He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.” “That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.” Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.” “The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.” Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate. Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.” “A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”  \" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms. And, he says, the devil is afraid of him. Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!” Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City. During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist. First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.” The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.” “He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.” Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so. “He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.” “That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.” Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.” “The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.” Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate. Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.” “A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”  \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/PFranciscoSedanos_TribunaBahia_110117.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/\",\"name\":\"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. 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Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. 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Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms. And, he says, the devil is afraid of him. Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!” Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City. During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist. First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.” The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.” “He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.” Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so. “He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.” “That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.” Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.” “The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.” Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate. Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.” “A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”  ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him","og_description":"Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms. And, he says, the devil is afraid of him. Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!” Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City. During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist. First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.” The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.” “He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.” Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so. “He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.” “That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.” Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.” “The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.” Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate. Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.” “A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”  ","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/PFranciscoSedanos_TribunaBahia_110117.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/","name":"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-19T23:22:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 19, 2017 \/ 04:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. Francisco Lopez Sedano is an 80-year-old Mexican exorcist. In the past 40 years of service, he has conducted at least 6,000 exorcisms. And, he says, the devil is afraid of him. Fr. Lopez told the newspaper Hoy Los Angeles (Los Angeles Today) that when the devil speaks to him through possessed people, he responds, “I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your Lord and God and you leave right now – I command you in His name that you go. Out!” Fr. Lopez is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City. During the interview, the priest highlighted four things that he learned during his years as an exorcist. First, he emphasized, the devil is a person and not a thing. He noted that Jesus confronted the devil many times and spoke to him. When speaking with a demon, “one isn’t talking with a thing, one is talking with a person.” The evil one, he added, wants “to separate us from God, to frighten us, to threaten us, to make us tremble.” “He brings us laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, distrust, desperation, hate; everything negative.” Second, Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so. “He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.” “That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. To carry a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck – it’s a lie.” Another truth that Fr. Lopez has learned from decades of experience is that the possessed exhibit specific behaviors. He said that he has observed possessed persons who “began to shout, to bark like a dog, to scream or writhe and who squirmed like a snake on the ground. There are a thousand forms.” On one occasion, Fr. Lopez said, a boy around 18 years old pushed five large benches that were so heavy they should have required the strength of 10 people to move. “He had a terrible strength. We had to get him between three people to practice the exorcism. Having the presence of the Other, already explains anything. They are able to climb the walls, yes. And fly too.” Sometimes, the possessed person “hears voices, feels hatred or rejection of God where before they believed and now they stamp on the Bible. Other people have a terrible backache, but doctors say that they are perfectly fine.” “The injuries of Satan are outside the control of clinical medicine,” he continued. “People who live with permanent diarrhea and nothing makes it go away; people who have eye pain and ophthalmologists find nothing. These are injuries that science does not detect.” Finally, the priest said, decades of ministry have taught him that exorcism is a divine mandate. Regarding his appointment as an exorcist some 40 years ago, he affirmed that it was “out of necessity” after seeing “very serious and painful cases.” “A fellow priest who was involved in it made me see that fighting the Evil One was an obligation. He said to me, 'You have to enter into this by the command of the Lord.' The three mandates are to carry the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons. All three are in valid in the Church.”  ","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/after-performing-6000-exorcisms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After performing 6,000 exorcisms, this priest says the devil fears him"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}