Stupid things religious people say

[Fireball]

Are demonic possessions just mental illness? - This is what they recently asked on the Catholic news website.

Mind you, this will be aswered by Jenna M. Cooper, J.C.L. who is a consecrated virgin of the Archdiocese of New York, currently serving as staff canonist, Judge, and Coordinator of the Tribunal for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. She graduated with a bachelors’ degree in Philosophy from Seton Hall University in New Jersey in 2008, and from Ave Maria University in Florida with a Master of Arts in Theology in 2010. After three years of living and studying in Rome, she completed a licentiate degree in Canon Law (J.C.L.) at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

The church teaches that demonic possession, while rare, is certainly something that can happen.

Because of the reality of the demonic, today every diocese is supposed to have a specially trained priest, appointed by the diocesan bishop, who serves as the diocesan exorcist. [so it's not that rare]

Throughout his ministry, an exorcist must establish a balance within his own mind between not believing too easily that the devil is responsible for what is manifesting, and attributing all possible manifestations solely to a natural, organic source.” To that end, most dioceses in United States have protocols which require an individual to have medical and psychiatric evaluations, to rule out potential natural causes, before they can receive a major exorcism.

On the other hand, introduction to the rite of exorcism lists some medically-unexplainable, positive “signs and symptoms” of demonic possession, such as: the afflicted person speaking and understanding foreign languages they never studied; revealing hidden knowledge or information they would have had no way of knowing; and demonstrating physical strength beyond what would be normal for their size and general condition. True victims of possession will typically also have a history of dabbling in the occult, such as through fortune-telling, visiting psychic mediums, playing with Ouija boards, or participating in “New Age” activities.

https://www.thefloridacatholic.org/faith...813f6.html

I don't know about demonic possessions, but after reading this article, it seems that religion is the mental illness.

Also, have you ever met a consecrated virgin?

Yes. I anointed her myself with my divine inseminator.