Mexican priest Father Francisco López Sedano, above, dismissed horoscopes as ‘ridiculous’ in a recent interview.

Thinking that the stars influence our lives is “the biggest lie,” Lopez said.

They’re a million miles away! They are bodies made up of metals and gases, how are they going to influence us? The same goes for magic, which is to attribute to things a power they do not have. Carrying around a horseshoe because it’s going to give me good luck is a lie.

Which is a bit rich, coming from a man who represents Catholicism, which makes big bucks selling tacky “good luck” gewgaws to the gullible.

However, when it comes to the Devil, Sedano is convinced that he exists, and that he is not a mere personification of evil but an actual being. The priest, who claims to have carried out 6,000 exorcisms in his 40-year career, said he did not fear Satan, but Satan feared him.

Jesus often confronted Satan himself and spoke with him.

And so does Sedano. “Who are you to expel me?” Satan has challenged the priest.

And I answer: ‘I am nobody, but I come from Christ, your God and Lord and you leave right now, I command you in the name of Him to go away!

The priest, who normally treats three to five cases a day, says that he has personally spoken with the devil on many occasions.

The Word of God carries three mandates from Jesus, the priest added:

To preach the word of God, heal the sick and cast out demons.

All three of these are still in force in the church, he said, but many priests do not dare to engage the Devil because “they are afraid of him”. Others, he said, simply do not believe in the Devil.

The priest claims that he is not afraid because God protects him.

If he didn’t, nobody would get into this work.

Sedano said that the devil often enters people because they let him in, because they play around with occult practices.

People let the Devil in. He would not mess with us if we did not open doors for him. That is why God forbids practicing magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consultation of the dead and spirits and astrology.

According to the Catholic News Agency, Sedano, 80, is the national coordinator emeritus of exorcism for the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he belongs to the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Now, he continues his ministry in the Parish of the Holy Cross in Mexico City.

Hat tip: Trevor Blake