Lay group's tale one of exorcisms, power struggles and abuse charges

Aci Bonaccorsi, a small town of about 3,500 on the Italian island of Sicily, is a pious and devout kind of place.

People are said to have been miraculously cured here, citizens swear to have seen demons cast out, and once, it is believed, the Virgin Mary stopped a river of lava from destroying the entire town.

But today the small Sicilian municipality, famous for being a bastion of the kind of traditional Catholicism that characterizes the surrounding diocese of Acireale, is in the eye of a hurricane involving exorcisms, alleged sexual abuse and power struggles.
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Capuana began claiming that he was the Archangel Michael, assisted by two other Archangels Raphael and Gabriel (respectively, local journalist Carmelo di Mauro and musician Giuseppe Rapisardi). The three allegedly would meet in the cigarette-smoke filled rectory after regular hours, dressed in religious clothing and each carrying a cross.

Faithful would gather round and listen, as Capuana spoke with an otherworldly voice and foretold things to come.
These meetings adopted the name of the ‘Cenacle,’ and reportedly would extend well into the night. Yells, locals say, could be heard from outside church grounds on the days Cavalli and his Archangels performed exorcisms.

Many tried to warn Cavalli of the danger of associating the group with such an oblique figure as Capuana, but to no avail. Among them was also Bianco, who told Crux the parish priest was blind when it came to his lay protégé, and this led to a rift between Bianco and Cavalli.

Lay group's tale one of exorcisms, power struggles and abuse charges

See also::  Self-proclaimed ‘Archangel’ arrested for sex abuse in Sicily