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NOVO HAMBURGO, Brazil ( ChurchMilitant.com ) - Details are emerging of a grisly satanic ritual involving the dismemberment of children in South America. Brazilian police recently disclosed the details of an on-going investigation about the murder of two young siblings offered as human sacrifice in a demonic ritual last August. The corpses of the children (a boy, 8, and a girl, 10) were found dismembered in September in the city of Novo Hamburgo, in Southern Brazil.

According to the police statement, the children were sold by their own parents in Argentina. The "prosperity ritual" in worship of Moloch , the ancient demon of child sacrifice, was commissioned by real state businessman Jair da Silva, along with his two sons, a friend, his business associate and his Argentinian employee (a former disciple of the satanist who performed the ritual), in charge of finding blood-related siblings for the sacrifice. Da Silva paid the high wizard, Silvio Fernandes Rodrigues, $25,000 to perform the ritual, aimed at "bringing financial success to his business."

Da Silva paid the high wizard $25,000 to perform the ritual, aimed at 'bringing financial success to his business.'

The macabre ceremony was conducted in the isolated house where Rodrigues established the Temple of Lucifer. According to a description given by one of the witnesses, the participants were gathered around the barely conscious children (the examination of the boy's body revealed he had ingested enough alcohol to put an adult man in a coma), in front of the altar of Lucifer, surrounded by candles. Rodrigues was wearing a cape and a dog mask and chanting in an unknown language. The forensic analysis revealed that the children were sexually abused before being carved up alive, and their flesh and blood were consumed.

According to investigators, "Silvio is among the 10 most prestigious satanists in the world," once featured in a History Channel documentary . On his website, Silvio claims to have been honored by the United Nations (information the police haven't been able to confirm), and his Youtube channel features several videos promoting black magic to achieve success in life.

Three of the defendants are on pretrial detention, Rodrigues included, while the rest have fled arrest. Police commissioner Moacir Firmino declared the case has ample evidence to prosecute the perpetartors, with multiple eyewitnesses who can confirm the crime. Police are still searching for the skulls of the children, as all body parts were found many yards apart. One of the steps in the rite was to bury the body parts as to form a square bordering the property da Silva was hoping to sell.

The accused have so far denied their involvement in the murders, while Rodrigues insists that, although he's a devil worshipper, he has never killed any animals or children in sacrifice. Rodrigues' son , as well as the legal defense team, is arguing the wizard is "a victim of religious intolerance." Lawyer Denise Pellizzoni asked for release of her client on the grounds of "religious persecution by the commissioner," because the officer is an Evangelical Christian

Other religious leaders from Afro-Brazilian denominations like Candomblé and Umbanda (whose rituals involve possession by spirits) have also spoken out against what they're calling "hate speech": "Radical groups are trying to connect this crime to African-Brazilian religions, portraying us as devil worshippers. We believe in 'orixás,' who are forces of nature," declared Marcello D’Ogun, a Candomblé priest.

Antonio Augusto Fagundes Filho, a self-desribed high magic wizard and demonologist, confirmed his belief in the existence of the demon Moloch, but added that "authentic satanists, skilled in high magic and of considerable culture, don't need human sacrifice." Augusto also claimed the ritual was performed by "fake satanists," who "didn't know anything about magic."

God wants everyone to see that the only Church, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Catholic Church.

The first step of the satanic ritual in question was the denial of Jesus Christ made inside a Catholic Church . The participants were ordered to drip their blood on a Bible while denying Christ in front of a Catholic altar, even though da Silva and his sons belonged to an evangelical denomination.

Church History Professor Edmilson Cruz, who visited the parish where the act took place, declared

Today I went to the parish ... and I talked to their holy priest. We asked ourselves why God revealed this detail of the ritual. ... Our conclusion was: God wants everyone to see that the only Church, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Catholic Church. The man who ordered the pact with the demon was an evangelical. Why didn't he go to an evangelical church? Because the Church that has Christ ... is the Catholic Church. It's not a loaf of bread; it's Jesus Christ! ... My brothers, please come back Home!

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