Pope tells priests to call in exorcists "when hearing troubled confessions"March 18, 2017 - 11:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis has advised priests who hear troubled confessions from parishioners to not hesitate to call on the services of an exorcist, The Guardian reports. A good confessor has to be very discerning, particularly when he has to deal with “real spiritual disorders”, the 80-year-old pontiff told priests at a Vatican training seminar on the art of hearing believers recount their sins. Disorders could have their roots in all manner of circumstances, including supernatural ones, he suggested. In such circumstances the confessor “must not hesitate to refer to exorcists … chosen with great care and prudence”. It is not the first time the pope has talked about exorcising demons from a believer’s person, and he generally refers more frequently than his predecessors to the devil, characterising him as a physical presence in this world. Francis has described jihadists who stabbed a French priest to death as satanic and the acts of priests who sexually abuse children as akin to participating in a satanic mass. Vatican universities also regularly hold training courses for would-be exorcists despite the practice being frowned upon by some church intellectuals. Francis also presided on Friday, March 17 over a celebration of penitence in St Peter’s cathedral, during which he confessed himself before hearing confessions of several of the faithful. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |