Author Archives: Andrew Stuttaford

An “Urgent Need For More Exorcists” (Apparently)

The Daily Telegraph: A sharp rise in the number of people dabbling in Satanism and the occult is fueling a growing demand for more exorcists on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking in tongues, levitating and vomiting nails may seem far-fetched to … Continue reading

Posted in culture, Religion | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The God of War

Crux:  Ahead of his day trip to Assisi to participate in a World Day of Prayer for Peace, Pope Francis said that the gathering of women and men religious from around the world is not a “spectacle” but simply a … Continue reading

Posted in politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pope Francis: the Man with the Answers

Cross-posted on the Corner. AP: Pope Francis has encouraged Europeans to welcome refugees, calling authentic hospitality “our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.” Francis Saturday spoke to alumni of Jesuit schools in Europe who were in Rome for a … Continue reading

Posted in politics, Religion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Pope Francis: the Man with the Answers

Climate Change: Sarkozy Goes There

Cross-posted on the Corner.  Count me skeptical about former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, but I had to warm, so to speak, to this comment (via Politico): Sarkozy, who hopes to secure the center-right Les Républicains party’s presidential nomination, told business … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Climate Change: Sarkozy Goes There

The Clowns of Salem?

Once upon a time it was alien abductions, and not so long before that, the Satanic panic of the 1980s, a wave of hysteria that spilled over into some of the child abuse  prosecutions of that era with sometimes appalling consequences. Now there … Continue reading

Posted in culture | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Clowns of Salem?

Fifteen Years

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Fifteen Years

A Raid in Argentina

We’ll have to see what emerges from the eventual prosecution, but this story (reported in the Daily Telegraph, with my emphasis added) from Argentina may be interesting for the light it casts on the Christian fascination with suffering (discussed here the other … Continue reading

Posted in Church & State, Religion | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ayahuasca and the D’Ohs of Perception

Cross-posted on the Corner: Madness, too much time in the desert or just the right hallucinogenic concoction all seem to be reasonably reliable routes to mysticism. Ayahuasca is (the New Yorker reports) “an intensely hallucinogenic potion made from boiling woody … Continue reading

Posted in culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mother Teresa and the Cult of Suffering

Mother Teresa has been canonized today. The new saint’s record is more complicated than either her critics or her fans like to acknowledge, but this balanced piece by Mari Marcel Thekaekara in the Guardian is worth a look. Towards the … Continue reading

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Trump on God

CNN (from last year): “Well I say God is the ultimate. You know you look at this?” Trump said, motioning toward an oceanfront golf course that bears his name. “Here we are on the Pacific Ocean. How did I ever … Continue reading

Posted in politics, Religion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment