The class for clergy and seminarians at Rome’s Pontifical Academy “Regina Apostolorum” has arisen from alarm about Satanic practices among young people, especially in Italy.

In one case in Italy in January, eight people believed to belong to a Satanic sect were ordered to stand trial for their alleged role in three ritual killings.

One of the victims was a 19-year-old girl stabbed to death in 1998. She may have been targeted because her killers believed she was a personification of the Virgin Mary, prosecutors allege. The suspects belonged to a heavy metal band called “Beasts of Satan.” ...