Two Catholic officials, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Archbishop of Portland Alexander Sample, performed the rite of exorcism at mass outdoor ceremonies last month, in a bid to drive out any evil spirits from the communities, after violent protests across the country.
#News USA: Archbishop Alexander Sample conducts exorcism over Portland to end violence https://t.co/j86UAHql3z pic.twitter.com/GP31cbywFA
— BritishChristian.com (@BritisChristian) October 27, 2020
"We pray that God might purify this place of evil spirits, that he might purify the hearts of those who perpetrated this blasphemy", Cordileone said, stading outside a Catholic church in San Rafael, where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra - an 18th-century Spanish missionary, who brought the light of the Catholic faith to what is now the western US.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performs an exorcism outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in San Rafael, California. -Sachin pic.twitter.com/hRU36NWfxD
— Augustine Mario, MFV (@UgonnaMario) October 24, 2020
Such exorcism rites, aimed at entire communities, have no precedence in modern US history, according to scholars.
However, in neighbouring Mexico some high-ranking Catholic priests performed an exorcism in 2015 trying to cleanse demons nationwide, saying they were responding to high levels of violence, abortions, and criminal activity.
