Home Resourse materials Know-how Newsletter ACT mission Notice board

Newsletter, July 2019

International conference on Church Care for Mentally Ill People

Below are papers read at the International conference on Church Care for Mentally Ill People
November 13-14, 2018, Moscow (continuation)

Mental Illnesses and Possession

Priest Jose M. Vegas

1. General prerequisites: believe with the faith of Church and pastoral care of people

It is a challenging task to discern clearly when a person is under the genuine extraordinary influence of the devil and when he/she is merely physically or mentally ill. Symptoms may not only be similar, but sometimes they can intertwine. At least the first prerequisite that helps to tell a spiritual ailment from a mental one, is to accept that there exist truly spiritual phenomena, which do not, in fact, come down to the psychical sphere. So, in this situation we comprehensively accept the faith of Church that recognizes the existence of angels - pure spiritual persons - and fallen angels, demons or the devil, that once revolted against God and have been in a continuous fight against Him ever since.

We express this in a certain way when we confess our Christian faith and read the Creed, saying "I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth", or (in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed), "… Maker of heaven and earth, visible and invisible".

The Catholic Church openly recognizes the existence of angels and demons, in its Catechism:

"The existence of angels is a truth of faith. The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 328, hereinafter referred to as CCC).

"Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy (cf. Gen 3:1-5; Wis 2:24). Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil" (cf .Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9). The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing" (CCC 391).

"Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels (cf. 2 Pt 2:4). This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God" (Gen 3:5). The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies" (I Jn 3:8; Jn 8:44)" (CCC 392)1.

If one does not believe in the real existence of this type of spiritual problems, then any phenomenon that steps beyond the framework of 'normality' is automatically assigned to the sphere of mental illnesses, and people who suffer from these problems, do not find understanding in the Church. For this reason, they often turn to 'wise women', wizards, psychic mediums, witchdoctors, healers, etc., and in the final effect their state only gets worse.

It well may be that these people suffer, indeed, from mental illnesses and think that some evil spirit resides in them. Even so, these are people who suffer and need our help, which may mean a patient and thoughtful explanation that they need psychological support. The sick are also part of our congregation and object of our pastoral care.

Consequently, if the faith in the existence of the devil and evil spirits that may have their influence on man is the first prerequisite for discerning between spiritual and mental problems, the second one is an unconditional acceptance of those who come to us with such problems.

Here we should add, that all this (recognition of the devil's existence and pastoral acceptance of people) is done in the framework of our faith in the supremacy and victory of Christ. We should speak about the devil and his influence exclusively from this Christological point of view, without falling into irrational fears, exaggeration of demons' power and some forms of superstition or magical approach to these problems.

Speculating about these spiritual problems, what do we mean? What are the possible types of demonic influence?

2. Levels of the devil's influence

The Catholic Church, and specifically those who practice exorcism, discern four levels of the devil's influence, one ordinary, trivial, and three extraordinary ones.

2.1. Ordinary level: temptation

The ordinary level of demonic influence shows through temptation. There is one natural aspect in temptation connected with the limitedness of man's freedom, and he himself (with the help of grace and other people) should aspire to improve oneself. Man has various levels of existence (physical, psychological, related to soul/emotional, and spiritual), thus he has various wants, needs and demands, which correspond with various values.

"Man experiences temptation when lower values attract him to such an extent that this affects his higher ones.

Thus, pleasure, profit, wealth, power, beauty, etc. are not evil on their own. They are positive values in their nature, and man can lawfully aspire them. But moral integrity prompts that one cannot aspire them at the price of justice and human dignity (their own or that of others), or lawful rights and expectations of other people.

For this, respect to higher values and demands is a condition for the satisfaction of the lower ones.

When this order is not observed, man begins to perceive and choose as good (pleasant, beneficial, etc.) something, which is not actually good, drugs, excessive drinking, sex without love, power without justice, etc.

To have a correct understanding of the role of temptation in committing the evil, we should add, that it does not force man's freedom to the extent that the letter disappears. A genuine temptation is always vincible, thence, the evil is committed only if there is consent on man's behalf"2.

It is in this type of temptation that we see man's imperfection and weakness. But there is one more aspect in temptation that can be linked to the devil's direct influence3. It is still possible to preserve a clear understanding of good and evil in the state of weakness. But there is a more sophisticated temptation with some elements of deception - when good is called evil and evil good4. The devil - seducer and father of lie - tries to tempt man and distract him not only from the path of truth and good, but to make him lose awareness of what is good or evil, make him think that what is evil is actually good, and vice versa.

The story about the Fall (see Gen. 3:1-22) clearly depicts this way of the tempter's behavior. First, he sows confusion through an ambiguous statement: God does nothing but prohibit everything ("Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden", v.1), limits arbitrary our freedom with his commandments, does not allow us to be free… Second, he presents evil as good: it is pleasant to eat of the tree, it gives knowledge, power. Thus, he dilutes the line between the right and wrong, and shifts the moral judgement. Third, he offends God: he tries to prove, that God is not good, that He limits us and, moreover, deceives us ("Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know…"). Finally, he promises direct subjective satisfaction and, more than that, - something impossible - personal development ("ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil"), which gives us omnipotence, hence comes unlimited freedom, with no accountability - thus, what we desire will be good. Such a temptation, that entails rejection of God, trust in Him, also means rejection of oneself, one's own being, one's own truth and genuine good5, since man wants to become something what he is not and cannot be. This particularly reflects the radical sin of Satan and his demons: rejection and non-acceptance of the limited existence of a creation, i.e. refusal to take the place, designed for it, in the divine order6. For this reason Satan fights against God striving to prove (to himself and others) that God is not good, but does not do it directly against Him (too high for the former), but through the one who is His image on the earth, through man, showing that nobody is truly good, that anything good is a disguise for some dirty interest, and finally everyone has their price. This becomes specifically clear from the dialogues between Satan and God in the beginning of the Book of Job (see Job 1:7-11; 2:1-5). This fight encapsulates the tragedy and contradiction of the radical sin of pride: the choice in favour of not being formed according to the measure of created strength, which depends on God, i.e. the choice of rejection of their true being, the truth and the good, the choice of not being oneself. Hence, deep dissatisfaction that imbues the devil and all those who decide to live like him7.

We should say right away, that the devil bears no responsibility for the sin: he is a tempter (who 'motivates' us though lies), but it is man who decides. For this reason, it is believed that this kind of demonic influence, although an ordinary one, is the most dangerous: if it turns to be successful, it separates us from God and his grace.

2.2. Extraordinary levels of demonic influence

The Catholic theology and practice of exorcism identifies three levels of extraordinary demonic influence:

Oppression is a demonic influence which seems to come from outside a person, causing a depressed state, weariness, aches and illnesses with no evident reason. For instance, man suffering from oppression may turn to a doctor, and the latter will not find any illness in him/her that would explain such physical condition.

Experts say that the devil oppresses some people in such physical way when he fails to tempt them. It is worth noting, that quite often (although not always) oppression is a result of actions of an evil spirit triggered by evil people because of envy, hatred, desire to take revenge, etc. There were cases when saints suffered from such devil's temptation8.

Some authors believe that in case of oppression, it is enough to order the evil spirits leave the person in the name of Jesus Christ9. But others (including me) think, that this requires the prayer of deliverance.

Obsession. "Unlike the meaning that modern psychology puts into the word 'obsession', the Church employs this notion in its more ancient meaning 'siege' (Lat. obsidere - to besiege), i.e. 'obsession' means a devil's attack, which is internal, in a sense, but still is not inferior to possession"10.

In case of obsession, the devil acts at the level of imagination (i.e. at the psychic level) and tries to trigger hellish feelings in a man, extremely negative thoughts and desires: despair, mistrust, compulsive thoughts about suicide, ungrounded states of panic, emptiness, loneliness, futility, unclear hatred to beloved people, sacred objects, etc. Obsession is not a permanent state. It is characterized by times of tranquility and moments of severe attack11.

"Authors may differ in their opinion about the division line between obsession and possession. 'Obsession is a sequence of unusually strong and steady temptations' (Fr. A. Tanqueray). The devil lays siege, so to say, upon a person during obsession, and is capable of 'attacking from outside, causing serious disruption and chaos in the soul. Obsession is not merely a strong temptation. It has its own crises periods. During these times the freedom of will is reduced considerably but does not cease to exist completely. The obsessed person can actively oppose the emotional pressure that the devil wants to exert' (Fr. Adolphe Rodevique). Fr. Michel Scanlan puts obsession between possession and oppression: 'In case of obsession evil spirits besiege some part of man's personality. They, however, do not come in possession of the whole man's personality. On the contrary, causing anxiety to man, they do not act from outside, but as if from within'"12.

"Basically, it is assumed that minor exorcism may help to recover from obsession, but it is not absolutely necessary - the usual means of the Church are enough. These means are 'usual' only from the point of their habitual employment - the word of God, sacraments, prayer and membership in the Church - all these are as extraordinary as the Incarnation and Resurrection (…) Obsession usually demands the prayer of deliverance"13.

Possession. The person, possessed by the devil, usually experiences all symptoms characteristic of obsession and oppression, but besides that, the devil is present in the person's body and can control it, sometimes even fully, although there can be a broad range of symptoms of possession. The Catholic Church says the following about these symptoms in the rite of exorcism:

"According to the tested practice, possession with demons has the following symptoms: speaking many words in a language earlier unknown to the possessed, or understanding another person speaking the language; clairvoyance; display of strength exceeding the age or state of the possessed. These signs can serve as a certain indicator. Since such symptoms may not necessarily come from the devil, it is worth paying attention to other signs as well, specifically to those that belong to the moral or spiritual sphere, that identify the devil's intervention in a different way, such as aversion to God, Holy Name of Jesus, Holy Virgin Mary and saints, the Church, the word of God, things, rites, specifically, sacramentalia, and holy icons. Finally, in some cases, it is necessary to assess thoroughly the relation of all these symptoms with faith and spiritual warfare in a Christian life, since the evil one is, primarily, the enemy to God and everything that the believers associate with God' salvific action"14.

"If compared with obsession, possession is characterized by a higher degree of demonic influence, larger scale, more internal and more forced nature. Except for the cases, when the person committed oneself consciously into the hands of evil spirits (perfect possession), possession with demons is always of partial nature and may vary in intensity. The area of possession is often somewhat sealed, like in the case of an abscess, being separated from the rest of the person's existence, so that the person can function with a certain freedom, if the affected area is not touched. Sometimes three clear areas can be identified in the person which represent three concentric circles. The person may be sort of normal in the external circle; those who know the person well may identify some features that are not typical (e.g., race prejudice) in the middle one; and only when it comes to the inner circle, one may expect a fit of possession (outburst of demonic energy)".

"Two elements constitute possession: first, the devil's presence in the body of the possessed, and, second, control, exercised directly by a demon over the body and psyche of the possessed person, as well as over his/her soul" (Fr. A. Tanqueray). Possession means that "the devil has seized the 'city' and keeps under control all its inner fortifications" (Fr. Adolphe Rodevique). "Be possessed may mean that Satan has brought the person's mind in complete confusion (see Mark 5:15). In some cases of possession, described in the New Testament, the devil's invasion shows itself in various ailments of the human body, for example, when the devil takes control over the person's sense of vision (Matt. 12:22, 'Then was brought unto him one possessed with the devil, blind and dumb; and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw', hearing (Mark 9:25-26), speech (Matt. 9:32) or the whole body (Mark 5:1)" (Fr. Philip Weller)"15.

It should be noted that true cases of possession are extremely rare.

Perfect possession or subjection. Jeremy Davis speaks about 'perfect possession' when a person voluntarily dedicated oneself to Satan, for instance, by means of satanic rituals or some other ways. However, other specialists believe that in this case we should not speak about 'possession', but rather about 'subjection' (soggezione or assoggettamento diabolico)16. Unlike possession, which may happen through no fault of the afflicted person and, if so, he/she may have repented and rejected Satan and the causes of his/her state long ago, and, consequently, can live in the grace of Lord, although the devil is present in his/her body and partially possesses it, but against the person's will, in case of subjection the person gives oneself freely into the hands of the devil, having opened his/her will, and tries to consciously live and act according to the plans of an evil spirit. Thus, there is no need for the devil to be present in the person's body, since the person him/herself submits to Satan's plans. Unlike possession, subjection always entails own responsibility of the subject. However, when the person, who dedicated oneself to Satan, repents and tries to separate oneself from the devil and come closer to Christ, this is the time when possession may take place, since the devil will not give up on his prey easily and will take revenge for the 'betrayal'.

Infestation (invasion) is the presence of a demon not in persons, but in animals, places or objects. Possible signs of infestation are as following: moving things - may hit like a bullet, fall down without any impact on them and, possibly, get back to their places; doors that open and close on their own; some phenomena with electricity; sensations as if somebody touches you or whispers in your ear; smell (malodour) of a privy, sulfur or burning; unclear sounds, etc. The Catholic Church Porteous for Exorcism includes an appendix with prayers for such cases as well17.

2.3. Reasons of Demonic Extraordinary Influence

Except for the case of subjection, where the responsibility lies on the subjected person him/herself, other cases may be caused by very different reasons.

Overall, we believe that a human sin always lays ground for such influence. However, the extreme nature of such forms of a devil's presence prompts that usually there are some other specific reasons in place.

The most trivial and direct path that opens doors to the devil is a contact - active or passive - with something occult, occultism, spiritism, astrology, magic, healing, witchcraft, etc. There are other ways as well that seem less harmful or dangerous because seem to be the true paths of spirituality, but provoke major hazard since they separate from true God, deform His true Image (which He revealed us himself through the Revelation, and ultimately in Jesus Christ) and substitute Him with depersonalized ideas about God as a positive energy, a certain impersonal pantheism, etc. New Age, some forms of eastern spirituality, alternative medicine (reiki and others) fall under this category. Sometimes these contacts happen indirectly, for example, through some music rock-groups that spread satanic texts.

Quite often a person suffers from some forms of demonic extraordinary influence initiated by other people, who try to cast a bad spell, put an evil eye or love spell, curse or use some other forms of bewitching for many different reasons: envy, hatred, vampirism, or as simple as to take hold of the other person's flat, etc.

Man's state, determined by these reasons (oppression, obsession or possession), is compatible with God's grace if he has repented and tries to lead his life, connected with Christ through the prayer and sacraments.

We are aware of all these kinds of the devil's extraordinary actions, but we know that it is not that easy to recognize them in practice. Many symptoms of these phenomena seem akin to those of physical (in case of oppression) or mental illnesses. How do we differ them? Besides, sometimes both spiritual and physical or mental problems may coexist in one person.

Before I get to the role of doctors, specifically, psychiatrists and psychologists in recognizing these ailments, I would like to present a simple typology of people who usually come to an exorcist (a simplified version, since there well too many various complex cases).

3. Typology of people who turn to an exorcist

There are four groups of people who turn to an exorcist for help and believe that an evil spirit is in them.

First group, people who are definitely ill. I am not a doctor and have no right to diagnose. But still common sense helps me understand that the person has some sort of a mental illness. There may be a clear situation, when the person confesses that he/she has a diagnosis and is on medication. However, things are not always so unequivocal, especially when doctors do not believe in spiritual problems. Then they always diagnose with something general, like a neurological disorder. But if the person him/herself recognizes the illness, it makes things easier. People still come, since they believe that a prayer may help, which is true, if the person accepts his/her illness and does not run away from it. However, things may be different. I had several cases, when families did not want to put up with the fact that their son or daughter was mentally ill, and tried to verify that they were invaded by some evil spirit, in hope that in such a case the problem can be resolved with a prayer, whereas in case of a serious mental illness such hope weakens. In such a case it is important to turn to a good psychiatrist (who is a believer as well), who can professionally set a diagnosis. The family, however, may not always be willing to accept it.

Second group, people who are not ill, but have unsound psyche and somewhat unhealthy religiosity. These are people who see the devil in everything and assign everything (bad) that happens in their lives to his influence. They often believe that somebody - quite often their relatives - have jinxed them or cast an evil spirit on them, for various purposes. The Introductory comments to the Catholic Church Porteous for Exorcism say about them,

"Priests should diligently discriminate cases of the devil's attacks from a false opinion following which some people - including religious ones [who belong to the Church] - believe to be objects of witchcraft, charms or curse, that was set on them by some [evil] people, as well as on their relatives or their property. We should not deny spiritual help to them, but there is no need to resort to exorcism in such cases; it is enough to pray appropriately for them and with them, so that they acquire peace of God. (…) This help can be extended by a priest who is not an exorcist, or by a deacon who should read relevant prayers and supplications" (No. 15).

Although I said, that these people are not ill, sometimes it is possible to identify the persecution complex in them, as well as a magic approach to religion and the exorcist (priest). It is very difficult to prove this to them, say nothing, to send to a psychiatrist (as it is not always possible to turn to them with such insignificant cases). It happens to be difficult to persuade these people that their case is within the norm.

However, it is here that I find one of the criteria for distinguishing between truly spiritual and psychical or psychological problems. A person genuinely suffering from the influent of an evil spirit no doubt wants to break free from it, whereas the person with problems not connected with an evil spirit 'yearns' to have 'something of this sort' and continuously looks for signs of an evil spirit's presence. Often they are deeply wounded people (in their childhood or along their life), who need attention, care and beneficence. We need to work with them and embrace with pastoral care, explaining the truth and encouraging them to pursue a normal and healthy religious practice and life, to work and develop autonomy - for quite often these are the people who do nothing but hang around the church. Sometimes it is advisable for them to get some psychotherapeutic assistance. I recognize that it is extremely difficult to persuade such people that they have no real spiritual problems connected with the devil. You can pray with them for (spiritual and physical) cure and sometimes even for deliverance, but you should always clearly tell them the truth about their state and not allow them to guide you as to which prayers an exorcist must read, which they tend to do.

People with genuine problems of oppression and obsession come relatively often. They belong to the third group. They are those who had contacts with some forms of occultism (practiced magic, visited witch doctors or spiritual healers, belonged to eastern religions or New Age groups, etc.) or they fell victim to an evil or love spell, jinx, etc. There are different signals of reality of these problems. For instance, they regard what is happening with them as unbelievable - they often start saying, "Father, you may think I'm insane…". They have a clear willingness to free themselves from the problem, as soon as possible. They are ready and open to all instructions and advice from the priest… They also need pastoral care, brief catechism, if they are not communicant believers, so that they turn to Christ through their personal prayer and participation in the Liturgy and sacraments. You need to make it clear to them, that without this, actions of an exorcist are useless - it is like vitamins without normal daily diet. They need prayers for cure and deliverance and, on very rare occasions, the rite of exorcism.

Finally, the fourth group - cases of true possession. As I said before, such cases are extremely rare. I have run into three to four cases during over 10 years of my service. There are specific difficulties with recognition and verification here, since symptoms of possession are often similar or coincide with those of mental illnesses. Although symptoms are rather clear as those that are described in the rite of exorcism (No. 16, see above), but still they are not always revealed, or not immediately, or not obviously. Deception may take place, caused both by the devil and the afflicted.

"The exorcist in case of a so-called demonic intervention must, first of all, exercise necessary and extreme prudence and discretion. First, he should not take for granted that every person who suffers from some illness, especially that of mental kind, is possessed with a demon (CCC 1673). Neither should he believe that he deals with a case of possession, if somebody asserts that he/she is tempted by a devil in some specific way, experiences godforsakenness, and for this they are tortured [by the devil]; for any person can easily be deluded by their own imagination. He should also be alert to tricks and contrivances that demons use to deceive man, in particular to persuade the possessed person so that he/she does not expose themselves to exorcism, because the illness is natural or cannot be treated in a regular way. The priest should diligently and closely study, whether the person who is said to be tortured by a demon, truly is"18.

We clearly see that it is not an easy task to recognize the presence of an evil spirit; one may easily make a mistake; and it is important to exclude a mental illness - which is an important element of such recognition - and this calls for cooperation with psychiatrists, psychotherapists and other doctors.

4. Role of doctors and psychiatrists in exorcism

The Catholic Church Porteous for Exorcism, its Introductory comments, No. 17 says:

"The exorcist must prudently decide about the need to apply the rite for exorcism after a thorough study, keeping the seal of confession in any case, consulting, to the extend it is possible, with specialists on spiritual issues and, to the extend it is necessary, with trained medical doctors and psychiatrists who are well versed in spiritual problems".

This necessity can be explained by the requirement of the previous point , i.e. moral confidence, that the person who resorts to exorcism is truly possessed by a demon19. However, the priest who performs exorcism is not usually a psychiatrist, nor is he capable of diagnosing with a guarantee, to exclude psychiatric disorders (as well as physical ones, in case of oppression); to achieve such a moral confidence, he needs to turn to somebody who can give a competent opinion on whether the person is ill or not.

Certain conditions must be observed to make this preliminary step successful. First, the psychiatrist and psychotherapist must be religious people20. It is important, since a non-religious specialist always interpret symptoms of possession and obsession as signs of a mental illness, for he/she does not recognize any other alternative. Usually when he/she cannot understand what exactly is happening with a person, but cannot acknowledge unnatural roots, they give a general and unspecific diagnosis, like 'patient with delirium', 'dissociative picture', 'psychosis', 'neurological disorder', etc.

However, it is not enough for a psychiatrist to be religious in 'general', so to say. He must believe in the devil and demons and that they can influence man in an extraordinary way21. We know that religious and practicing Christians (even priests) often do not believe in angels and demons. The devil, Satan, etc. for them are just symbolic figures ('personification') of evil with no objective content. They are 'non-believers' in this particular respect and tend to reduce all these problems to a purely psychological level.

We can say that these two are prerequisites. There is one more, third, condition, which is optional but (very) preferable - these professionals should act as permanent assistants to the exorcist, be members of his team. If they participate in the process of discrimination and the rite of exorcism (or in the prayers of deliverance) on a systematic basis, they can gain first-hand experience and see for themselves the truthfulness such phenomena, which will help them substantially to expand their views and gradually facilitate the process of telling an illness form demonic extraordinary influence. All this implies an intensive spiritual life, comprehension on the meaning of their mission as a Christian and a doctor, participation in the Church sacraments and, if possible, in prayer groups connected with the ministry of exorcism.

All this is described in the above given excerpt from the Porteous, "Psychiatrists that are well-versed in spiritual problems".

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find such psychiatrists, religious and believing in the possibility of demonic influence. For this reason, cooperation is a challenge, but nevertheless, such psychiatrists and psychotherapists exist. Some of them, having encountered such problems, experienced real conversion. There are countries - personally I know cases in Italy, Argentina and Mexico - where psychiatrists and psychotherapists are integrated in teams of exorcists; they are the first to contact the afflicted person, who comes for an appointment. Some of them are members of the International Association of Exorcists22 as medical advisors, and try to spread their ministry, expand the mentality of other psychiatrists, organize educational courses and raise awareness, also they often run into severe lack of understanding on behalf of their colleagues.

What is their role? According to one of them23, their task is to give psychiatric or psychological argument that would not allow the team to easily assign symptoms caused by demonic influence, to psychic problems. In contrast to general opinion, experts in psychological health say that these people (possessed and under some demonic influence) are neither insane, nor ill.

The psychiatrist's task is exclusively auxiliary: they are not to identify the devil's presence in the suffering person, since this is, first, beyond the psychiatrist's competence, and, second, this is what only the exorcist determines himself. The psychiatrist must simply answer questions, like: 'Can there be psychical reasons for what this person tells or what I see with my own eyes?' And if so, 'What clinical (psychiatric) picture does this belong to?' Thus, this task has a 'negative' meaning - not reveal the real presence of the devil, but rather to exclude (or confirm) a mental illness.

For this purpose, the psychiatrist informs the exorcist (preferably in a written form), first, about problems (or their absence) with mental health of the afflicted person and gives a diagnosis; and second, says if there is a scientific explanation to what he is observing or what the patient tells him about. The psychologist, in his turn, informs the exorcist, first, about the man's personal characteristics and diagnosis; second, if there is some natural explanation to what he observes or what the patient has told him.

This task is 'negative', preventive, but extremely useful for the exorcist, when he hears from professionals in the field of mental health, that what has happened with the afflicted person, has clear natural (pathological) causes or, the other way round, what is happening with this particular person cannot be explained by a mental illness.

It is very important to have these reports in a written form to avoid, what is called, 'memory erosion', i.e. when the initial arguments, that brought the exorcist to the conclusion about the devil's presence and extraordinary influence, begin to fade away, specifically when the person's condition improves, and when there may be doubts about the true spiritual nature of the problem.

5. Mentall illnesses and demonic extraordinary presence - some symptoms24

Although the pattern of psychiatric problems that can be confused with various levels of demonic extraordinary influence, is very broad25, and thus it is always necessary to have a diagnosis from an expert in mental health, it is possible to define some characteristic features of these illnesses that allow us to differ them from the phenomena of demonic extraordinary influence.

In case of mental illnesses, it has been observed that a patient's pathological state is nearly continuous, although there may be moments of crisis when the illness becomes more acute; in case of demonic extraordinary influence, the person acts quite normally and may lead an ordinary life outside the moments of crisis.

A person with a mental illness gets progressively socially isolated, gradually weakening and spoiling relations with other people, whereas in case of demonic extraordinary influence relations with people around are absolutely normal outside moments of crisis.

Mental illnesses as a rule have their roots in adolescence and young age, and after a crisis they get to the stage of so-called 'residual deterioration'. In the event of demonic extraordinary influence, the exact date is usually known when all this began (for instance, when an occult contact took place), and there is no residual deterioration.

Mental illnesses and their symptoms decrease under medication, whereas exorcism causes no change (on the contrary, the state may even worsen). In cases of demonic extraordinary influence, on the contrary, the state does not improve (and may get even worse) with medication, whereas exorcism (or the prayer of deliverance) improves the state.

References:

Vegas J. M., Basics of Christian Ethics. St. Petersburg: Studia Petropolitana, 2014.

Amorth G. Esorcisti e Psichiatri. Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane. 2007.

Babolin S. L'esorcismo. Ministero della consolazione. Padova: Edizioni Messaggero. 2014.

Burgo P. "La soggezione diabolica". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 7-12 settembre 2015, Roma.

Cascioli V. "Esorcistica e psichiatria a confronto. Modalit? di dialogo. Problemi interpretative e diagnosi differenziale". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 20-25 ottobre 2014, Roma.

Davies J., Exorcism. Understanding exorcism in scripture and practice. London: Catholic Truth Society. 2008

Ezcurra H. "La tarea de un psiquiatra en el equipo de auxiliares de un exorcista", manuscript of the report presented at Convegno Internazionale AIE. 24-29 settembre 2018, Roma.

Lavatori R., "Satana e il mistero del male nel mondo". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 20-25 ottobre 2014, Roma.


1Besides the Catholic Church Catechism (CCC 2851) asserts that evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God.

2Vegas J. M., Basics of Christian Ethics. St. Petersburg: Studia Petropolitana, 2014. P. 169.

3We say 'direct' since it is always possible to discover the indirect presence of the devil, who uses man's weakness to tempt him.

4"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil" (Is 5:20).

5See Lavatori R., "Satana e il mistero del male nel mondo". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 20-25 ottobre 2014, Roma, pp. 96-97.

6Ib., p. 98.

7Ib., p. 99.

8Babolin S. L'esorcismo. Ministero della consolazione. Padova: Edizioni Messaggero. 2014, p. 175.

9Davies J. Exorcism. Understanding exorcism in scripture and practice. London: Catholic Truth Society. 2008, p. 27.

10Ib., pp. 25-26.

11Babolin S. Ib., p. 175-176.

12Davies J. Ib., p. 26

13Ib.

14Catholic Church Porteous for Exorcism. Introductory Note #16.

15Davies J. Ib., p. 27-28. See Babolin S. Ib., p. 176.

16See Burgo P. "La soggezione diabolica". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 7-12 settembre 2015, Roma, pp. 175-188. Ref. Babolin S. Ib., p. 177.

17Babolin S. Ib., p. 174-175.

18Ib., No. 14.

19In the same place we read - and this is important - that besides this moral confidence we need to acquire the possessed person's consent. This means that you cannot practice exorcism without this consent (for instance, at a distance or without awareness/knowledge of the person who suffers from a demonic influence. This is important, because relatives often ask for the rite of exorcism to be performed without the affected person's knowledge. Besides, such exorcism is useless, since it is impossible to treat someone who rejects such treatment.

20It is not that important in case of a doctor, since he has to deal with physical symptoms about which he can an opinion irrespective of his religious views.

21See Cascioli V. "Esorcistica e psichiatria a confronto. Modalit? di dialogo. Problemi interpretative e diagnosi differenziale". // Atti Convegno Internazionale AIE. 20-25 ottobre 2014, Roma, p. 108.

22One of the goals of the Association is to 'promote cooperation between people, experts in medicine and psychiatry, and those who are competent in spiritual problems' (Charter, Art. 3.6).

23See Ezcurra H. "La tarea de un psiquiatra en el equipo de auxiliares de un exorcista", manuscript of the report, presented at Convegno Internazionale AIE. 24-29 settembre 2018, Roma.

24See Ezcurra H. "La tarea de un psiquiatra en el equipo de auxiliares de un exorcista", manuscript of the report presented at Convegno Internazionale AIE. 24-29 settembre 2018, Roma.

25Some examples: schizophrenia, delusional disorder, general psychotic disorder, altered states of conscience due to substence consumption, hysterical personality disorder, conversion disorder, multiple personality disorder, depression, maniacal syndrom, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.

Top of the page
Home Resource
materials
Know-how
(in Russian)
Newsletter ACT mission Notice board

Copyright (c) Round Table "Education for change and diaconia", 1996-2019. All rigths reserved.