Illinois bishop pledges to 'exorcise' state in wake of same sex marriage legalization

A Catholic bishop in Springfield, IL has announced that he will be performing prayers of "supplication and exorcism" when the state's law legalizing same sex marriages goes into effect next Thursday.

Huffington Post reported that Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in a statement quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times that the new law "comes from the devil and should be condemned as such."

The boyish-faced cleric bitterly condemned Catholic politicians for softening their hardline anti-LGBT stance, writing that they are "twisting the words" of Pope Francis in citing him as their reason for supporting the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act. Once signed by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, the law will make Illinois into the 16th U.S. state to legalize same sex marriage.

Politicians that support the law, Paprocki claimed, are “morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin.”

“All politicians now have the moral obligation to work for the repeal of this sinful and objectionable legislation. We must pray for deliverance from this evil which has penetrated our state and our church," he insisted.

According to Huffington Post, "Paprocki's ceremony will be held from 4-5 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield next Wednesday. Meanwhile, the marriage bill-signing event will begin at 3:30 p.m. at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road."

[image of Bishop Paprocki via Facebook]