Former priest wanted on abuse charges in Arizona arrested in Italy

Italian police arrested former U.S. Salvatorian Father Joseph J. Henn 16 years after Italy’s highest court confirmed his extradition to the United States to face allegations of child sexual abuse in Arizona.

Michele Gentiloni, Henn’s attorney, said his client was taken into custody May 28 after trying to use his expired U.S. passport as identification to pick up some medicine he needed. A spokesman for the Carabinieri, the Italian police force that apprehended Henn, disputed that version of events, claiming instead that the priest had requested assistance at a city-run immigrant assistance center using a false name.

Henn, who was expelled from his order and removed from the priesthood in 2006, currently is in Rome’s Regina Coeli prison awaiting questioning, which must happen by June 3, his attorney told Catholic News Service May 31.

Former priest wanted on abuse charges in Arizona arrested in Italy

Bizarre rules of Italian macrobiotic 'cult' revealed by victims | World news | The Guardian

People who broke free from what police say was a macrobiotic sect in Italy have described gradually losing control over their lives through a web of archaic rules and subtle manipulation.

Some said they spent more than 20 years within a system that police say was carefully cultivated by Mario Pianesi, an influential businessman celebrated around the world as a guru of macrobiotic food.
Pianesi, 73, is among four people accused by the authorities of reducing people to slavery by strictly controlling their diets, denying them contact with the outside world and leaving them impoverished by forcing them to work for free or a pitiful salary.

 

The group was exposed by police last week, following an investigation which began in 2013 when a young woman, whose weight had plummeted to 35kg (77lb), told police Pianesi had promised her that his “Ma-Pi” diet would cure her illness.

Pianesi has not commented on the allegations. Manuel Formica, a lawyer representing all four accused, said: “This thing is far-fetched and the suspects will do everything to defend their integrity.”

Bizarre rules of Italian macrobiotic 'cult' revealed by victims | World news | The Guardian

Italian priest, Gino Flaim, suspended for defending pedophilia - UPI.com

I have no words,,, 

A Trento, Italy, Catholic priest was suspended after defending pedophilia during a television interview.

The Rev. Gino Flaim said he "understands pedophilia" as an attempt by children to find affection.

He told Italy's La7 television channel, "I've been to lots of schools, and I know children. Unfortunately there are children who seek affection because they don't receive it at home and I understand that some priests can give up. Pedophilia is a sin, and like all sins has to be accepted."

He was less forgiving of homosexuality, referring to it as a "disease."

Italian priest, Gino Flaim, suspended for defending pedophilia - UPI.com

London art dealer arrested in Italy for suspicion of murdering her mother with rosary beads - Telegraph

What role does religious belief in possession play in this action? It is a question I continue to ask myself every time a story, such as the following, comes to light.  Whether mental illness is present or not, the idea had to come from somewhere.

A London art dealer is in prison in Italy accused of murdering her 93-year-old mother by stuffing a rosary down her throat in an attempt to “cleanse” her of evil spirits.

Italian-born Francesca Martire, 61, who ran a successful design, furniture and lighting dealership in St John’s Wood, is undergoing psychiatric assessments after being arrested for the alleged murder of her mother, Maria Luigia Magazzile.

The alleged killing happened when the London-based designer was visiting her elderly mother in their home town of Taranto, in the far south ofItaly.

Mrs Martire, who had lived in Britain since 1986, has told her lawyer and police that she believed her mother’s apartment was infested with evil spirits and that by shoving the rosary in her mouth she was attempting to perform a sort of exorcism.

“She said she wanted to purify her mother of malign spirits,” Fabrizio Lamanna, Mrs Martire’s lawyer, told The Telegraph.

London art dealer arrested in Italy for suspicion of murdering her mother with rosary beads - Telegraph

Priest performs exorcism from a helicopter to banish evil from Italian town where several churches have been robbed and defiled - Europe - World - The Independent

A priest has performed an exorcism from a helicopter to banish evil from an Italian seaside town said to be beset with social and moral decay.

Worshippers organised the airborne battle against evil after several churches were robbed and defiled in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples.

The aerial benediction was carried out to bless and cleanse the town and the surrounding area. Locals say a series of incidents, including the desecration of graves, crosses placed upside down, thefts from churches and Madonnas thrown off cliffs, suggest the presence of devil worshippers.

So instead of actively doing something about the issues at hand, they resort to religious mumbo jumbo:

But locals are hoping and praying that the benediction will help turn around the economic fortunes of the town’s 65,000 inhabitants, who have been hit by surging unemployment and closing businesses.

What's that saying? "Nothing fails like prayer."

Priest performs exorcism from a helicopter to banish evil from Italian town where several churches have been robbed and defiled - Europe - World - The Independent

Italian priests EXORCISE prostitute Nigerian migrant girls to break voodoo spell | Daily Mail Online

A Catholic priest stands over the forlorn figure of a young Nigerian girl, murmuring prayers and sprinkling holy water as she sobs.

Favour*, a 19-year-old, is constantly scratching, her skin is red raw in places. She believes there is a nest of insects living inside her body- and that they will kill her.

The priest is attempting to break a powerful voodoo spell that binds her to her ‘madam’ in Trieste, near the border with Slovenia, for the next five to eight years.

Favour, one of thousands of Nigerian women trafficked to Europe to become sex slaves every year, has been told she owes her female pimp €80,000 for her journey. This will take around 4,000 clients each paying as little as €10 or €20 to pay off.

Although the chains tying her to her madam are only psychological, they are extremely powerful.

In their desperation to break the hold over the girls, many of which are sent on the migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean, the Italians have even resorted to get Catholic priests to perform exorcisms on them.

For many of us in the secular community, when we think of religious indoctrination we only see the big three - Judaism, Christianity, Islam.  But as I have been chronicling of late, the harm of religion is not just happening within the Abrahamic religions.

Although one may look at the following story as bizarre and WTF, an interesting point was brought forth,

As Francesca de Masi, a sociologist with the Be Free organisation that works with the trafficked women, explains: ‘Telling them that voodoo isn’t real is presumptuous… it doesn’t take into consideration the context they come from. 

‘And it’s counterproductive. It makes them close up and become incommunicative. Whether they believe or not, there are so many reasons to be afraid. The risk that something terrible happens to their family is real.’

From that the response is understandable, although a secular response would be preferable

Counter-magic in the form of a reverse voodoo with Catholic priests performing a kind of exorcism is more convincing, according to Rosanna Paradiso, founder of the Tampep association in Turin that helps girls free themselves and return home.

‘It’s difficult because the jiujiu has such a strong grip. And the women have been told not to trust police or anyone in Europe. But we have called priests to do counter jiujiu. Occasionally it has been proven to work. I saw one girl who had taken to her bed months before, waiting to die, just got out of bed. She was cured.’

Italian priests EXORCISE prostitute Nigerian migrant girls to break voodoo spell | Daily Mail Online

Busted: Gang that used voodoo to exploit women - The Local

As with a previous article out of the UK, concerning Lizzy Idahosa and her use of a Juju ceremony associated with Voodoo, it seems that Nigerian women in Spain have also fallen victim to the cruel technique of controlling women and children through fear.

Officers rescued four victims and arrested six members of the organization that used juju voodoo rituals to sexually exploit women, according to a police report.

Traffickers reportedly promised the women from Nigerian jobs in Spain, only to force them into prostitution once they brought them to places such as Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and Palma de Mallorca in the Balearics.

The traffickers had put the women through a juju voodoo ritual that used the victims' finger nails or public hair and involved animal sacrifice in front of idols in a temple in order to "guarantee that the women complied with everything they demanded, under threat of death to them and their families".

What is disconcerting, this practice is also occurring in places like Italy as well as the UK Man ‘used witchcraft to traffic children’ for prostitution.

Busted: Gang that used voodoo to exploit women - The Local

Nun faces expulsion from convent after giving birth to baby - Independent.ie

When I initially posted concerning this story I was a bit snarky which some took to mean I was dishing on Sister Roxana and not considering she may have been raped. I am very well aware of the RCC's other dirty little secret and my reaction was not so much about her pregnancy but how some followers of the Church were reacting, ie. second coming, virgin birth, anti-christ.

That being said, Sister Roxana now faces the "consequences" (from the Church) for her actions,,,

A nun from El Salvador who gave birth to a baby boy in Italy has described him as "a gift of God" and pledged to take care of him as she faces expulsion from the convent.

[,,,]
"However, I am very worried about the commotion that this has stirred up. They are talking about this, not only in Italy but in my own country and I am afraid to return there."

The baby's birth has provoked an outcry in the Catholic Church since Sr Roxana took a vow of "poverty, chastity and obedience" when she became a nun in September 2012.

"How do I feel? More like a mum than a nun," she said after the birth of the baby.

Nun faces expulsion from convent after giving birth to baby - Independent.ie

BBC News - Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy'

Uhm, Is this what they call the Second Coming? And wondering exactly what if any "discipline" she will face considering this sounds like a very familiar story. Ya know like the one the whole religion is based upon. Sorry I am having a hard time being serious about this. This isn't the first time a Nun has had a child and it won't be the last. Suppressing your sexuality to serve God is not natural,,,

The 31-year-old was rushed to hospital with abdominal pains, which she thought were stomach cramps.

The young mother, who is originally from El Salvador, reportedly named her newborn Francis after the current Pope.

The mayor of Rieti, Simone Petrangeli has appealed to the public and media to respect the woman's privacy.


BBC News - Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy'

Italy's Supreme Court Overturns Conviction of 60-Y-O Pedophile Because He and 11-Y-O Girl Were in Love

Italy's Supreme Court sparked international outcry online recently when it overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old man who engaged in a sexual relationship with an 11-year-old girl because they were in love.

According to an AFP report, the initial rulings did not take into account the "amorous relationship" the unidentified 11-year-old shared with 60-year-old Pietro Lamberti, a social services worker from Catanzaro in southern Italy.

Lamberti was convicted in February 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with the young girl and the verdict was later upheld by an appeals court.

But in a surprising turn of events, the Italian Supreme Court ordered a retrial because the verdict did not fully account for "the 'consensus,' the existence of an amorous relationship, the absence of physical force, the girl's feelings of love."

A Blitz Quotidiano report noted that Lamberti met with the girl at a summer cottage in Roccelletta di Borgia, Catanzaro. Wiretapped phone calls from an investigation highlighted the girl asking if he loved her. It also revealed their fear of being caught. Lamberti repeatedly asked the girl to keep their relationship a secret and to avoid calling him on the weekends when he was with his family. They were eventually caught having sex in a villa by the sea.

The report highlighted that the girl came from a poor family and they were compensated 40,000 euros.

Italy's Supreme Court Overturns Conviction of 60-Y-O Pedophile Because He and 11-Y-O Girl Were in Love