Rite seeks to cast out demons

Editor's Note: The rite of exorcism bears little resemblance to the movies and books that have sensationalized it. The notion of possession is common to many cultures and dates back to the beginning of civilization. The Post and Courier takes a look at this phenomenon.

In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

— Jesus Christ (Mark 16: 17-18)

More than two-thirds of Americans believe angels and demons are active in the world, according to an extensive new survey on religious beliefs and practices in the U.S. issued by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Nearly 70 percent are absolutely or fairly certain about life after death, the survey notes. About three-quarters believe in heaven; 59 percent believe in hell.

Many Americans who believe in the supernatural also believe possession of the soul is a possibility, and that intervention is sometimes required.

That's apparently what happened to "J. Doe," a plaintiff in a pending case against the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. A priest in the diocese had diagnosed Doe as possessed when Doe sought help. (It wasn't the exorcism or its effects that prompted Doe to sue but, rather, that it was filmed.)

His problem was not that unusual. Claims of possession by demons, spirits or gods is a universal human experience shared by members of nearly every culture and faith. In different cultures, such possessions of body or soul are good, sometimes bad. Sometimes they're invited, sometimes they're unwanted. In many cases, a ritual or rite is involved. Sometimes, possession occurs through prayer, meditation or dreams.

June McDaniel, a religion professor at the College of Charleston, says possession occurs according to one's notion of the self, or soul. Is one's soul a self-contained, single entity that can be replaced with or pervaded by a spirit force, or is it a multilayered component of the self in which God (or the devil) could be working?

McDaniel said possession often appears to be partial or temporary, achieved intentionally during rituals or mediation, in which case the possessed is conscious of his experience. Or it occurs unintentionally as when someone is "slain in the Spirit," a common experience among Pentecostals and charismatics, or otherwise overcome by grace or evil, she said. The difference has to do with the way memory works, she said.

Most religious traditions hold that at least certain spirits are the ghosts of dead ancestors that, caught between this world and the next, sometimes find their way back to Earth. Ancestral spirits usually are considered bad and require appeasement, McDaniel said. Gods, typically, are good since they provide information or blessings.

Other possessors are fallen angels sent by the devil, or the devil himself transformed.

Unwanted possession requires exorcism. This is achieved in many ways, according to the cultural practices of the exorcist. Ridding demons can be achieved through chant, music, potions and medicines, laying on of hands, application of holy oils and the reciting of specific prayers, even engaging in a shouting match with the evil spirit, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, McDaniel and author Doris M. Wagner, who wrote "How to Cast Out Demons."

The widespread acceptance of the existence of demons and spirits, of the possibility of possession and the need for exorcism is based on the idea of life after death, McDaniel said.

If there is a passage leading from this world to the life beyond, then it stands to reason that the passage is a two-way street. Sometimes those making the journey get lost. These are the restless dead. Sometimes they are prevented from reaching their goal and linger in purgatory or limbo, frustrated with their condition. Sometimes they have entered the other realm but return to help the living, McDaniel said.

In various cultures, the indwelling of a spirit may be considered good or evil, depending on whether or not it is sought, McDaniel said. In 19th-century Europe, for instance, people concerned about life after death began to explore psychic phenomena, such as hypnosis, seance and channeling. The goal was to communicate with the other world, McDaniel said. Sometimes their efforts ostensibly would produce ectoplasm, a gaseous white cloud that could reveal images.

Certain modern movements that incorporate some aspects of Christianity take up a variation of these practices, McDaniel noted. Spiritualist churches and the Deliverance movement are both concerned with intraworld communication — and excommunication.

Wagner is an ordained pastor and activist in the Deliverance movement. Society's ills can be attributed to the pervasive work of demons, according to her book, which also explains how possession can be recognized and cured.

"Demons," she writes, "are probably fallen angels with the assignment from their evil hierarchy to attach themselves to an individual and to eventually steal, kill or destroy."

Belief in the supernatural and the ability to communicate with other realms satisfies a big human need, McDaniel said. It tends to validate that other worlds exist, that life does not end upon death, that there is a higher meaning worth pursuing.

For Protestants, the afterlife experience already is defined at death, she said. Prayers are offered during the funeral but stop once the body is placed in the ground. Catholics continue to pray after burial because intercessional prayer still is believed effective even after death, she said. It can help dead souls in purgatory, transforming them from the restless dead to the grateful dead.

Steve Gajdosik, communications director for the Diocese of Charleston, said intercessional prayer has its basis in Scripture. He cited the story of the Maccabees praying for the repose of dead soldiers.

The field of demonology explains the vast landscape of malevolent supernatural forces, McDaniel said. It uses a monarchical model. At the top of the hierarchy is the devil himself (akin to a king), next come the archdemons (lords, earls and dukes), then the demons (knights) and subdemons (peasants).

The Catholic rite of exorcism is one of many Vatican-approved rites. "The Roman Ritual, Volume II," a book published in English in 1952, provides explicit instruction on how to administer rites of Christian burial, exorcism and reserved blessing. (Volume I concerns blessings; Volume III deals with sacraments and procession.)

Only a trustworthy, holy priest can perform an exorcism. To do so, he relies on specific materials, prayers and psalms.

"The Holy See encourages dioceses to take up this important role, process, program," Gajdosik said. Practicing this form of "spiritual warfare" requires special training, practical experience and spiritual strength, he said.

The section called "Sacramentals" in the Vatican's Code of Canon Law states, "No one can perform exorcisms legitimately upon the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local ordinary. The local ordinary is to give this permission only to a presbyter who has piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life."

Reach Adam Parker at aparker@postandcourier.com.