Cyberpastors help Satanists

Satanists and witchcraft practitioners are increasingly seeking pastoral care via the Internet, according to a German Web missionary.

"Via the Internet we reach many people who would normally not be found anywhere near a church," said the Rev. Joachim Staengle, head of CINA, Germany's premier Web ministry. "They find comfort in the Web's anonymity."

At a conference on pastoral care via the Internet in Wetzlar, Germany, a spokesman for ERF, a gospel radio and television network, reported that within one year his organization registered a 50 percent increase of requests for spiritual advice via the computer.