Official Catholic exorcists in general do not undergo much specific training. Forming their own organisation in 1992 the catholic church holds meetings and delivers newsletters. This newsletter is more of a chance to tell stories about exorcisms that have been experienced by members of the Catholic church. As mentioned briefly before, the direction for the exorcism is mostly routed in a small section of the Roman Ritual. The appendix of this book specifies that the exorcist should wear a Superpelliceo et stola violacea indutus (a purple stole) before a particular part of prayer is read aloud. The priest is then instructed to make the sign of the cross over the victim and place the stole over his/her neck. The ritual also instructs the priest to place his hands on the victim, much like Jesus did in the bible, and command the devil out. The passages which are used at this point are usually from John 1:1-14, Mark 16:15-18 and Luke 1:17-20. It is important also that objects of religious importance are around at the time of the exorcism. These might include rosaries, crosses and holy water. Some also suggest that there should also be relics of the saints. The more important the saint the more powerful the relic will work against the demon. The ritual itself warns the priest to be open to the fact that the victim may try to decieve him and may dissapear for long time periods before returning. It is really up to priest at each individual exorcism how he handles the situation.
In January 1999 the Vatican issued a new version of the exorcism rite/ritual. This document describes a new and precise liturgical form which explains quite frankly that the devil does exist! It specifically speaks of angelic creatures and the personified devil with specifc prayers to drive the devil out including the psalms and reading from the gospels.
However some say that is not always appropriate for a full exorcism to take place. Many people are satisfied with some healing or a blessing from a priest instead. If a house is said to be possessed for example it is fitting that a priest should come and bless it rather than carry out a full exorcism. Although readers should be reminded that if we are to enlist the help of Reverand Starlene Joyner Burns it will cost you a fee of $150.
Statistics show that actual exorcisms are really quite rare. Most of the cases that priests are called out to deal with, more times than most, are given blessings. This could be because the priest believes that there is no reason for the exorcism or because there are other explanations to this sort of behaviour like, for example, psychological illness. Numbers of exorcisms are quite hard to tally simply because they are kept very private within the religious sphere. The worldwide number of exorcists is estimated at somewhere between 150 and 300. However other reports have claimed that there are up to 400 exorcists in Italy alone.
What Can Science Tell Us?
A large number of websites have reported that the most common scientific explanation for exorcism, as I have already briefly touched on, is that the individual is suffering from nothing more than a psychological or mental illness. When approaching a case, the priest at the head of the exorcism investigation should of consulted with a doctor of psychology or a mental health professional before it begins. The medical conditions that have usually been ascribed as an alternative to demonic possession are as follows: Hysteria, Psychosis, Epilepsy, Dissociative Identity Disorder and other mental health conditions which may alter the personality.
The Clip of the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) fantastically illustrates the fight between the scientific explanation of exorcism versus religious superstition. Here the priest who has been appointed to handle the exorcism is on trial for the murder of Emily Rose, the girl he exorcised. The opposition fight using science and logic, specifically claiming that Emily Rose suffered from Epilepsy, to prove that real exorcism did not exist. This video shows the defence examining Dr Adani (on the scientific side) which reveals that her medication for 'epilepsy' could of infact helped towards her death.
Why Girls?
From the sources I have found so far it seems that most of the cases of exorcism are against girls/women. Taking the scientific approach I decided to investigate whether mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, was more common in females than males. I chose schizophrenia because many of the cases I have seen, seem to demonstrate this type of behaviour. Take the case of Annaliese Michel, the real exorcism victim behind the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Here is a girl who appeared to be a normal teenager until the supposed demon began to possess her body. Although I am not a scientist I would give this analysis. Annaliese developed a strong case of schizophrenia or mulitiple personality disorder which meant a number of things; Firstly, reports state that she spoke in different languages one of which was Latin. Annaliese already knew some Latin and I believe her second personality used that to establish an identity. Secondly, reports said that she partially starved. I would explain that by the fact that when are own personality was being revealed she would eat but as the second personality, the said devil, revealed itself it did not want to eat. Therefore as the devil personality began to take over her own personality, she would eat less and less contributing to her illness. The fact that she wasn't always in the second personality state is another give away that she was suffering from mental illness. Crying, dressing differently, hallucinations are all proofs of this type of problem.This of course is an analysis from someone who knows very little in the field of mental health but I leave it open to you to make your own. Suprisingly to me statistics show that schizophrenia is equally as common in men than it is in women. However borderline personality disorder is reported to be several times more common in young women than men. This statistic is very telling.
On the Subject Of Films…
The 1973 film ‘The Exorcist’ is probably the most well known film about this topic. William Friedkin's film was a transformation from the book by William Peter Blatty. When the film came out it was not registered under the BBFC and came out with the certificate ‘X’. The film follows a twelve year old girl who begins to act strangely by displaying some supernatural powers, speaking in vulgar languages and blaspheming. The child undergoes a series of tests but no one could find a condition let alone a cure for her condition. In the end a priest is brought in to bless the child and ends up performing an exorcism. The Exorcism itself is pretty standard however what happened off the set is what intrigues me. The set was said to be haunted. Ellen Burstyn, actress who played Regan in the Exorcist, in her 2006 autobiography, Lessons In Becoming Myself, has indicated that some of this talk is true. A fire was said to of blazed through the set destroying the studio which then had to be rebuilt. The stunt man that was playing the part of the priest was said to of fallen and broken his neck and died and there was also a claim that a real priest was repeatedly brought in to bless the set.
The set of the Exorcist is just one of the sets that are said to of been haunted during or after the making of a film. The Poltergeist was another with the murder of Dominique Dunn and death of Heather Rourke. The Omen is another which is said to of killed a crew members wife coincidentally 6.66 miles away from a town called Ommen.
What Does This Mean For The Religious View?
More importantly if exorcism is real, what does it mean about God. Surely a good, omnibenevolent, caring, all knowing God would not allow demons to come into the world? The most obvious, and commonly used argument, is that God ultimately gave every being a choice. God chose not to program every individual to obey him and therefore, coming as a consequence of that choice, evil is allowed to enter the world. This may be a satisfactory statement for some but it does leave one wondering. These girls that I have used in these examples are innocent, young, wholesome people who's lives are good and joyful. If these demons do exist and are allowed to take over these innocent individuals lives and bodies what sort of comfort is it to know that God has planned for it to happen.
The English word exorcism derives from the Greek word Exorkizein meaning ‘out-oath’ or ‘adjure.’ The Catholic Encyclopaedia defines it as “the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice." Exorcism is the practice of ridding someone that is said to be either possessed or haunted by a spirit. An Exorcist is the agent that performs this casting out process through certain ritual and cleansing.
The first real mention of the church office ‘exorcist’ was sent in letter form to Pope Cornelius in 253. Jeffrey Burton Russell describes common exorcism at this time to be found in three different areas: firstly the exorcism of objects, secondly the candidates for baptism and thirdly of people possessed by demons. At one time it was advised that each church should have an exorcist but this was dropped around the time of enlightenment.
Exorcism in the Roman Catholic Church is unlike any sacramental ritual because it does not rely on any fixed formula of an unchanging type like, for example, the Eucharist does. Exorcisms within the church can only ever be performed by an ordained priest, more times than most, this will be the person that has been working on the exorcism from the beginning. The priest must first have the permission of the Bishop and only after all other explanations have ruled out any other possible cause like mental illness for example may he or she conduct the ritual. Indicators of demonic possession, as found in the Roman Ritual, include speaking in different languages, a hatred for holy objects and other supernatural things such as strength and knowledge.
Of course Exorcism is not something that is contained solely within Christianity. Other religions and cultures have also developed rituals and ceremonies dedicated to the purpose of casting out demons, Judaism for example, teaches that a spirit called dybbuk will inhabit a person in order to carry out unfinished business. The dybbuk traditionally comes in two forms; the first being a good dybbuk which acts as more of a spiritual guide. The second is the bad dybbuk which acts with chaos and negativity reflecting many of the experiences the spirit endured while it was alive. According to the kabbalah the spirit can be exorcised in two different ways. One way is non-invasive and consists of guiding the person through the possession, this is usually applied to cases which deal with the good dybbuk. The other involves ten people surrounding the individual, reciting words and ending in the blowing of the shofar, shocking the possessed spirit. If this spirit is successfully exorcised folklore traditionally teaches that it is said to leave the possessed individual through the toe. Hinduism also tells of a spirit that has the ability to overpower the will of the Gods. The Atharva Veda is said to contain spells which are specifically designed to deal with the casting out of specific demons. The Hindu ceremony of casting out this possession is somewhat different to the Jewish and Christian ceremony however by burning pig excrement and sometimes making offerings of sweets to the Gods.
What Is a Demon?
Most people believe that demons originated from ‘the fall.’ Some of the angels were said to of sided with Lucifer (Satan) turning from the good of God and losing their grace. Revelation 12:4 describes that one third of the angels chose to follow Lucifer instead of staying loyal to God. The Fallen Angels are said to appear in two groups; the Free angels and the Tartarus angels. The Tartarus angels, Tartarus being the Greek word meaning “darkness of the material universe,” are held in confinement waiting for their judgment. Although can it not also be said that a demon is something different for each individual. A demon can surely take any form not necessarily a latin or greek man with a tendency to overpower a teenage girl. Demons for me are ugly gothic creatures like one might find etched on the outside of a delapadated church.
This blog is really an attempt to put myself and my beliefs on triaI. I have chosen to do this by investigating Exorcism; its rituals and beliefs, taboos and the significant changes that it has gone through in modern society with respect to technology. I have decided on this subject for a number of reasons; Firstly, because it has always been a subject that the church, not avoided specifically, but more, kept in a private sphere, without a lot of public awareness. I believe that the church has decided to act this way because exorcism deals with many issues that rely on either a leap of faith from believers or because it is the less pleasant side of a religion that is supposed to, among all things, be centered around 'good.'
This leads on to my second reason which, acknowledging the above, is to discover if the internet has in any way changed or influenced the way in which exorcism is now viewed in the contemporary world, for example, an individual like myself can now talk freely about exorcism online in forums. I have made myself the subject of this exorcism investigation because I want to see how possible it can be to feign a demonic possession, speak to others with this particular problem and to perhaps see what is offered to me personally as an escape from this via the internet.
