Interview With America's No.1 EXORCIST

Meet America's top exorcist, the inspiration for 'The Rite'
By Tom Foreman, CNN

(Editor's Note: This story comes from a new CNN Special, 'Stories Reporter', with Tom Foreman which features an in-depth look at the news of the day.)

The sun was shining on the Santa Cruz Mountains. The freeway from the San Francisco airport to San Jose was still buzzing in my ears when I stepped into the parking lot of an unassuming church and the most famous exorcist in America walked up.

“Hello, I’m Father Gary Thomas.” At 57 years old, he has an easy smile, an abiding love for the Giants and strong convictions about the nature of evil.

"You believe there is a devil?" I ask him as we settle in at a small, beautiful chapel near the church.

“Yes.”

“You believe that this devil acts upon people?”

“Correct.”

He says it with the certainty that I reserve for answers to questions like, “Did you bring your lunch?” but that’s no surprise. He has faced skeptics many times and never more than now, because his life and training as an exorcist in Rome are the inspiration behind the Hollywood film "The Rite."

Continue here: [link to religion.blogs.cnn.com]