I've moved this topic here, because it seems more fitting to be coming from Grim. As this topic is NOT well documented, it may not be every day but will be fun for me anyway.
So, the book "The Exorcist" is apparently based on a "real" exorcism Blatty learned about in school.The exorcism was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland and Bel-Nor, Missouri. Several area newspapers reported on a speech a priest gave to an amateur parapsychology society, in which he claimed to have exorcised a demon from a thirteen-year-old boy named Robbie, and that the ordeal lasted a little more than six weeks, ending on April 19, 1949.
And if you're looking for a new job:
Australia
Hannah Davies of The Courier-Mail in Australia reports that the Catholic Church there is training hundreds of priests as exorcists to meet a growing demand! The Church says the demand has been brought about by interest in satanism and the occult, leading to a rise in exorcisms across Queensland. One priest, who asked not to be identified due to fear of reprisals, has said he was carrying out at least one exorcism 'a fortnight', with most requests coming from the Gold Coast than anywhere else.
The priest explained that an exorcism involves holy water, sacrament and Bible reading and can go on for many hours, the priest said. "Being possessed by a demon is terrifying in one's mental and emotional life," he said. "Some of these manifestations are extremely powerful, causing people to be plagued by disturbances. They hear voices and see hideous creatures in their sleep.
"There has been a recruitment of pagan practices, and it's sheer poison.
"The Gold Coast is not good at all. I do far more exorcisms there than Brisbane."
The article continues (emphasis added):
The Catholic Church has vowed to "fight the devil head-on" by training hundreds of priests as exorcists. Bishop Brian Finnigan, acting head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, said it was important for the church to carry out exorcisms.
"People need to be freed of that burden," he said.
Father Gabriele Amorth, 82, the Pope's Exorcist-in-Chief, announced the initiative recently amid church concerns about an increase in people dabbling in the occult. Under plans being considered, each bishop would have a group of priests in his diocese who were specially trained in exorcism.
Father Amorth said: "Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the devil. You have to hunt high and low for a proper, trained exorcist."
Queensland Catholic priests can carry out exorcisms only if they have been authorised by an archbishop.
The priest source, who is based in Brisbane, is the only one permitted to do exorcisms in the state. He said he had travelled to Rockhampton, Cairns, Townsville and Toowoomba to save people.
"We are not very plentiful and certainly need more of us to cope with the big occult following that is emerging today," he said.
"It's frightening what can happen when you invite entities into your life which are not meant to be part of God's world."
I remember when I first started teaching back in the mid-80's, when satanaism was 'the cool thing' among many of my students. Besides seeing pentagrams scrawled on kids' bookcovers and clothing, I recall seeing some kids fascinated by tarot cards and runes. Book stores started to have bigger sections devoted to "new age", "spirituality", as well as the "occult", mainly all of these being lumped into one section. (I remember one time being incensed at a store for also piling Christianity into that! How ignorant!) That seems to have died down a bit over the past ten years or so. I wonder if the ol' pendulum will be swinging back towards the occult again. Then again, atheism and radical secularism seem to be dominating the world stage right now, doing a tidy job of challenging people's beliefs. Maybe those are forms of satanism repackaged? The "new and improved" version?
Kids, next thing you know they'll be praying to invisible beings and asking them to take control of their lives
Lets pray...
"Dear Jesus I believe in you. Have mercy on me a sinner. Lord Jesus I want to follow you. Cleanse me from all my sins and come into my heart, be my Savior and Lord. I believe you lived without sin, died on the cross for my sins, rose again on the third day and have now ascended unto the Father. I love you Lord, take control of my life. I believe you hear my prayer. I welcome the Holy Spirit of God to lead me in your way. I accept you Lord as my Savior and desire to be a true believer and follower of Jesus. Thank you Jesus for hearing my prayer. In Jesus name I pray."
Amen
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Tags: exorcisms good for goose gander
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chipper
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