Item 1: A cardinal was invited to speak at our conference. For 15 minutes, he spoke about the reality of the devil, and the gravity of spiritual warfare, and the importance of prayer and fasting. The content, in fact, was quite good. The speaker however . . . This cardinal is notorious for his sordid double life. It’s alleged that Vatican Police once caught him at a drug-fuelled orgy, but he was whisked away before Italian Police were called — because he’s a cardinal. I asked one of the Aussie priests in Rome why this guy was invited to speak at the conference. His answer dismayed me: “You have to understand, this exorcism course is the laughing stock of Rome. The pope takes this stuff seriously, but many others don’t. Having a cardinal lends the conference respectability — and any cardinal will do. Bella figura!”