Head of Russian Orthodox Church touts therapeutic value of exorcisms to treat mental illness

Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow (Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev)
Maybe he'll light that hat on fire

During a visit to a convent, Patriarch Kirill said that trained psychiatrists are sometimes confronted with mental illnesses that they are unable to scientifically explain. The Russian Orthodox Church has an app for that. Kirill went on to claim that exorcisms are quite valuable in the treatment of various forms of mental illness (apparently not the one that afflicts him).

Kirill asserted that demonic power is real and that anyone not protected by the church can fall victim to it. He explained that driving out demons through exorcism can be very helpful when professional psychologists fail. He said: “Everyone who has ever attended an exorcism has witnessed how priests often defeat those terrible forces of evil.”

Instead of being obsessed with the supposed evils of LGBT people perhaps Putin can rein in this guy who is at least partially responsible for the country's anti-LGBT laws.

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