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October
27, 2004 / SANTIAGO, Chile
— The gruesome murder of a priest in Chile
by a Satanist sent shock waves throughout the Latin American nation in July.
An Italian missionary, Servite Father Faustino Gazziero de Stefani, was
slain by a 25-year-old man moments after he had finished saying Mass in
Santiago’s cathedral.
The assailant, Rodrigo Orias Gallardo, was dressed in black and armed with a
knife. Witnesses said Gallardo knelt next to the priest after killing him
and began to invoke Satan’s name. It was the first time that a Satanist
publicly attacked and killed someone in Chile.
Similar events took place in northern Italy this past June. Police arrested
three men who are accused of ordering the murder of at least five youths in
the area around Milan since 1998.
Police say the three Satanists ordered the ritual killings of a 19-year-old
woman, Chiara Marino, and 18-year-old Fabio Tollis in 1998. Marino was found
dead in the woodland areas northwest of Milan, and Tollis, a guitarist with
a Milan heavy-metal group, was murdered because of last-minute doubts
regarding the “sacrifice” of Marino. Another woman, Mariangela Pezzota, was
killed by the sect in January because the group felt she knew too much.
Judge Toni Novik, the magistrate in charge of the case, said it was the
first instance of serial killings by Satanists in Italy.
The events serve as reminders that Satanism is all too real and raise
questions about how widespread Satanic groups are, how and why young people
get involved, what parents can do and how youths can be saved.
Father Gabriel Amorth has been the exorcist for the Diocese of Rome for the
past 18 years. He says one of the main ways young people get involved is
through dance clubs. “I don’t want to generalize, but first you see them get
involved with alcohol, then drugs, then sex. And then Satanism.”
Father Amorth said that whenever he talks to parents, the first thing he
tells them is not to give their children money. “If kids have everything,
they do not develop the habit of sacrifice, the value of obligation or
responsibility. They become discontented with life and seek adventure to
fill this emptiness. Above all, it leads them to drugs.”
The most important thing that parents can do is give their children ideals
and values, he said. “We used to see God as the head of the household. Now,
kids don’t believe in God. They abandon the faith. They do not know what
patriotism is.” Father Amorth also pointed to the high incidence of broken
families in Italy as a factor which contributes to youths getting involved
in Satanic cults.
Father Mitch Pacwa, a Jesuit priest and host for a series on EWTN, believes
that another major factor is the desire for friendship.
“There are some kids who are kind of misfits,” he said. “They feel different
from the rest. Other kids don’t like them, which adds to the problem.
Somebody from a Satanic group will seek them out and recruit them.”
The desire for friendship is so strong, Father Pacwa said, that these youths
are amazed that anyone is even paying attention to them when they are
recruited.
One of the most dangerous cases is when an adult recruits an adolescent. “If
an older woman befriends an adolescent boy, which is not unusual, she
seduces him,” Father Pacwa said. “What usually happens is that the seductive
partner says, ‘I know you like what we did. I have photographs to prove it.’
She blackmails him. Then, the group will up the ante. And say ‘Okay, now
let’s kill a cat.’ And it goes on from there.”
In other cases, young people will form groups and invent Satanic practices.
“They are making it up as they go along,” Father Pacwa said. “They don’t
know anything about it. These are cult want-to-bes, which has its own
dangers. They begin to dare each other to do things.”
Nobody really knows how widespread Satanic sects are because of the
secretive nature of these groups. Father Amorth believes the phenomenon is
growing in Italy, though he could not give any statistics. “These groups get
together and disband very easily,” he said. “They are usually very small
groups.” Father Bernardino Zanello, vicar general for the Servants of Mary
Order in Santiago, where Father Gazziero served, said there are more than 80
Satanic groups in Chile that have been identified by officials.
One characteristic of these groups is their tendency to glorify themselves.
“They try to make themselves look more fearful than they are,” Father Pacwa
said. “Their point is to try to shock and attack the basic faith of their
parents in God.” Father Pacwa likened these groups to street gangs. “I used
to work with street gangs, who had similar delusions of grandeur. These kids
really believed they were protecting their neighborhoods. St. Ignatius
Loyola says that Satan uses pride.” Once people succumb to pride, other sins
begin to fall into place.
There are many signs that parents should look for: a sudden drop in grades,
a fascination with the occult and drug use.
“Parents have this foolish idea that their kids’ rooms are their own space,”
said Father Pacwa. “That’s foolish! It’s their house. Check it out. Are
there drugs going on? Is there evidence of sexual behavior — especially with
an adult, which is criminal behavior?”
The most important advice for parents, according to Father Pacwa, is to know
their child’s heart.
“You know when your own children lie,” he said. “When you see off-behavior,
catch it early on. Ask them: What’s in your heart? Hang out with them. Go
for a walk. They will talk to you. Do this on a regular basis. It will help
preclude this kind of stuff.”
Once youths become involved in Satanic groups, it becomes difficult to
leave. It is important that the youths involved want to leave. Spiritual
direction is needed, as well as prayer by loved ones. Parents must help
their children realize how harmful these activities can be.
As for the aftermath of these tragedies, investigations continue in Chile
and in Italy. Father Zanella believes that, for the good of society, a
thorough investigation must take place.
“I think we must understand these groups,” he said. “We cannot confuse
things, because the reality is complex. What does this mean for society? Why
are these things happening? The problem needs to be confronted. We need to
give our youths more ideals.”
Father Pacwa remains optimistic about the problem.
“In the first epistle of St. John, chapter four, verse four, it says: ‘For
there is one greater in you than in the world.’ It is very important for us
to have this sense. This must be the basis from which we act. Believe me, I
don’t go looking for the forces of evil, but I don’t worry about being
overly afraid.”
Sabrina Ferrisi writes from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Reprinted with permission from the National Catholic Register, October
24–30, 2004. All rights reserved.
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