EXORCISM

Several thousands of demands for an exorcism are required yearly to the Churches and this number is increasing tremendously in each country, independently from the type of religions: christian, muslim, hebraic... around the world.
Exorcism means in Greek "conspiracy". This science is used to drive out the bad spirits and demons.

There are qualified priests who are exorcists and practise exorcisms.

The roman church distinguishes ordinary exorcisms (as baptism) and extraordinary ones (over a long period).
Several steps of the actions of Satan upon the individuals have been defined by the Church:

– temptation,

– obsession

– and possession.

In front of the increase of the cases of "possessions", more often, the Church and the psychiatrists are working together.
Since Freud, numerous cases of possession have found a rational explanation and can be looked after by psychiatry.
It is usual that the Church makes an exorcism in front of the impotence of medicine to solve a particular case.
Often, the Church has been called by the close family after the failure of the psychiatrist.

The ritual can be particularly impressive and spectacular. The victim twists, has demonstration of rage and anger, emits impious words
and blasphemies against morals and religion, falls in fright and loses conscience. A really good american movie "The exorcist" pictures very well
these types of scenes.

In order the devilish possession ends, the christian priests perform the baptism (if it is not already made), the general confession, the fast,
the praying, the communion. The victim wears blessed objects. The priests distribute holy water and finally, perform exorcism.

The exorcism consists -in name of Christ- to give order to the demon to tell his name and then, to leave the possessed body.

All the ceremony is in latin. Three main prayings are recited wich begin by the following words:

– "Praecipio" (I order),

– "Exorcizo te" (I exorcist)

– and "Adjuro te" (I adjure).

A French exorcist questioned about the increase of these phenomena and the existence of supernatural, reports recently:
"I don’t question myself on this way -he said. It’s sufficient for me to assert that the wrong forces exist and that there are three pitfalls for fighting them: they are
pure rationalism, pure psychologism and pure spiritualism. Each of them has their adepts and detractors, but on the contrary, it seems that these three perspectives have to be combined."