Domenico Agasso (1921–2020)

This is an unusual book which is geared for a specific audience. The book’s author does not say this up front as he should, so, that is a deficiency. The book is an “official biography” in that on the word of the journalist by profession author Agasso, Amorth endorsed the manuscript. Who knows if that is true. Amorth died recently and a publishers note introducing the book says that this work is a product of the Amorth’s Religious Congregation and is therefore official. The intent is obviously to produce a hagiography which could be used by the congregation itself to further the cause of Amorth toward canonization. The basic elements of the task of canonization are to show a person’s allegiance to the papacy as a whole, manifest devotion to Mary, encouragement to the fellow clergy, and a desire to spread the Gospel of Jesus. These are the minimum aspects which have to be attested to. This book covers them all, some more thoroughly than others. So during WWII what was he supposed to be doing? He was apparently a partisan against the fascists. There is a reported medal of distinction awarded to him. Usually medals aren’t given to underground combatants, but this could be possible. He afterwards studied law without taking the exam to practice. The section on the Medjugorje phenomena, which has been discredited, gives a weak justification for it’s verification as a Marian apparition. The book describes Amorth's role in bringing a statue of Our Lady of Fatima to be blessed by the Pope in Rome. The trip was diverted so that it could be flown by helicopter to the residence of Padre Pio (now canonized Padre Pio). If this is true, there is a strange coincidence with the film La Dolce Vita (released in 1960 the same year this was to have happened) where a statue of Jesus, as opposed to Mary, is flown sling loaded around a bombed out Rome for no reason.
This book traces the whole life of Amorth and how he became an exorcist. As an exorcist he has popularized exorcisms and even made them profitable at the box office (e.g., the Pope’s Exorcist). Although the original movie The Exorcist has no relation to Amorth it did set the stage expectations of bizarre tales of exposure to the occult. Amorth has a constant warning against anything in Italy or worldwide dealing with the occult. In the book there is a short section on satanic music and he mentions the music of Marilyn Manson and that websites list him as satanic priest. Apparently at the time Manson was the worst of the crop. However, verification via the internet is highly unreliable and certainly unprofessional. The case for Amorth to be a saint is stated as the man who was “the most famous and powerful exorcist in the world.” This has never been a recognized criteria for any saint. If it were true then Heinrich Kramer author of Malleus Maleficarum would be a saint. He is not. I am glad I read this book. I would caution other people against reading it since this book is not by Amorth and there are a lot in accuracies and theological errors in its pages. Amorth has written works in Italian and some have been translated into English by Ignatius Press. The best and most interesting part of the book is the middle section where Amorth is directly quoted describing his work during various exorcisms.
Bibliography, No Index, No Photos. 18 chapters.… (more)