Posts Tagged ‘exorcism’
Rise in African children accused of witchcraft
An increasing number of children are being accused of witchcraft in parts of Africa, the UN children’s agency says. Orphans, street children, albinos and the disabled are most at risk.
A new Unicef report warns that children accused of being witches – some as young as eight – have been been burned, beaten and even killed as punishment.
The belief that a child could be a witch is a relatively modern development, researchers say. Until 10-20 years ago, it was women and the elderly who tended to be accused.
The agency says the rise in vulnerable children being abused in this way is linked to greater urbanisation in the continent and disruption caused by war…
The agency said there was little it could do about the belief in witchcraft itself, and that it was not trying to eradicate the practice. But it said violence against children was wrong, and that it would do everything it could to stop it…
It is reported that some evangelical preachers have added to the problem by charging large sums for exorcisms. One was recently arrested in Nigeria after charging more than $250 for each procedure.
Anyone surprised?
I don’t mean just about the ignorance of believing in child witches. The opportunist preachers hustling families for exorcising the demons. What greedy bastards.
Do you wonder if this cruelty was helped or hindered by Christian missionaries.
4-year-old Russian boy dies during exorcism; exorcist blames boy for “jinx”
A 4-year-old Russian boy with pneumonia died during an exorcism ritual being performed by a Korean shaman, authorities said.
The family of the child had asked the female shaman and her husband to exorcise “evil spirits” they believed were affecting the boy, The Moscow Times reported Thursday.
The child stopped breathing during the ritual in the village of Sergeyevka in the far east of Russia on Saturday, the newspaper said…
The family intended to request help for the grandmother, who has diabetes, but the shaman told them the entire family was jinxed and the boy had put a curse on them, a police report said.
I’d comment, but.. What’s not obvious?
Apparently, it’s o.k. to handcuff your kid for hours on end, as long as you do it in the name of Jesus – in GEORGIA
Sandra Alfred, 46, was charged with child cruelty and false imprisonment.
Alfred walked in to the courtroom and listened as a police sergeant told the judge what happened two weeks ago when she called from her Lilburn home to say her teenage son was unruly.
“(She was) trying to explain to us that we were sent to her by God as angels to help her this evening. That this was the third day, and it was supposed to be the worst day, and that her son was possessed by Satan,” said Sgt. Stephen Weed with the Lilburn Police Department.
Police said it was part of an exorcism, where the boy was handcuffed for hours at a time.
“Along with handcuffing, the victim, over the course of three days (he) went without food and water for a period of 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” said Weed.
Doctors believed the boy has the onset of schizophrenia.
Judge Robert Mitchum said Alfred’s beliefs may be different to some, even unconventional, but ruled the evidence did not show a crime since she said she restrained the boy to keep him from hurting himself and others, and police during the incident had to do the same to subdue the teen.
“If you have a 2-year-old that wants to run in front of a car, is the state of Georgia going to say the parents can’t grab that 2-year-old, even hard enough to bruise the child, to keep him from running in front of that car? Is the state of Georgia going to say that? No, it’s not,” said Mitchum.
I’d say to the judge, “It’s people like you who give Georgia a bad name.” What an idiot.
Mom handcuffed, starved son to drive out demons
A Georgia woman is being held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail after authorities said she tried to perform an exorcism on her child.
Sandra Alfred, 46, was arrested Friday evening, a day after warrants were issued for false imprisonment and cruelty to children. According to those warrants, Alfred used handcuffs – “tightly at one point” – to restrain the male juvenile and withheld food for three days while attempting the exorcism.
The warrants said the child was taken to a church for the exorcism, but it is unclear which church and who was to perform the ritual…
Police Sgt. Stephen Weed noted in his warrant application that Alfred possibly suffers from schizophrenia and delusions.
She could defend herself by saying God told her to do this to her son. Might work. The American interpretation of Freedom of Religion allows for all sorts of looney behavior.
Man convicted of battering 14-year-old boy in the name of exorcism
A man accused of performing an exorcism on a 14-year-old autistic boy has been found guilty of battery and criminal confinement by a jury in Indiana.
Eddie Uyesugi, 24, now faces between two and eight years in jail on each felony count. Prosecutors say the 14-year-old boy suffered bruises, abrasions and two black eyes as a result of a ceremony Uyesugi conducted to rid the boy of demons.
Deputy prosecutor Darcie Winkle of Monroe County told jurors Uyesugi beat the boy and restrained him against his will for hours during an exorcism that took place in May of 2007.
Uyesugi defense attorney Matt Blanton said the boy’s grandmother sanctioned the exorcism and instructed Uyesugi to help her get the demons out of her grandson.
A criminal idiot hired by a superstitious fool.
