Sister Maria Laura Mainetti, sacrificial victim of a satanic ritual by three teenage girls, will be beatified on Sunday June 6, 2021.
On 6 June 2000, after having deceitfully lured her to an isolated location, three teenage girls repeatedly struck her with stones and then dragged her injured body to a more secluded spot where each of them stabbed her six times. In fact, with the purpose of evoking the number 666 of the satanic beast in the book of Revelation, they had decided that the ritual of offering the nun to the devil would be marked by the number of stab wounds. Sister Maria Laura died invoking God’s forgiveness for them. After serving their sentences, the convicted young girls got married, had children and found a job. The forgiveness of the dying nun gifted her attackers with a fresh start in their lives.
The beatification of Sister Maria Laura Mainetti is a wake-up call for serious reflection on the tragic consequences of the values vacuum and the ennui characterising the lives of so many young people, combined with the relentless media bombardment they are subjected to. The aim of this incessant flow is to instil in them a taste for transgression: extreme “challenges”, the constant quest for out-of-the-ordinary options that exceed all limits, including worship of the devil with abhorrent rituals of various kinds, offering not only intense emotions, but possession of his evil force, of his powers (as if they were divine powers, which they are not), and of his esoteric abilities.
A growing number of young people and adults, captivated by a barrage of media coverage, are taking steps that are tantamount to traps, leading them astray and inciting them to commit blasphemy, acts of profanation, vandalism, violence, murder and suicide.
In this respect, esoteric occultism and Satanism have become veritable fast tracks, and media communication – coupled by marketing techniques – constitutes a preferential channel for the dissemination of these trends.
In fact, an increasingly oblivious society is witnessing a veritable escalation of persistent esoteric and satanic messages. Novels, music, video games, fashion, films, television programmes and advertising, are setting in motion a global business that presents the devil in a positive key: fascinating, captivating and permissive. This attracts the younger generations, irrespective of its devastating educational consequences.
On top of this, our society is increasingly driven by the need to have everything and have it now, and esotericism, culminating in Satanism, is the most alluring response to the quest for power, success, money and sex. In this context, the values of faith, morality, and Christian Revelation have not only ceased to matter, they are rejected and opposed with alarming contempt and hatred.
The web enables young people to become involved with dangerous sects and movements.
A glance at Facebook is enough to notice a plethora of “pages” and “closed groups” on these themes. Many other pages are also found on Instagram. Typing the words “Satanism”, “esotericism” or their synonyms, instantly leads to the dark realm that promotes and spreads the sinister and dreadful obscurantism that threatens humanity and, in particular, the lives of young people, with a host of images designed to entice visitors into sharing these realities, persuading them to free themselves from what are portrayed as cultural, ideological and religious prejudices.
A downright esoteric and satanic indoctrination is taking place, and it is being greatly underestimated.
How can this force be countered?
First and foremost, by firmly reiterating the need to distinguish clearly between what is ethically sound and what is not. This omission has consistently led to a blurring of the boundaries between good and evil, and to a distortion of the fundamental values of human dignity. We must strongly denounce all the evil proposals portrayed as something positive.
It is equally necessary to promote a convincing, credible and uncompromising integral proclamation of the faith, complemented by substantial educational and informative initiatives concerning the risks and dangers of a veritable culture of death, frequently disguised as a phony culture of happiness and vitality.
Finally, we must pray for our young people, that they may embrace the goodness that God constantly instils into their hearts, rejecting the falsehoods that the “father of lies” (cf. Jn 8:44) spreads throughout society by means of his devotees. Indeed, the latter portray God’s commandments and obedience to Him as a mortification, a threat to their own freedom, self-fulfilment and happiness. In reality, the opposite is true: Satan threatens each person’s freedom, happiness, personal fulfilment and eternal salvation, including peace among peoples and nations and the true progress of humanity. Unconditional surrender to God and obedience to Him sets us free, for in God lies our peace, our joy, the genuine and lasting happiness our hearts yearn for, the fulfilment of our life on earth and in heaven.
(*) President of the International Association of Exorcists
