Marchese, a Vatican journalist with Mediaset (Italian television) with more than 10 years of experience, wrote the book full of stories of victims of possession and testimonies of exorcists who fight against the devil, including a previously unpublished interview with Pope Francis in which he describes how the devil always “tries to attack everyone and sows discord, also in the Church, trying to pit one against another.”
Pope Francis, attacked by the devil
The pope admits in this interview that he too has been attacked by the devil, Marchese said. “The devil attacks everyone, but above all those in the hierarchy of the Church. He tempted Jesus and he also does the same with the popes and bishops.”
Indeed, in the first chapter of the book, Marchese tells the story of a nun who was freed from diabolic possession and who, during the exorcisms, with a demonic voice, indicated that the devil hated Pope Francis: “Have you seen everything I put that Argentine through?” the devil said to the priest. “But he doesn’t go away, he is strong, too much for me.”
“I asked the pope,” Marchese recalled, “did you know that the devil says that about you? And he answered me: ‘Perhaps because I annoy him with prayer and I follow the Gospel.’ At the same time, he is certainly pleased when I commit some sin. He seeks the downfall of man, but he has no hope when prayer is present.”
In some dioceses in northern Europe there are no exorcists despite the warnings of recent popes, Marchese noted in the interview with ACI Prensa. “Yes, unfortunately it’s like that, and I have to agree with Father Gabriele Amorth (1925–2016), who was a great exorcist.”
Some popes have performed remote exorcisms
Although some popes have performed remote exorcisms, such as Pius XII and St. John Paul II, there is no evidence that other contemporary pontiffs have done so. Even in times when the devil has manifested himself, such as when Benedict XVI blessed three demoniac youths from a distance after a general audience in 2009, popes have not carried out exorcisms.
St. John XXIII never performed exorcisms and neither did St. Paul VI, who in 1972 commented how “the smoke of Satan had entered through some crack” into the Church. Nor has Pope Francis performed an exorcism, as confirmed in the interview with Marchese, since he prefers that specialized priests do it.
His approach is focused on preventing and combating evil temptations through faith and prayer. The pontiff has not only openly preached against the devil, he also recognized the International Association of Exorcists in June 2014, Marchese noted.
