Nuggets from Occult Invasion

An article in Our Sunday Visitor titled “In the Temple of the Voodoo” asks this question: “Why is New Orleans, one of the world’s most Catholic cities, caught in the bewitching spell of an ancient cult?” The author provides many examples of Catholicism’s comfortable relationship with Voodoo:

“Celeste Champagne [says], ‘… my mother taught me about the voodoo—and the spirits.… The voodoo is part of my life to this day—just like Holy Communion. …’ Andy Antippas, a former professor of English who now devotes his time to studying the history of religion … says, ‘Africans … sold into slavery … brought their voodoo religion with them. Christianity [Catholicism] was forced on them. So, to appease the masters, the slaves prayed through the icons and statues of Christianity [Catholicism] to their own voodoo gods. …’

“On a clear day, the line … snakes through the front gate of the Lafitte Cemetery. Why? So men and women of every description and background can scratch the traditional X on the

late Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s tomb, giving impetus to their invocations for good for themselves and ill for their enemies. …

“Priestess Ava Jones [is] a graduate of Xavier Prep Catholic High School and Loyola University School of Law … [and] has foregone a career in law to devote her life to voodoo. … She lectures frequently on voodoo and African religions to such diverse groups as the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Cardiology. … A call to her will often be met with, ‘I’m with a client now. Can I call you back?’ And she will … as soon as she returns from daily Mass, and Communion.”