I'm Sure That the Roman Catholic Church Will Discipline These People Any Day Now

When somebody like Benny Hinn does this sort of thing, at least most Evangelicals aren't part of his church and don't support him. But if you're a Roman Catholic, this is what your denomination does on a regular basis:

Sebastiana Magnano has been traveling to the Romanesque church here for years to have a centuries-old metal shackle clamped around her neck.

Like pilgrims through the centuries, she comes for the blessing contained in the mysterious relic, a collar descended from the mystic St. Vicinus, who lived 1,700 years ago....

In rural, Roman Catholic Italy, many people remain very religious, and very superstitious. The two belief systems coexist, tightly intertwined and surprisingly complementary....

The one used now is not said to be St. Vicinus' original but is believed to date to the 8th or 9th century, roughly the same time the church was built....

Tens of thousands of pilgrims come to Sarsina every year in search of a blessing, Father Gabriele said. He repeats the ceremony every few hours, usually on Sundays and sometimes on other days as well. During especially busy periods, such as Lent, he can issue hundreds of blessings a day, he said....

Facing divorce, unruly children, broken hearts, physical illness, lost jobs, they come with hope that a blessing will turn their luck and rid their lives of the negative vibes they believe to be at the root of their troubles.

Father Gabriele, like many priests, is also authorized by the church hierarchy to work as an exorcist....

"A lot of my work here is to help a person make his own personality stronger," he [the priest] said. "This helps people discover through Christ his love. And that way we conquer the devil."...

Paula Schimizzi, 70, traveled 50 miles from her home in the coastal city of Ravenna. She said she and her 80-year-old husband have been getting regular blessings to "liberate" them from evil spells cast by jealous neighbors who envy the family's successful car-repair business.

It's worked, she said, because her son has been protected from the evil and will be able to take over the business. Schimizzi was loading up on bottles of holy water that the church sells, for good measure.