Originally published at National Catholic Register
The priest explained that the consumerist reinterpretation of the Celtic festival in the United States emptied it of its content of faith and allowed it to once again ‘become rooted in magic, horror, and death, unlike Christianity.’
The Dark Charm of Halloween is the title of a new book launched by the International Association of Exorcists (AIE, by its Italian acronym) and written by its vice president, Father Francesco Bamonte, along with Alberto Castaldini, spokesman for the institution.
In the online presentation of the book, which is written in question-and-answer format and now available in Italian only, Father Bamonte pointed out that Halloween is not “a playful and innocent celebration or a secular occasion” but that “in reality, it is the representation of a pagan religious celebration: the Samhain festival originating in the Celtic world.”
At this pagan festival, “in the evenings between late October and early November, in addition to numerous magical rites, animal sacrifices were performed and, in all likelihood, even human sacrifices.”
“During the process of Christianization of the British Isles,” Father Bamonte said, “the solemnity of All Saints’ Day prevailed and the community celebration retained only some of the old customs, turning toward a new
