NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      MADRID (CWNews.com) - An investigation into the activities of Satanic cults, undertaken by the Spanish newspaper ABC, has yielded disturbing information about the growth of the cults' activities, and the connection with murders, suicides, and human sacrifices.

      The ABC investigation involved interviews with police spokesmen, other public officials, Church representatives, and members of the sects themselves.

      Jaime Mayor, the government's interior minister, reported that there are now "about 200 destructive sects" operating in Spain, "the majority of them under legal cover." Police estimates put the overall membership of the groups at about 150,000.

      The Spanish bishops' conference offered a higher estimate: 250,000 people engaged in devil-worship, associated with 40 major cult groups. Father Manuel Guerra Gomez, a theologian and specialist in cult activities, said that there was substantial evidence to support the belief that some of these cults had engaged in human sacrifice; he mentioned an incident in Barcelona, in which a young gypsy girl was apparently killed at a black mass.

      The ABC article also cited statistics from the international law-enforcement consortium, Interpol, suggesting that the number of such ritual sacrifices is on the rise across Europe. Interpol reported that there were at least 100 human sacrifices in Europe in the years 1989 and 1990.