Stupid things religious people say

[Fake Messiah]

Mad vs. sad: Sociologists will travel to Western Ireland to witness a new wave of Catholic hysteria as clergy perform exorcisms.

My life as an exorcist: ‘I have been spat at, punched, choked, bitten and kicked by demons’

"The old idea of an exorcist being a single guy walking in with his black suitcase: those days are over,” he told Review in Knock last weekend. These days, exorcists work as part of a team. “We have psychologists. We have medical doctors. We have clinicians. We have tough guys to pull the person down and someone who deals with the person outside the session.”

Another thing cinema gets wrong is the portrayal of an exorcism as a one-off deliverance.

“For the truly possessed, the process of liberation typically takes two to four years, if everything works well. And some residual demonic harassment can be lifelong,” Rossetti explains matter-of-factly.

Rather shockingly, cinema’s chilling depictions of vomiting, levitation, demonic voices, screaming, unexplained bruising and scratching on the victim’s body, as well as flying objects are accurate, according to the priest.

Spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness is alive and kicking and this former US Air Force intelligence officer, who holds a doctorate in psychology from Boston College, is at the vanguard of the Catholic Church’s deliverance of the possessed.

“Over the years of doing exorcisms, I have been repeatedly spat at in the face, knocked down and suffered a concussion, choked several times to the point of passing out (demons have a surprisingly strong grip), bitten and suffered teeth marks, cussed out innumerable times, threatened often, and punched and kicked; and my ritual books have been ripped, and holy objects have been thrown across the room. And if the session goes well, the afflicted person will scream, thrash uncontrollably, and vomit lots of white foam. Though I go into each session with confidence in the Lord, and I know I am basically protected, it is still a battle,” the priest explains.

“One of the signs someone is possessed is what we call superhuman strength. What that really means is the person does things that human beings can’t do, but only demons can do. You’ll see cases where people will levitate and do all sorts of things which can’t be explained humanly speaking.”

He refers to the 2012 Ammons case in Indiana where social workers, police and medical staff observed the children in the family making growling noises, and the seven-year-old boy walked up the wall backwards. “It does happen,” he says. “It’s demonic antics. They’re trying to take over the session. They’ll throw things across the room.”

The exorcist’s ‘weapons’ are holy water, a crucifix, relics of saints, and specific prayers of the church. A trim and fit-looking 74-year-old, he shows little exhaustion despite this arduous role which many priests avoid. Many are fearful. But there has been an increased demand for his ministry and he believes the spike in possessions is due to the decline in faith and more interest in the occult.

"One of the first things the demons say is: ‘You stupid priest’. They hate priests."

“Many times when you have a possessed woman, they’ll become seductive and they’ll try to seduce the priest. I just look at them and say, ‘you know, I’m too old for this. Leave me alone!’”

One of the primary portals for demons, according to Rossetti, is dabbling in the occult and witchcraft. Ireland’s fascination with these reached new heights when Bambie Thug represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest.

He is dismissive of those who practise any form of witchcraft. “People say, ‘I’m a good witch.’ You’re not a good witch. You’re just a witch. There’s no such thing as good witchcraft. Every time you throw a curse or cast a spell, you are making an implicit contract with Satan. They’ll get mad at me for saying that, and I’ll have witches cursing me and attacking me.”

https://m.independent.ie/news/my-life-as...34673.html

So if demons give people superhuman strength, there should be exorcists, along with the anti doping teams, on Olympic games and other sporting competitions to make sure people aren't cheating by being possessed.