This is an interesting article about Don Gabriele the president of the international association of exorcists in which he claims to have performed 70,000 exorcisms. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7060354.ece It's a decent read that brought up some questions in my own faith. I'm not sure what to think of stories like this, the catholic church or most churches or religions for that matter. They've all had their hands in dark sticky stuff at one point in their history. I'm incredibly religious but have a hard time finding where I'd fit in the world religions. Which is quite honestly fine by me, but it was interesting to read anyway.
Interesting read. Excorcisms are still a not much talked about part of the Christian practice. Most Church bodies still have some rite for healing or annoiting that includes a prayer or prayers which arise from the rites of excorcism. Where I would have question with Fr. Gabriele is his contention that the Church does not talk about Satan. I don't know the Vatican practice but American Church practice acknowledges evil and/or the devil quite freely. I have never conducted a formal excorcism but have performed annoiting/laying on hands for healing hundreds of times and contiune to use the practice as part of my pastoral care.
if i were catholic, i would be proud of the tradition of religious thought and philosophy. protestants dont hold a candle to them in terms of their written works almost all the great religious thinkers in history were catholics to the topic, the whole idea of demonic presence in the world is a tough one for a lot people, believers or unbelievers. a lot of people have a hard time getting their heads around the idea. i know i do how do you prove it? is the person possessed or just a crazy person. i have seen zero evidence of such a phenomenon in my life, nor have i known anyone to. growing up as jehovah's witness, it was little more than urban legends of spirits. there is one famous story about a smurf doll that freaked out in a congregation and ran out we were also told to be careful of what you by at a garage sale because you never know who owned the item and if its possessed. another story i have heard is that somebody bought some item. they tried to burn it and it wouldnt burn. as a defense, we were told if we are ever in that situation to shout god's name, based on the scripture that says that satan's demons fear the very mention of his name. what makes matters worse are those tv shows like 'ghost lab.' they put somebody in a pitch black room of a haunted house and they freak out and say they heard stuff. well....who wouldnt feel strange in a completely dark room after somebody tells you the house is haunted, lol? i would literally have to see it to believe it. i'd probably regret it though lol
Want to see cool rituals? The Orthodox make us all look like we are doing back yard kids theater! Well you did say "almost" but Luther and Calvin from the middle ages and Barth, Bultmann, and Forde more recently, weren't pikers!
You do realize that the 70,000 number can't be for real, and a embellishment of the truth ? Because if he performed 1 exorcism a day it would take him 191 years to do them all. This is of course assuming he performs on Christmas and Easter.
He addresses that in the article, he is talking demons and repeated jobs within the same context, not individuals he says he has helped.
In this country, very few have seen one. They are intentionaly rare. Think about the make-up of a troubled person. They are always looking for the miracle that will fix them. They are often religious in a non directed way. The RC Church in this country has deliberatly not "enabled" these troubled minds by performing exorcisms right and left. After intense investigation some still happen but they are rare.
I'm probably wrong, but I always thought that exorcisms were: 1. A little bit of theater to show the uneducated the powers of the devil and god. 2. A way for the noble to save face for poor behavior.
While the way you say it is certainly funny, there are things that happen in this world which I can not explain and occasionally seem to have a conscous intelligence about them. I can't explain everything and keep an open mind. Has that happened? Sure! It is not the only reason. Some devout believers are convinced demons exist and require special treatment. It is rare, as it should be, but there are occasions when the practice is used in great faith and hope.
