Exorcisms May Be On The Rise

Mark Phillips Examines The Evidence; Expert Addresses It

(CBS)  The Catholic Church has always believed in the idea of demonic possession -- of the fight, within the individual, between good and evil, says CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

The ancient ritual of trying to drive evil spirits formtortured souls was dramatically portrayed by Hollywood in "The Exorcist."

The Church, Phillips points out, would rather such graphic religious experiences took place privately.

When one Archbishop, Emanuel Malingo, began holding increasingly popular public exorcisms, the Vatican made him stop. The exorcism scenes weren't pretty, Phillips observes.

There is evidence, though, that the practice of exorcism is experiencing a revival, according to the Washington Post.

Particularly, says Phillips, among the faithful in Poland, so many of whom came to Rome to mourn the death of Pope John Paul II. Demand for exorcism has apparently risen so high, 70 priests now perform the rite there, double the number of five years ago. And the Church is planning a dedicated exorcism center.

Some blame the demand on the residue of the communist years. Father Jerome Hall, of the Washington Theological Union, says, "Once the oppressive regime falls, there's still a residue of pain, of betrayal, of anxiety, of evil. ... Some people who grew up in Eastern Europe would say, 'That's no wonder.' "

But numbers are said to be up elsewhere, as well, reports Phillips. In Italy, 350 trained exorcists are now working. There were only 20 ten years ago.

Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Nanni says, "For the sinners, who want to conquer entities or the devil himself, for them, the situation is very dangerous."

Even in the United States, Phillips notes, one-in-ten Catholics, according to a recent survey, now says they've either submitted to or witnessed an exorcism.

For many, it seems, the ancient battle between good and evil continues today, Phillips concludes.

What's behind the apparent rise in exorcisms?

Father Thomas Williams, Dean of Theology at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome and a CBS News religion consultant, told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez on The Early Show Tuesday, "There may be two reasons. One is that there's increased interest in the occult, even in Satanism. Where I live in Italy, Satanic worship is actually on the rise. And this is true in a lot of places in Europe. And the second reason I think is because people are less careful. Honestly, they maybe pray less. They play around with things they shouldn't play with, and then they get into trouble. ... Anyone can be possessed, but I think you really have to open yourself up to it. You have to be un-careful. And I think the spiritual demons, or bad angels, do exist, and I think it's an extreme thing, but it happens sometimes.

How do you know that the person is possessed, and you're not just dealing with a psychological problem?

"Well," Williams responded, "that's the biggest challenge we have. Because obviously, many things that in the past that were considered demonic possession or demonic influence were really just diseases or psychological problems. So, priests work closely with psychologists to try to ascertain the real nature of the pathology or of the problem before performing an exorcism. But prayer never hurts. So if you're just praying for a person, you're not gonna do them any damage."

There are specific signs that a person is possessed, Williams continued; "Three typical signs are speaking strange languages, a language a person's never had any access to whatsoever, and they just become fluent in it. And often accompanied by a change of voice that doesn't even sound like the person. Another is knowledge of secret things. For example, saying things that the person has no way of knowing. And a third is superhuman strength, the ability to lift objects and move things."

What's the process of exorcism like? Is it similar to what the movie portrayed?

"Well, it's similar," Williams replied. "It's mostly based on prayer and reading of sacred scripture, but there are other things used like holy water, a crucifix, etc. It's a long process. It begins with simply praying over the person and asking the person to pray with you. Often, they won't; if there really is some sort of demonic presence there, they will not do that. It's a lot of prayer until there's some sort of manifestation on the part of the demon, if there is one.

[pathofyeshua]

That is the problem today the Vatican does not like to admit that there is evil possesing people today. One has to wonder if they really believe in what they are doing. Evil is at work all over the world, They are the child molestor, the murder the rapist, they are all being influeanced by evil and it is obvious the church is afraid of satan. As Father Amorth of the vatican says "the smoke of satan is in the house of the Lord". Also the church is not the only one with authority to cast out evil,All who spread the Word of the Lord have the authority to do so. God bless and Peace always. Matthew

[pathofyeshua]

Pope Leo XIII (13th)
Pope from 1878-1903

The Vision Of Pope Leo XIII

October 13, 1884


Exactly 33 years to the day prior to the great Miracle of the Sun in Fatima, that is, on October 13, 1884, Pope Leo the 13th had a remarkable vision. When the aged Pontiff had finished celebrating Mass in his private Vatican Chapel, attended by a few Cardinals and members of the Vatican staff, he suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar. He stood there for about 10 minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael, with instructions it be said after all Low Masses everywhere. When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices - two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:

The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord:
"I can destroy your Church."

The gentle voice of Our Lord:
"You can? Then go ahead and do so."

Satan:
"To do so, I need more time and more power."

Our Lord:
"How much time? How much power?

Satan:
"75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those
who will give themselves over to my service."

Our Lord:
"You have the time, you will have the power.
Do with them what you will."

[liberalbias]

I couldn''t believe my ears as I sat and listened to this ridiculous conversation on ''Exorcism''!! What century is this again????
Maggie sat there with a straight face asking...."Are we seeing more Demonic activity?" "Are there specific signs that the person is possessed?"
How egregious do the sins of the Catholic Church have to be to completely strip it of all respect from the populace?? How long will it continue to engorge itself on the naive, unquestioning followers who refuse to see how they are being used??
Grow a brain, people!!!

[ratatoskr]

I too was shocked to encounter this shoddily constructed story this morning. I was waiting for the aa rational voice to kick in, someone willing to attribute it to hard economic times, post-millenial fever or the failure or religion to acknowledge modern psychology, but it never did. Instead we get amazingly blythe questions as "Can anyone be possessed?" I thought I was reading the Enquirer for a moment! What a pitiful excuse for a news story!.

[myidoncbs]

As the tone of this article makes perfectly clear (by virtue of blithely ignoring the obvious fact), these religious people are W-A-C-K-O-S.

"in the United States... one-in-ten Catholics ... now says they''ve either submitted to or witnessed an exorcism."

YIKES! The lunacy is everywhere! (Even on the Supreme Court!)

The whole notion of being "possessed" is actually completely contrary to the Christian doctrine of free will. If you can be "possessed", then you have lost your free will. What kind of a measly little god would base his Big Test (choosing Jesus before you die) on something so flimsy (free will that isn''t)?

Free will requires clear perception and evaluation of the real world, not just believing in some mumbo-jumbo your priest tells you. You can''t make the correct choice without being able to understand the choices presented to you. Most religions rely on your INABILITY to choose wisely, on your willingness to blindly follow where they lead. Christianity is just one example. Christianity is a self-contradicting set of beliefs. Therefore, a priori, it is false.

(And this holds true for singinrick''s version of Christianity, too, though the details of the argument vary.)

[grnman]

Is exorcism on the rise? Stupidity certainly is!
I could not believe your so-called news broadcast could sink lower than Britney pandering, but when I heard Maggie ask if demonic activity is on the rise, I knew you had found a new low spot.
You are doing the public a major disservice by giving credence to those who try to convince us that demons, creationism, and other religious myths are real. What''s next? Equal time for those who believe the Earth is flat?

An assistant to the devil came running in--"I have bad news. There is a teacher spreading a doctrine of Peace and Love throughout the world. Millions of people are following him." "No problem," replied the devil. "Give him a couple of years to gather his followers, then we''ll go in and organize them."

[grnman]

Is exorcism on the rise? Stupidity certainly is!
I could not believe your so-called news broadcast could sink lower than Britney pandering, but when I heard Maggie ask if demonic activity is on the rise, I knew you had found a new low spot.
You are doing the public a major disservice by giving credence to those who try to convince us that demons, creationism, and other religious myths are real. What''s next? Equal time for those who believe the Earth is flat?

An assistant to the devil came running in--"I have bad news. There is a teacher spreading a doctrine of Peace and Love throughout the world. Millions of people are following him." "No problem," replied the devil. "Give him a couple of years to gather his followers, then we''ll go in and organize them."

[myidoncbs]

pathofyeshua tells us the God himself gave Satan the power to destroy us all, and then gave him MORE power when he asked for it! So, the two of them are in cahoots!

*** kind of "God" would do that? As the expression goes, it''s just a bunch of hooey!

[grnman]

Is exorcism on the rise? Stupidity certainly is!
I could not believe your so-called news broadcast could sink lower than Britney pandering, but when I heard Maggie ask if demonic activity is on the rise, I knew you had found a new low spot.
You are doing the public a major disservice by giving credence to those who try to convince us that demons, creationism, and other religious myths are real. What''s next? Equal time for those who believe the Earth is flat?

An assistant to the devil came running in--"I have bad news. There is a teacher spreading a doctrine of Peace and Love throughout the world. Millions of people are following him." "No problem," replied the devil. "Give him a couple of years to gather his followers, then we''ll go in and organize them."

[grnman]

Is exorcism on the rise? Stupidity certainly is!
I could not believe your so-called news broadcast could sink lower than Britney pandering, but when I heard Maggie ask if demonic activity is on the rise, I knew you had found a new low spot.
You are doing the public a major disservice by giving credence to those who try to convince us that demons, creationism, and other religious myths are real. What''s next? Equal time for those who believe the Earth is flat?

An assistant to the devil came running in--"I have bad news. There is a teacher spreading a doctrine of Peace and Love throughout the world. Millions of people are following him." "No problem," replied the devil. "Give him a couple of years to gather his followers, then we''ll go in and organize them."

[andrew0120]

Wow... just Wow. Peoples'' ability to ingnore facts and blindly follow faith because someone said so baffles me.

[cmp271]

Now all the Catholic Church has to do is charge for this service and their debt issues, as well as school closings will be solved.

There is no such thing as the devil, or demons or possessions by a spirit. I believe Sylvia Brown on this.

Also it is another ploy of the church to subject women to more of the same foul treatment we have always suffered. Down with the church!!

Bless the Goddess!!
)O(

[uuellie]

How sad that this man''s statement that "Even in the United States ... one-in-ten Catholics, according to a recent survey, now says they''ve either submitted to or witnessed an exorcism," is put out there without questioning. What poll did this information come from?? I am no longer a Catholic, but many family and friends are. I feel sad for them that they are being ridiculed by articles like this.

[mrrobur]

This is a "NEWS" story? It belongs on the back page of the National Enquirer, complete with grainy pictures of fat midgets in bad Halloween masks.

What''s next, "A rise in sasquatch activity?"

[lpoole5]

Okay, CBS "News" has jumped the Shark. The Creationism, Devil & Demon "entitie" Exorcism, "LEFT BEHIND" wingnut authors & believers Shark!

Not the ancient creature of the Oceans of Planet Earth, whch EVOLVED naturally over millins of YEARS.

Nope, this is I guess a descendant of the Original NOAH''S SHARK, one of the two Sharks who went on board Noah''s ARK, along with all the other creatures?

Thank You, CBS NEWS for providing such a shining example of the "ENLIGHTENMENT" & of the intelligent, highly educated quality of your News Reporters now!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, help! help! De Debil dun GOT me, Satan is a''gonna eat my SOUL! Help me!!''
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, gurgle gurgle...

HA HA HA HA! BOW DOWN & WORSHIP ME, THE DARK LORD!
I have come through a Wormhole PORTAL from my Underground Evil Fortress of DOOM. The Portal located at the CBS Corporate Headquarters! (Usually I come through RUPERT MURDOCH''s Portal or KARL ROVE''s Portal. They ALWAYS keep their "Portals" open.

[pathofyeshua]

For those who want to know why God would give evil all the power it wanted, Because in the End the Father knows who comes out victourious. Now it is up to you to resist the temptation that it will tempt you with. God Bless and Peace Always in Yeshua.