Priest who livestreamed exorcisms over voter fraud claims to leave Wisconsin diocese
A Catholic priest who performed livestreamed exorcisms falsely alleging voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election is leaving his Wisconsin post.
Before President Joe Biden’s Jan. 6 certification by the Senate and House, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf “held exorcisms to drive away what he said were demonic influences to steal the election,” WKOW reported. His YouTube exorcism videos are no longer on his page.
Zuhlsdorf, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in one of his videos he had the support of his bishop, Diocese of Madison’s Donald Hying, to perform the exorcisms, The Tablet reported. But Hying told the outlet he never authorized them.
The priest said in one of his YouTube videos he was carrying out the exorcism due to “well-organized” voter fraud, according to The Tablet. There has been no evidence of voter fraud in the election.
“We have to be concerned about the people involved in this who might have lied, or who might have committed fraud, concerning this election,” he said in his video, as reported by The Tablet. “This is not cheating to steal the election to fifth-grade class president. This is something on a whole different scale, it’s quantitatively so vastly larger, that it’s qualitatively a different kind of a situation and sin.”
Exorcisms are described by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as “a specific form of prayer that the Church uses against the power of the devil.”
The diocese said in a statement to the Wisconsin State Journal Jan. 14 Zuhlsdorf remains in “in good canonical standing (and) will relocate from the Diocese of Madison to pursue other opportunities.”
The decision for Zuhlsforf to leave his post was mutual, the statement from the diocese continued.
Zuhlsforf also addressed the move in a post on his blog, where he is known as “Father Z.”
“The near future right now looks pretty grim, in the secular realm and in the Church,” he wrote. “The battle is coming. (Leon)Trotsky said that you might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
Zuhlsdorf was not employed by the diocese but rather was a “freelancer,” the diocese told the State Journal. WKOW reported he is a priest from the Italian Diocese of Velletri-Segni who was serving as president of the Tridentine Mass Society of Madison.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Priest who livestreamed exorcisms over voter fraud claims to leave Wisconsin diocese."