Authors: Ralph Sarchie
Soon after detectives from the major case squad arrived on the scene, we saw something move. “Look at the size of that fucker,” one detective said. We watched the most enormous cockroach we’d ever seen crawl out from under the dead man’s belly and walk lazily up the wall.
It must have been feeding on the blood,
I thought, and realized the other cops had just come to the same disgusting conclusion. Naturally, we had to pretend that seeing some poor bastard lying dead in a slum staircase, while roaches feasted on his life’s blood, didn’t bother us a bit. Instead, we bantered about being late for
our
breakfast when one of the detectives showed up, munching on a bacon and egg sandwich and drinking a cup of coffee. That was how we shrugged it off as just another night’s work in the projects.
A lot of macho cops won’t admit it, but stuff like this gets to us. Yes, you get hardened to cruel, random death to some extent after seeing it for years, but no matter how much protective armor you put around yourself—or how many hard-boiled cop jokes you tell—some cases leave an indelible mark. I hate to think about the really grisly murders and assaults I’ve seen, but they haunt me in ways I’d never tell my wife, and I pray my little girls will never discover. That’s not to say that the Job has left me broken or burned out, but you can’t see things like this night after night and walk away completely unscathed.
An exorcism also stains your soul. It’s not for nothing that demons are called “unclean spirits” in the Bible: Their goal is to defile and destroy. If you’ve never felt the fury and filth of Satan firsthand, as I have, you may be saying “I don’t believe in the Devil or demons, so this is just a lot of crap.” Believe me, I’ve heard that plenty of times, as I sat in a stranger’s living room, listening to the nightmare that person was recounting. Even victims of the demonic may refuse to believe that the forces of darkness are responsible for what’s happening to them: Often their stories begin “You’ll think I’m crazy, but…”
Perhaps you also feel these people must be nuts, or that exorcism is a medieval remedy for mental or physical illness that has no relevance in the Internet age. If so, score one for the Devil. Denial only makes him more powerful. But if you believe in God at all, are you really willing to dismiss the parables of Jesus casting out demons as mere fables? In Matthew 4:24, the Bible makes a clear distinction between medical and spiritual ailments, telling us that Jesus’ followers “carried to him all those afflicted with various diseases and racked with pain: the possessed, the lunatics, the paralyzed. He cured them all.”
The Vatican certainly doesn’t consider evil obsolete. In 1999 it issued its first update of the Roman Ritual of Exorcism since the rite was originally authorized in 1614. Possibly spurring this move was an earlier report by Father Gabriele Amorth, official exorcist for the diocese of Rome, of an alarming increase in cases of demonic possession over the previous ten years as well as explosive rises in satanic sects and other occult practices. Also fueling the father’s concern was what he considered “sins of omission” on the part of the Catholic clergy, many of whom aren’t familiar with the practice of exorcism and many of whom even question the existence of the Devil. He urged the Church to intensify its fight against evil, quoting the Second Vatican Council’s prophecy that Satan would seek to destroy humanity “until the end of the world.” These sentiments struck a chord with Pope John Paul II, who recently denounced the Devil as a “cosmic liar and murderer.” Satan’s power is fed, the Pontiff charged, by the public’s increasing tolerance of “lies and deceit … the idolatry of money … [and] the idolatry of sex.”
The Vatican document—an eighty-four-page book of prayers and instructions for exorcism—reaffirms that the Devil isn’t an abstract notion or a matter of opinion but a very real menace in the modern world, who “goes around like a roaring lion, looking for souls to devour.” Unlike the previous draft of the Roman Ritual, the new manual specifically cautions exorcists not to confuse symptoms of mental illness with the acknowledged signs of demonic possession, such as speaking in unknown languages, “discerning distant or hidden things,” exhibiting unnatural strength, and developing a vehement aversion to God, the Virgin Mary, the saints, or sacred objects and images. Exorcism, the guidelines emphasize, should be attempted only after “diligent inquiry and after having consulted experts in spiritual matters and, if felt appropriate, experts in medical and psychiatric science.”
There are other new stipulations. One is that no one connected with an exorcism shall ever talk about it publicly—and no members of the media are allowed to attend, to keep the ritual from becoming a spectacle. Recordings, video- and audiotapes, and written notes are also banned. In other words, the Church still attempts to keep exorcism in the closet, so to speak. The manual also stresses that no one can legitimately perform an exorcism without the express consent of the bishop of the diocese. Nor can any Christian layperson use the prayer of exorcism against Satan and the fallen angels, for any purpose, especially exorcisms. Bishops are instructed to bring this edict to the attention of the Christian faithful as necessary.
I agree with these stipulations to a certain degree. No layperson should undertake the exorcism of a person, and in that I’m 100 percent compliant. But Pope Leo gave the faithful permission to read his prayer when the Devil is active. That’s why I use it in cases of diabolical activity. (The Pope Leo XIII prayer and other prayers I use in the Work are included at the end of the book.) Now, the revised ritual says that Christians should never say the Pope Leo prayer in whole or in part. I have two problems with that. First, no one in the Church has the authority to overturn a decree issued by a Pope except a subsequent Pope, and that hasn’t happened in this case, since these revisions were made by the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, a group of priests, rather than the Pope himself. Second—and most important—are the words of Jesus Himself: John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we tried to stop him because he is not of our company.” Jesus said in reply, “Do not try to stop him. No man who performs a miracle using my name can at once speak ill of me. Anyone who is not against us is with us” (Mark 9:38–40).
The Vatican’s updated ritual has sparked heightened interest in exorcism. In September 2000 the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that it had appointed the first official exorcist in its 160-year-history. This priest, whose name was withheld by the archdiocese to protect the privacy of those who consult him, has participated in at least nine exorcisms in Rome and now is evaluating over a dozen possible cases of demonic possession in Chicago. The Reverend James LeBar, one of four exorcists now serving the Archdiocese of New York, reports a sudden surge of exorcisms in his city, from none in 1990 to over three hundred in the decade that followed. Overall, the number of fulltime Roman Catholic exorcists has risen from just one several years ago to ten, with many other priests performing the ritual as part of their other religious duties, the way Bishop McKenna does.
On September 7, 2000, Pope John Paul II held an exorcism for a nineteen-year-old Italian woman who had been possessed since childhood. The woman flew into a diabolically provoked rage during a public audience with the Pope in St. Peter’s Square, screaming in an unknown language. According to Father Amorth, a witness, her voice became “cavernous” and she exhibited superhuman strength during a struggle with security guards—telltale signs of possession. Touched by the woman’s suffering, the Pope hugged her and promised that he’d hold a ritual for her the following day. He spent nearly an hour praying over her and commanding the demon to leave but was unable to expel the evil force.
After the papal exorcism failed, Father Amorth, president and founder of the International Association of Exorcists, who had been asked to consult on the case, spent two hours conducting his own exorcism. During the ceremony, the demon jeered at the Pope’s efforts, saying “Not even your [church] head can send me away.” Nor did the second ritual cure the woman. “This is a case where the possession is very, very strong,” Father Amorth reported. “From what can be foreseen by us exorcists, it will take years of exorcisms” to banish such a powerful demon that it could even resist the prayers of the Pope himself. The Pontiff, however, is said to have successfully exorcised another Italian woman in 1982.
Although the Catholic Church has downplayed the role of exorcism in recent years, its revision of the Roman Ritual and the Pope’s own willingness to serve as an exorcist have affirmed that the nearly four-hundred-year-old ritual remains a very modern answer to the age-old problem of possession. Yet it can also be a dangerous undertaking because, as Father Martin says, when an exorcism fails—and the demon ultimately triumphs—all who participated in the ritual pay the price.
Still skeptical? Let me tell you about the worst case of diabolic evil I’ve ever encountered and the toll it took on everyone involved. In May of 1993, my partner Joe was in a terrible mood. He had a very bad headache, had just finished a rather annoying day at work, and was upset by a prediction a psychic we both knew had made a few days earlier: an attempt would be made on his life later that year. When the phone rang, he was greeted by a raspy, uneducated—and extremely familiar—male voice: “Having some problems, Joe?”
Joe immediately went on red alert. Ever since the psychic’s prediction, he’d been expecting trouble—and here it was. This particular caller had an uncanny ability to sense when my partner was at a physical, emotional, or spiritual low—and he invariably chose those moments to get in touch. He was a New Jersey housepainter who, rather ironically, had the same name as the saint who drove Lucifer and his fallen angels out of heaven: Michael.
This Michael, however, was anything but angelic: Although he looked like a frail old grandfather—with a thin, bony face; pointy white beard; and pale, almost translucent skin—he’d been possessed by an extremely powerful demon for many years. Joe knew all about Michael’s long ordeal since this was one of the first cases he’d investigated after entering the Work in 1986. My partner had also participated in two harrowing exorcisms for the housepainter—and paid a terrible price for his efforts to help, since he was almost killed during the first of these rituals.
In the bland, guarded tone he used for polygraph exams of vicious criminals, Joe asked, “What can I do for you, Michael?”
“I need another exorcism,” the painter said. “I’ll be in New York for a few days in September, so that would be a good time.”
“Have things gotten worse for you?” my partner inquired, aware that the demon inside Michael had tormented him terribly after the previous exorcisms. At times the housepainter would suddenly become frozen in his footsteps, with a hideously contorted expression on his face, as the evil force suddenly seized control of his body—leaving him to stand there like a gargoyle until it released its grip.
“No one would want to switch places with me, that’s for sure,” Michael said, then let out a harsh, high-pitched giggle. “Or maybe someone would? I’d do
anything
to be free!”
Joe shivered from a sudden chill. Even over the phone, on a beautiful spring day, a palpable feeling of evil emanated from this man. Although my partner sensed that getting involved with Michael again would be perilous, he didn’t hesitate for a second.
“I’ll call the bishop,” he promised. As soon as he hung up, Joe threw holy water on his phone, his usual practice after Michael called.
* * *
To prepare for what we knew would be an extraordinarily grueling and risky ritual, Joe brought audiotapes of Michael’s previous exorcisms to our class so our investigators would know what we were up against. Normally, neither Joe nor I will play tapes of any unresolved case, because any time you give the demonic recognition, it’s dangerous and can attract evil. Not only that, but this particular satanic force was extraordinarily powerful: so powerful, in fact, that Michael could actually attend church and even take Holy Communion, which is impossible in most cases of diabolical possession, where the person is incapable of praying at home, let alone in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Before playing the tapes, Joe gave the twelve students who’d gathered in my basement a stern warning. “I know some of you have assisted in exorcisms, but on a scale of one to ten, everything you’ve seen before is a one or two, and this is a nine. We’re dealing with terrible stuff here—it’s like the cases you’ve read about in Father Martin’s book. This could be the kind of exorcism where the priest has a heart attack, because this demon is a real soul-killer. Believe me, I’m not being melodramatic when I say that if you choose to get involved in this case, you could literally be putting your life on the line.”
These words had a profound effect on our students, who were stunned to hear my normally calm partner speak so passionately. They were riveted to their chairs, hanging on his every word. I could feel their fear, but no one left.
After pausing for a moment, Joe continued. “If you have any physical or spiritual weakness, you could be attacked in those areas. If you have any health problem, it could be exacerbated by your involvement in this case. Or things may go wrong in your life or your marriage. You could be mentally attacked during the exorcism and face terror you can’t even imagine. You could even walk out of the church with permanent psychological damage.”
Seeing how grim the students looked, Joe felt it was time to offer some encouragement. “Forewarned is forearmed,” he emphasized. “This is going to be the Olympics of exorcisms, so you have to do everything in your power to strengthen yourself, especially spiritually. I expect you to go to mass or the services of your faith every week without fail from now on.”
His large brown eyes scanned the room. Apparently feeling he was assessing the condition of their souls, a couple of the students looked as embarrassed as if they’d been caught smoking in church. All the people in our class are deeply religious, but they’re also human and sometimes have spiritual lapses, like anyone else.