"Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist." -
The Blessed Virgin Mary at La Salette, France. 1846

Here's some of the article from CBNNews.com; (Emphasis and comments mine)
Is the Devil Gaining a Foothold in Rome?

CBN News Senior Reporter
January 1, 2009

CBNNews.com - ROME, Italy - In this predominantly Catholic nation, the devil is gaining a foothold. "There is a greater openness towards the devil," says Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's Chief Exorcist. In fact, Rome has been called the most satanized city in Italy.

"Satanism and the occult are in fashion," declares Father Pedro Barrajón, a Catholic priest who serves in Rome. There are an estimated 800 satanic cults operating in the country, with more than 600,000 followers. And according to Silvano Lilli, an evangelical pastor in Rome, their numbers are growing. "The devil's diabolical influence is growing in so many areas of our society," says Lilli. "He needs to be driven out."

Amorth says "exorcism is God's true miracle" to confronting the devil and his handmaidens. "Medicine and science have cases they can't solve but which are instead solved by exorcism," he added.

Italians got a taste of the devil's influence a couple of years ago when two teenagers were stabbed, bludgeoned, and buried alive here in the woods northwest Milan. Members of a heavy metal band named the Beasts of Satan were convicted in the double murder. One of the victims was allegedly killed because she resembled the Virgin Mary.

But Marco Dimiti says that the Catholic Church's portrayal of Satan is part of the problem. To many Italians, Dimitri represents the devil. He heads the Children of Satan, a group that reportedly has more than one-thousand members.

"We don't have a cult of devil worship, that would be absurd because the cult of the devil would be the cult of evil - but for us, good and evil are subjective to each individual," says Dimitri. (That sounds an awful lot like what I've heard in countless "Progressive" parishes.)

In 1996, Dimitri was accused of raping a 2-year old boy and a teenage girl in satanic rituals. He was jailed for 14 months before being exonerated by the Italian courts.

"True Satanism puts man at the center of the universe - and is a noble expression," Dimitri said. (Should I even tell you of the amount of Novus Ordo parishes I've been to that said the same thing?) "I want to say to Father Amorth what I say to all exorcists. Leave people in peace!"

Father Amorth is a busy man these days. He says that every week he sees up to fifty people who claim to be possessed by the devil. "I see a very strong presence of the devil because men are following him," Father Amort said.

He has helped train some 300 priests in exorcism. The key says Father Barrajón is to train the priests how to differentiate between psychiatric problems and satanic possession.

"This is the key but I can tell you that those who perform exorcisms, they just have this sense, they just know," he said. "Sometimes they look for signs like if the person is afraid of the cross or baptismal water or pictures of Christ. They shake a lot or start screaming and they may poses extraordinary strength. The priests know what to look for."

Barrajón encourages Italians to pray more often, attend church and be aware of an enemy that is very real. (When was the last time satan was even mentioned in your [Novus Ordo] parish?)

Originally aired and published April 21, 2008