(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of The John Henry Westen Show, author and anti-human trafficking advocate John DiGirolamo, who recently wrote It’s Not About the dEvil, joins me to discuss the occult’s dark agenda to influence our society, particularly young people.

After first asking DiGirolamo to explain what the book is about, I noted how we’re seeing all these evil images on public displays, especially recently with the blasphemous Olympic opening ceremony and a Baphomet statue being placed on the steps of a state capitol building.

DiGirolamo emphasized that the occult is no longer sitting in the background but is right in our faces because we, as a society, have rejected Christ and His Church. “[B]ut as humans, we always yearn for something, and so if you’re not filling your heart up with Christ, it’s going to fill up with something else. And that’s going to be dark forces, and they just popularize the occult.”

The author then explained that the occult is especially focused on targeting young people. “You’ve got people like witches of TikTok that are getting millions of views and especially young women, they seem to be drawn to some of this witchcraft and things like that. And they’ve just kind of made it, fun and games and have tried to glorify it a little bit. And it starts young. You see these After School Satan Clubs, we have some of those in Colorado, and they’re just trying to make it all fun and games. But we know it’s not fun and games; there’s dark forces behind it.” 

I jumped in to ask DiGirolamo what the specific dangers are to these occult practices if they’re not just fun and games. He noted that if you invite God into your life, He’s going to answer – but so will the devil and demons, through witchcraft, Ouija boards, seances, etc. “[If] you were at a college party 25 years ago playing [with] a Ouija board, you’re going to all of a sudden get diabolically oppressed. But like any risk, the more you do it, the more you open that door, the more you extend that invitation. The devil is going to step through that door; it’s just going to happen. And if you are extending that opening, you know he’s going to respond. And it’s not going to be a good outcome.”

I followed that up by asking what specific outcomes he’s seen people experience after dabbling in these occult activities. DiGirolamo told me it’s usually demonic oppression or obsession, telling a story about a woman he met who did seances for a decade and felt mentally and physically tormented before returning to the Church. “That’s just kind of one example. It can lead to possession, but I don’t want to over-sensationalize possession, which an exorcist priest will tell you that that’s pretty rare, pretty severe. Where most of the time there’s little more diabolical influence going on as opposed to a full-blown possession.”

Later in the episode, I asked DiGirolamo about an abortion doctor he wrote about in his book who became pro-life. He underscored that he wanted to see how somebody could transform from aborting unborn children to seeing the value of human life, and so he profiled Dr. Catherine Wheeler, who bought into the lie that she was helping women. “But then there was this dramatic moment in the operating room where she truly felt the presence of evil, and that really got her attention. And what she calls it is kind of God shaking that tree, getting her attention.”

However, the author underscored that the story didn’t end there, as Catherine needed to be nudged along a bit.

“There was this decades-long journey where she said God was holding her hand, getting her through the process of realizing the value of the unborn, the lies from the pro-abortion lobby. And it also paralleled her journey back to the Church, back to Christ, and realizing that God is not there to crush you for your sins, but to save you from your sins,” DiGirolamo said.

Watch or listen to my full interview to hear more from John DiGirolamo.

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