Vatican Chief Excorcist: Hitler and Stalin Possessed by Satan

Commentators taken aback, denounce satanic possession as not the worst that can be said about the two monsters.

The Daily Mail in the U.K. ran a neat story on an insight by Father Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican's chief excorcist:

"I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the Devil.

"You can tell by their behaviour and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That's why we need to defend society from demons."

The amazing thing is the scoffing in the comments section that follows the story. To some posters, satanic possession comes off like an endorsement. For example:

The next thing you know the Catholic Church will be telling us that the Earth is the center of the solar system and evolution is a fiction.

Oh great, another magical thinking explanation for murderous behavior. We in the Reality Based World know that both Hitler and Stalin were psychopaths and murderous criminals.
- Pugla46, USA

Nothing magical Mr Pugla, just evil incarnate. Why do you retreat to the murky world of psychology and legalism? Like that is worse than being possessed by Satan? What's your solution psychotherapy and a U.N. resolution?

On the whole earth thing: actually it was an early theory of Roman Catholic Jesuit priest Nikolas Copernicus who postulated the helio-centric universe. This is the theory that fellow Roman Catholic Galileo Galilei fleshed out. Father Copernicus' uncle happened to be the local Roman Catholic Bishop by the way and Unkie funded all of Nikola's scholarship ... so you can thank the Church for that one. Her employees were figuring out and arguing about the Universe while your intellectual ancesters were running around naked, painting themselves blue whilst barking at the moon.

Now I have heard everything! If that is the case then nobody who commits a crime is guilty because "the devil made me do it." And by the same token, nobody who works hard to achieve greatness is responsible for their achievments, let's chalk that up to God.
- Dean Gordon, Dallas Texas, USA

Oh Dean, don't buy the false premise. "If the Devil made them do it" they're still guilty and we're still going to drop bombs, kill them, excorcise them and/or incarcerate them. We're not buying into the ACLU defense. The Church, and any civilization that wants to survive, will not do this. This is why we need to choose sides these days: 5000 years of Judeo-Christian civilization or Satan. Joe Stalin and Adolph Hitler made theirs.

Dean actually demonstrates the ability to think in the second sentence. Yes, everything great thing that we do is attributable to the Almighty (more on that later from the world of futbal).

If the Devil can make a man like Stalin order the deaths of 20,000,000 people, why can't God stop him?
- Michael, Leatherhead, Surrey

An old and thoughtful question, Sir Michael. God permits evil to bring a greater good out of it. Also, God made man to serve Him and oppose evil. He will judge His creations at the end of their short lives on this matter. How are we are doing, so far?