Submitted by Elizabeth McCoy ([email protected])
September 19, 2000
For the first time in its 160-year history, the Archdiocese of
Chicago has appointed a full-time exorcist, who said his task
is to "heal those afflicted by the Evil One."
The archdiocesan priest, whose identity was withheld by the
Roman Catholic archdiocese to protect his privacy, was
appointed without fanfare nearly a year ago by Cardinal Francis
George at the encouragement of a French cardinal.
In confirming the appointment recently, George said he did so
because he felt it was needed.
The priest, speaking through an archdiocese representative, said
he is reluctant to appear publicly because, "I collaborate with a
number of health care professionals, as well as officials of the
archdiocese. Confidentiality is of utmost importance in my work, so
I prefer to be low-key and quiet about it."
The veteran Chicago priest has not performed any public exorcisms
here, although he participated in at least nine while in Rome,
according to an archdiocese representative. He is currently meeting
with a dozen people who have sought his help.
Whether any of them could qualify for the ritual is unclear. For now,
there is no documented record of any exorcisms taking place here,
according to Chris Spoons, an archdiocesan spokesman, possibly
because they would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Exorcisms, which are centuries old in the Catholic church, are rituals
involving prayer, blessings and the command for the devil to leave
the possessed person in the name of Jesus.
Public interest in exorcism is almost certain to be revived with the
re-release Friday of "The Exorcist," a 1973 blockbuster about a
priest's battle for the soul of a girl possessed by the devil. The
re-release comes on the heels of a reported "failed" exorcism by
the pope recently.
"There will be an explosion of interest, yet the church retains
a skepticism about this," said the Rev. Robert Barron, an
archdiocesan theologian and spokesman on exorcisms. "I've
heard that about 95 percent of those who present themselves
for exorcisms are not really subjects. They are very rare."
Still, Barron said it was important to note that even though unusual,
having exorcisms is healthy because it acknowledges that there is
a realm "of reality beyond what we can see. A world of angels and
devils, fallen angels."
However, the Rev. James LeBar, an exorcist for the Archdiocese
of New York who was appointed by the late Cardinal John O'Connor,
said there has been a "large explosion" of exorcisms over the last
decade. He said he has seen New York's number go from none
in 1990 to a total of 300 in the last decade.
"As people lose their respect and reverence for life, spirituality
and human beings, the devil can move in," LeBar said. "He
can attack them by possessing them, and rendering them helpless."
There are times when a victim can be overwhelmed by the devil,
LeBar said. More often, there are other lesser attacks by evil, the
most common being plain temptation to sin, he said.
An exorcism is a specific ritual for which exorcists are trained.
"They command demons . . . in the name of God that they should
depart and no longer injure human beings," the Chicago exorcist said.
There is no fixed duration of time for the healing, or any guarantee for
success. As such, the reported effort by Pope John Paul II last week
was not a "failure," LeBar said, because treatments can last decades.
***
Exorcising the devil
"He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim
the kingdom of God."
--Luke 9:1
The casting out of devils can be traced back to Jesus Christ for
Christians. Not only does Jesus himself tell the Tempter to get lost,
but Christ charges his closest followers to go forth and cast out
demons--in other words, perform exorcisms.
Yet for most, the idea of an exorcism seems mysterious.
And its lurid depiction in the 1973 hit "The Exorcist"--which will
be re-released Friday for another dose of the head-spinning,
pea-soup hurling, possessed little girl played by actress Linda
Blair--is sure to rekindle talk about what it involves.
"I'm heading for Alaska," joked the Rev. James LeBar, one of
four exorcists working in the New York Archdiocese. "People
are already calling suggesting people who might need exorcisms."
The vast majority of them are not suffering from anything like
devil possession. However, LeBar seconds the opinion of the
man who appointed him, the late Cardinal John O'Connor, that
the movie was an accurate portrayal of what the priest who
performed the ritual said he witnessed. The film supposedly was
based on an actual exorcism in St. Louis of a Lutheran boy.
And while LeBar said he hasn't had quite that dramatic of an
encounter, he does note that things can become supernaturally
unsettling.
"In one or two cases, there was an extraordinary amount of
gagging," LeBar said. "But not in such voluminous and colorful
ways as in the movie."
Officials could not provide a number of exorcisms that are
performed.
Exorcisms, while a valid ritual within the Roman Catholic church,
have been somewhat de-emphasized from their heyday of the
early medieval era to the Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960s,
experts said.
That might be changing. Several dioceses, including the
Archdiocese of Chicago, have appointed exorcists recently. The
Chicago exorcist was appointed Sept. 29, 1999, the feast day of
St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of exorcists.
"At present, there would be two major trends in terms of the
value of exorcism. One believes in a devil who is a person, who
really exists, and who can as a matter of fact possess people,"
said the Rev. Eugene Lauer, co-director of the Hesburg Center
at the Catholic Theological Union here. "There is also a strong
contemporary trend that maintains the devil, or an evil spirit, is a
personification of the evil tendencies and evil directions that are
inside the human condition."
Lauer estimated that American Catholics are probably about
evenly divided on the concept of evil.
The more modern viewpoint that evil is not wrapped up in an
actual devil resonates across other denominations.
"I think possession is often a mental phenomenon," the Rev.
Robert Thompson of the Baptist Lake State Church in Evanston,
who is head of the Council for the Parliament of World Religions.
"That which is demonic is not always as sexy or exotic as it's
depicted by Hollywood. Like racism is demonic."
Mindful of that, exorcists often require the would-be possessed
to get both a medical and psychological exam.
Indeed, the Archdiocese of Chicago's exorcist--who has asked
for anonymity since being appointed by Cardinal Francis George
--notes that Jesus "always distinguished between the reality of
physical and mental illness and that of demonic possession."
"We as a church continue to follow Jesus' model of diagnosing,
so that the cure is accurately related to the cause of suffering."
That reflects what LeBar said. Exorcisms are not magic bullets.
They are considered a last resort. Sometimes a demon will
surrender quickly. At other times, treatments last for decades.
One thing seems common for victims: fear of the holy.
"In general, people possessed have an aversion to spiritual
things," he said.
Yet despite the increases, it is unlikely the Catholic church will
advertise its service. LeBar said he's an exception.
"The church has been concerned about sensationalism," said
the Rev. Robert Barron, archdiocese expert on exorcism. "But
it's been around since the earliest days."
***
SIGNS OF POSSESSION
Possession victims often exhibit one or more of these traits which
distinguish it from illness, church experts said.
Exhibition of superhuman strength.
Knowledge of languages outside a person's training. For instance,
if someone who never studied Latin begins spouting phrases in
that tongue.
Hidden insights into a person's private life, or past sins.
Aversion to all things spiritual: holy water, the mass, a crucifix
or Jesus' name.
***
Belief in ritual ancient, global
BY BRENDA WARNER ROTZOLL STAFF REPORTER
As long as there have been human beings who believe in
supernatural power there has been the belief in exorcism, the
driving out of evil spirits or devils.
The exorcist may be a priest, shaman, witch, or a medium such
as a small child. He or she may lay on hands and say prayers in
a private room, or lead ritualized public dances to end demonic
possession and restore a person to physical and-or mental health.
"It's all over the place," said the Rev. Martin Marty, a Lutheran
minister and analyst of religion in America.
Marty said exorcism is a smaller part of Western religions than it
is of religions in most other parts of the world. The ancient
Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks had professional exorcists,
as did early Jews and Christians. Witch doctors in some African
societies and shamans among Native Americans were exorcists.
Marty noted that godparents in many Christian faiths are asked,
on behalf of the child they sponsor, to renounce the devil and
all his works and ways. "That's a very mild version of exorcism,"
he said.
The jinn or genies of the Arabian Nights are part of Islamic belief,
Marty said. Some are good, some bad, and if you rid one person
or place of them, they may appear somewhere else.
Many peoples who did not yet have a written language were
animists, believing all nature is animated, Marty said. Such
beliefs have been found in much of Africa and Asia, and among
Native Americans.
Exorcism in these religions is usually associated with dancing,
Marty said, with "much ritual, many dances, often fire, smoke,
haze, mist or fog" to help drive the evil spirits away.
In China strings of firecrackers are lit at Chinese New Year and
at events such as store openings and boat launchings to drive
away demons and ensure happiness and prosperity.
***
Papal attempt unsuccessful
Even the pope can't claim 100 percent success when
performing exorcisms.
Earlier this month, Pope John Paul II carried out an impromptu
exorcism on a teenage girl after she began "screaming insults in
a cavernous voice." As told to an Italian newspaper by Father
Gabriele Amorth--the pope's chief "Satan-buster"--the incident
occurred during a general audience in a packed St. Peter's Square.
After the 19-year-old Italian girl began shouting, she was
constrained by Vatican guards. She was said to have displayed
"a superhuman strength" as she battled them.
A papal official intervened and sought to calm her, but she
reportedly began insulting him.
The pope talked to the girl, exorcised her and prayed with her,
assuring her he would say a mass for her.
But it appeared afterward that the pope's intervention had only
a temporary effect on the girl.
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