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deleted
959 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 17 2007 : 6:21:47 PM
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Exorcising evil spirits: it's a devil of a job but someone has to do it
By Linda Morris
A Sydney bishop with knowledge of the Catholic rite of exorcism has warned of the dangers of dabbling in the occult and New Age ideas of spirit channelling and tarot card reading.
The Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Julian Porteous, second only in seniority to Cardinal George Pell, said cases of demonic possessions warranting exorcisms were rare in Australia.
More common were cases of people falling under the influence of evil after indulging in games of spirit channelling through ouija boards, clairvoyance and acts of calling up the dead.
"Experimenting with New Age ideas can be dangerous when it moves into uncharted territory," Bishop Porteous said. "It won't necessarily happen but it can happen. Tarot cards, astrology, channelling were very much in vogue a few years ago. There are some people attracted to evil. An extreme of this is people getting involved in satanic worship."
The Catholic Church is girding itself for renewed public fascination with the rite in the wake of the cinematic release of Sony Pictures' The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the story of an exorcism gone wrong that leaves open questions of the nature of holiness and the presence of evil and the divine.
Bishop Porteous said it was never a case of sudden possession.
"An evil spirit can enter a person in much the same way as a burglar can break into a house; that is, if a door is left open or there is some weak point in security."
The church, whose faithful have been targeted in the film's marketing push, has declined to say how many exorcisms it conducts. But each diocese has a priest "endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life" to conduct exorcisms.
Exorcists are permitted by their archbishops to recite the prayers for exorcism.
They must have "moral certainty" that they are not dealing with physical or mental illness, and doctors and psychiatrists must be consulted first.
Symptoms of "diabolic influence" recognised by the church include superhuman strength, an aversion to Christian symbols and speaking in unknown languages.
However, a Melbourne academic and author of The Spirituality Revolution, Associate Professor David Tacey, said the warnings about New Age ideas amounted to an attempt by the church to discredit a rival form of spirituality. Demonic possession was a fantasy of the mind which should be reconceptualised in psychological not supernatural terms, he said. "I think there are bigger forces in the life and the mind but it's not demonic possession but a form of psychotic paranoia and, as such, needs to be referred to a psychiatrist."
The idea that people could be possessed by spirits predates Christianity and is found in many other religions.
Jesus is said to have used exorcism to cure sickness and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe Christ struggling with and casting out the devil.
Bishop Porteous said the bile, vomit and head-swivelling scenes depicted in The Exorcist, which define modern thinking of devil possession, were extreme; however, the reaction of the person could be dramatic.
"When dealing with this the exorcist has no doubt about the radical nature of evil, that evil is an existent being, it's not just the absence of good.
"Evil is a personal being that seeks the destruction of people's lives."
Grace Mizzi
www.mmponline.org
Send Oh Lord Holy Apostles into your church
“Christ has no body but yours, no hands but
yours, no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s
compassion must look upon the world.
Yours are the feet with which He is to go about
doing good.
Yours are the hands with which He is to bless us
now.”
St. Theresa of Avila
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RayL
Mary's Servant
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2007 : 9:07:54 PM
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Just ordered 5 of these SW books from Amazon for Christmas...
No Mary, no Jesus. Know Mary, know Jesus. |
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Antonio A
Maryhead
825 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2007 : 10:29:50 PM
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Ray,
How did you do that? How were you able to post a picture? 
Antonio A. Obregón |
Edited by - Antonio A on Dec 17 2007 10:30:28 PM |
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RayL
Mary's Servant
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2007 : 11:05:24 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Antonio A
Ray,
How did you do that? How were you able to post a picture?
Antonio A. Obregón
Antonio - Simple - Click on the properties of the internet photo you want to post. Then copy and paste the name (i.e., http://www.xxxxxyyyyyy.jpg) of the photo on the intertet onto the reply window. Then highlight it and click on the floppy disk icon above (insert image).
Good luck !
No Mary, no Jesus. Know Mary, know Jesus. |
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