Archbishop warns against influence of diabolic practices

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec 4, 2007 / 09:57 am

Referring to the unsolved murder of a boy by a satanic cult in 2006, Archbishop emeritus Domingo Salvador Castagna of Corrientes reminded city officials this week that it is important that “beyond religious beliefs and ideas” “the truth about what happened and who is responsible” is discovered.

In his most recent radio address, the archbishop said the people of Corrientes are profoundly religious but that if the connection with authentic faith is lost, true religious expression could be “supplanted by esoteric and even diabolic practices.”

Archbishop Castagna said he has reviewed “frightening information about a satanic cult” that operates in the region and is the main suspect in the terrible murder of the little boy known as Ramoncito.  “This mystery must be unveiled through the application of justice,” he said, in order to “bring peace to the hearts of people anguished over this unsolved crime.”  The archbishop encouraged those involved in the investigation and said they should receive the full support of society. 

He also denounced the spread of cultural practices that are anti-Christian, such as devotion to “St. Death,” and he said it is the duty of preachers and catechists to connect “popular faith to his original sources of sustenance.”

The case of Ramoncito refers to the murder of Ramon Ignacio Gonzalez on October 8, 2006.  The twelve year-old boy was raped, tortured and decapitated in the city of Mercedes.

A fourteen year-old girl, who was forced to witness the killing, told investigators that the crime was part of a satanic ritual “in order to obtain purification by offering the young body to their gods.”  Investigators said the cult is also involved in the trafficking of children and drugs.