Italian teen abducted for sex exploitation, says Rome's former exorcist

May 22, 2012

The former official exorcist of the Diocese of Rome has advanced the theory that Emanuela Orlandi, whose disappearance in 1983 has never been explained, was abducted for sexual exploitation.

Father Gabriel Amorth, who has gained international notice with his books about exorcism and his controversial statements on topics such as the influence of the Harry Potter novels, told the Italian daily La Stampa: “This was a crime with a sexual motive.” He said that Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, was seized by people planning sex parties at the Vatican.

Father Amorth’s sensational claim is the latest in a series of theories advanced in recent weeks to explain the Orlandi disappearance. Last week Italian police investigators exhumed the body of a deceased organized-crime figure, Enrico De Pedis, hoping to find evidence in the tomb that might shed light on the kidnapping. Some witnesses have suggested the De Pedis was involved in the teenager’s kidnapping. Others have speculated that she was murdered by Mafia leaders in retaliation after the loss of enormous sums in the Vatican bank scandal.

 

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Further information:

• Missing girl 'buried in murdered mobster's tomb was kidnapped for Vatican sex parties', claims Catholic Church's leading exorcist priest (Daily Mail)
• Former gangster says mob kidnapped daughter of Vatican employee (CWN, 5/16)