Exorcising Mexico

I've posted here before about Pope Francis' support for the practice of exorcism, which has been on the rise during his tenure. But what do you do if you have to perform an exorcism on an entire country? It's not like you can just tie it to a bed and dump holy water on it. As it turns out, such a rite does exist, but it's rarely performed. It's called “Exorcismo Magno” and it involves exorcists from all over the country coming together and working in concert. About a month ago, this special rite of exorcism was performed in Mexico.

The event was not made known to the general public beforehand. According to Archbishop Cabrero, the reserved character of the May 20 ceremony was intended to avoid any misguided interpretations of the ritual. But how can an entire country become infested by demons to the point that it’s necessary to resort to an Exorcismo Magno?

“To the extent sin increases more and more in a country, to that extent it becomes easier for the demons to tempt (people),” Fr. Fortea told CNA.The Spanish exorcist warned that “to the extent there is more witchcraft and Satanism going on in a country, to that extent there will be more extraordinary manifestations of those powers of darkness.”

Fr. Fortea said that “the exorcism performed in San Luís Potosí is the first ever carried out in Mexico in which the exorcists came from different parts of the country and gathered together to exorcise the powers of darkness, not from a person, but from the whole country.”

“This rite of exorcism, beautiful and liturgical, had never before taken place in any part of the world. Although it had taken place in a private manner as when Saint Francis (exorcised) the Italian city of Arezzo,” he stated.

The exorcism was prompted by recent rising levels of violence associated with Mexico's drug cartels, which seems as good a reason as any to perform a magical ritual. However, I think it's very unlikely that said violence is the result of "witchcraft" or "Satanism." I suppose from the church's perspective, the veneration of Santa Muerte, long associated with the Mexican drug trade, is the same thing - even though from an informed occult perspective it of course is not. The drug trade has always been violent, but it has gotten significantly worse since the Mexican government launched its own "war on drugs" in 2006.

Just as in the United States, all this escalation does is make the drug trade becomes more dangerous and therefore more profitable, and widespread Mexican poverty means that fewer legal economic opportunities are available. I've read in a couple of places now that one of the most damaging blows struck against the cartels in recent years has been the legalization of marijuana in several US states, because legalization makes the criminal trade less profitable.

Perhaps the Mexican government should take a hint.