Gabriele Amorth and Marcello Stanzione, The Devil Is Afraid of Me. The Life and Work of the World’s Most Famous Exorcist, translated from the Italian by Charlotte J. Fasi. Manchester NH, Sophia Institute Press, 2019, 13,5 × 21,5 cm, ix-146 p., ISBN 978-1-622826-247

It is said that if a carpenter’s only tool is a hammer, everything will look soon like a nail. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), the subject and co-author of the recently published The Devil is Afraid of Me, was a spiritual craftsman who served as the principal exorcist for the Vatican and the Roman diocese for over thirty years. In the course of plying his craft Father Amorth performed an astonishing 60,000 exorcisms – often performing multiple exorcisms on the same person. But the Catholic Rite of Exorcism was by no means the only supernatural tool at Father Amorth’s disposal. To the contrary, Father Amorth emerges from this book as a humble compassionate, thoughtful, witty and well-rounded priest and a prolific author; Amorth also had a deep commitment to the full range of sacraments, sacramentals, prayers and practices traditionally thought to edify the soul. In light of Father Amorth’s earthy common sense, good humor, modesty and versatile devotional practices, he is a particularly credible witness to the bewildering events he encountered while performing exorcisms. In fact, Father Amorth acknowledged that most of the persons for whom he conducted the Rite of Exorcism were probably not in fact possessed by a demonic entity; they were simply spiritually troubled individuals who earnestly requested an exorcism. In such cases Father Amorth was convinced that exorcism can do no harm and often has a salutary effect, if only as a diagnostic tool in determining the source of a penitent’s problem. Moreover, especially in situations where he found it doubtful that demonic possession was the root cause difficulty, he urged the afflicted persons to seek medical or psychological guidance and to reexamine their prayer life. However, the interviews of Father Amorth that make up much of this book include descriptions of a handful exorcisms during which Amorth concluded that a devil had indeed taken possession of a human being. In these interviews (conducted by co-author Marcello Stanzione – an Italian priest who has written voluminously on the subject of angels – both heavenly and fallen) Father Amorth recounts some strange and frightening events that seem to evade conventional explanation: Even more disturbing are Father Armoth’s responses to questions about satanic activity within the walls of the Vatican: Due to confidentiality pledges and seals (confessional or otherwise), Father Amorth declined to reveal the sources of his belief that the devil has adherents among Vatican clergy and prelates. But, as discussed above, because of the indicia of credibility that I believe attach to Father Amorth, his assertions on this subject should not be lightly dismissed. And as also mentioned above, one of the badges of credibility that Father Amorth bore was his wit and sense of humor. As I trial lawyer I have often had to assess the credibility of various witnesses (including the credibility of my own clients), and it is my experience that liars are usually humorless – probably because they are so intent on keeping their fabricated story straight that they have no time or mental energy to joke about it. Father Amorth’s sense of humor is evident in this book’s rendition of Amorth’s dialogues with some of the demons he has exorcised. One such demon accused Father of being a glutton, and Amorth’s quick and pithy retort was, “Well, what’s it to you?” On another occasion a devil told Father Amorth that the citizens of Hell are afraid of him (as indeed the title of this book proclaims) because he prays fervently and is therefore in a special way under the protection of Christ and His Blessed Mother. But Father Amorth has also reported that …