Against Satanic Panics > Recent cases > Rodrigo Orias Gallardo



Rodrigo Orias Gallardo and the murder of Father Faustino Gazziero D’Estefani in Chile

by Diane Vera



Copyright © 2006 by Diane Vera. All rights reserved.



Besides the murders committed by members of the Italian metal band Beasts of Satan, another crime which may have contributed to Italy's recent Satanic Panic was the 2004 murder of an Italian Catholic missionary priest by a Devil-made-me-do-it killer in Santiago, Chile. Here are some news articles about the murder in Chile:

Assuming the accounts of the murder are accurate, Orias seems to have been a complete nut.

Almost a week later, someone painted some Satanic symbols on a wall of the same cathedral where the priest was killed. According to the news story Satanic group defaces Cathedral of Linares in Chile (Catholic News Agency, Santiago, Aug. 03, 2004), the graffiti were painted by an admittedly "unknown group" of vandals. Yet the vandals are referred to as a "Satanic group" merely because they painted Satanic symbols. The possibility that the vandals might have just been some kids out to shock the grownups doesn't seem to have occurred to the writer of this news story, which also doesn't explain why the graffiti were thought to have been painted by a "group" rather by than a single individual.

Also on the Catholic News Agency site are some "related stories" about (1) the Vatican's new course on exorcism (Italian University helping priests fight Satanism, Rome, Feb. 18, 2005) and (2) Mexico's first National Meeting of Exorcists, inaugurated by the Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera (Mexicans confront Satanism with National Meeting of Exorcists, Mexico City, Sep. 02, 2004).

According to the latter article, "the Cardinal emphasized ... that the Church 'must denounce with the Word everything that is against God,' particularly witchcraft, occultism, magic, fortune telling, tarot cards and masonry, among other things." For more about Mexico's Roman Catholic hierarchy and its stance against all non-Christian spiritual practices, see my page about Mexico's Roman Catholic hierarchy and exorcism, vs. New Age and traditional healers.

For more about the Vatican's course on exorcism, see Exorcism, the Vatican, and the recent Italian Satanic panic on my page about Exorcism, "spiritual warfare," and anti-occultism.



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