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Assignment: Mexico: Exorcising the Narco-Devil

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Mexico: Exorcising the Narco-Devil

28/11/2013

BBC World Service - Assignment, Mexico: Exorcising the Narco-Devil

Why Catholic priests in Mexico believe they can fight drug trafficking through exorcism

Vladimir Hernandez meets the Mexican Catholic priests who believe the country's drug wars mean it's in the grip of the devil - and who are fighting it through exorcism.

Vladimir Hernandez follows the Mexican priests who believe they can fight the evil of drug trafficking through the ancient Catholic practice of exorcism.

It is estimated that 60,000 people have died in Mexico in the "drug wars" linked to the narco-traffickers, who are among the most vicious criminals in the world. To some Catholic priests and believers, this is clear evidence that the Devil has taken hold among much of the population. They also point to the popularity of cults like that of "Santa Muerte", the saint of death, who is a figure of popular veneration among some of the narco-gangs. 

The priests are responding by practising exorcisms, both in private and public, as they seek to expunge this evil. Vladimir watches dramatic individual and mass exorcisms, hears from those who have been through the rite and talks to critics and supporters of the practice.

(Image: A young woman in Mexico City with a statue dedicated to the folk saint Santa Muerte or ‘Saint Death’. The Roman Catholic Church condemns the cult of Santa Muerte as ‘Satanic’. Credit: Keith Morris)

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