Vatican-Approved Exorcist Featured In New Documentary

Many people are familiar with the iconic 1973 film "The Exorcist," in which actors Max von Sydow and Jason Miller team up to turn the tables on a truly terrifying case of demonic possession. But a new documentary casts light on the real-life ritual through the eyes of a Vatican-approved exorcist.

The Exorcist in the 21st Century takes the viewer into the unknown and sinister world of exorcism in the Catholic Church. We meet one of the few exorcists in Europe, the Vatican approved José Antonio Fortea. He travels around the world on a mission to enlighten the masses about demonic possession. Constanza, a Colombian woman, is desperately looking for Fr. Forteas help. She claims to have been possessed by demons for nearly 15 years and she goes through a ritual of exorcism before she sees the Spanish exorcist as a last hope for spiritual liberation. The film follows both their journeys and gives a unique insight into one of the world most secret and mystical rites – the catholic ritual of exorcism. For more info, go to theexorcistdoc.com/

The Exorcist in the 21st Century from Creatur Media on Vimeo.

"The Exorcist in the 21st Century" follows José Antonio Fortea -- a Roman Catholic priest in Spain who is one of the few exorcists sanctioned by the Vatican -- as he travels the world enlightening the faithful about demonic possession. 

In the film, Fortea, a prolific writer who has penned several books on demonology, speaks floridly about the elaborate ritual. 

"Exorcism is a fight between all the forces of light against all the forces of demons," he says, "[...] a battle with the weapons of prayer." 

According to filmmaker Fredrik Horn Akselsen, who was reached by The Huffington Post via e-mail, the trailer for the film shows a Peruvian priest (not Fortea) performing an exorcism on a Colombian woman who claims to have been possessed by demons since 1997. 

While it is not apparent from the trailer, Akselsen told HuffPost the film takes "considerable time to express a skeptical view." This includes interviews with a skeptic within the Catholic church, as well as a psychiatrist who treated the allegedly possessed woman. 

Akselsen said the documentary focuses on Fortea's fame as an exorcist, and documents peoples' reactions to his celebration of "liberation massess," among other things. 

The film's intent does not appear to be either to validate or discredit exorcism, but rather to capture the powerful impact that faith has on people. In this sense, Akselsen's film has more in common with a documentary like "Jesus Camp" than it does with various exorcism mockumentaries that have been released in recent years, such as "The Last Exorcism" (2010) and "The Devil Inside" (2012). 

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Possession and exorcism in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

Throughout time, different cultures have had varying views regarding demonic possession, but in most cases they are all rooted in similar beliefs and doctrines. 

Pagan cultures surrounding the ancient Israelites appear to have been obsessed by these two topics. But Judaism was an exception in the Middle East. The Hebrew Scriptures contain relatively few references to demon possession, and none at all to exorcism.  The only references to evil spirits indwelling humans are found in 3 stories about Abimelech (Judges 9), some prophets (1 Kings 22) and Saul (1 Samuel 16, 18 & 19). In each case, it was God who specifically sent an evil or lying spirit to torment individuals. The relative scarcity of demonic spirits in the Hebrew Scriptures might have been caused by the Hebrew's strong monotheistic beliefs. Their belief in a single God may have caused them to reject the existence of any other supernatural entities.

There has been speculation that the Hebrew Scriptures originally contained descriptions of interactions between people and demons, but that that material has been deleted from the text. 

For example:

	The account in Genesis 32 of Jacob wrestling with an unknown assailant by the side of a river might have once referred to Jacob battling a river demon.
	The account in Exodus 4 where God attempts to kill Moses might have originally described Moses' battle with a demon.
	The description of the smearing of lamb's blood on the door frame in Exodus 12 might have been derived from an ancient ritual which protected the household from demonic attack.

But these, and similar, suggestions must remain pure conjecture. In no case do they imply either indwelling of a human by a demonic spirit, or discuss an exorcism ritual.

Numerous cases of demonic possession and exorcisms by Jesus and his disciples are reported in the Gospels and Acts. The Epistles by Paul and other authors and the book of Revelation are silent on these topics. We can gather certain conclusions about the exorcism procedures used in Palestine during the first century CE from the Scriptures:

	Cause of possession: In the Bible, victims of possession are never held responsible for their situation. There are no references in the Christian Scriptures which imply that their possession was caused by some sin in their life. None of the victims were criticized for having allowed themselves to become possessed.
	Animals can be possessed: Matthew 8:30, and parallel passages, describe that demons can possess pigs.
	Multiple possession: Various passages refer to possession of a single individual by multiple demons. Luke 8:30 describes a man who was possessed by many demons; he used the term "legion" which was a unit of 6,000 soldiers.
	Gifts of demons: Demons can grant special powers to people. In Acts 16:16 a woman was given the power to foretell the future by her indwelling evil spirit. But this appears to be an exception; other passages describe how demons harm people.
	Illnesses and disorders generated by demons: Luke 9:39 apparently describes a case of epilepsy caused by a demon. Luke 11:14 documents a person who was unable to speak because of an indwelling demon. Luke 13:10-13 describes a woman who had been unable to straighten her back for almost 2 decades because of a evil spirit.
	Demonic speech:  Numerous passages in the Bible describe indwelling demons speaking to the exorcist, presumably by taking control of the individual's vocal chords.
	Demons' strength:  Mark 5:4 describes how an indwelling spirit causes its victim to have superhuman strength, so that fetters and chains could not hold him.
	Demons vary in wickedness: Matthew 12:45 describes how a spirit left a person, but returned with seven others who were more wicked than the original spirit was.
	Exorcisms were usually easy to perform: With one exception, Jesus or an apostle simply ordered the evil spirit to depart, and the demon immediately complied.
	Some exorcisms require special preparation: Jesus' disciples were unable to rid a boy of an evil spirit that was apparently causing the child to be both mute and epileptic. Jesus cured the child and explained that the only way to rid a person of this type of demon was through prior prayer and fasting.
	Using items of clothing: Acts 19:12 described how items of clothing or facecloths that once been used by Paul had magical powers and were used to cure people suffering from diseases or evil spirits.
	Only Christians can perform exorcisms: Acts 19:13 describes how seven non-Christians attempted to exorcise demons in the name of Jesus and Paul. They failed. All were attacked and beaten by the demon-controlled man who ripped their clothes off.
	Commanding in the name of Jesus: After Jesus' execution, exorcisms were done in the name of Jesus: Acts 16:16 described a slave girl who was possessed. Paul exorcised a "spirit of divination" from her. He commanded the spirit to leave "in the name of Jesus." Acts 19:13 described how some itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to exorcise a demon   saying "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." They were unsuccessful, apparently because they were not  Christian believers.
	Danger in exorcism: In Acts 19:13, the demon-possessed man exhibited superhuman strength. He turned on seven Jewish exorcists, beat them, and expelled them from the house with their clothes ripped off. The evil spirit had apparently recognized that the exorcists were not Christian; he refused to follow their commands.
	The sick went to the exorcist: The sick were brought to the apostles; the apostles did not seek out the sick. With one exception, all were cured, whether they suffered from demon infestation or physical illness. Nobody in the Bible had a exorcism ministry.
	Return of demons: Matthew 12:43 describes a demon who left a man, presumably because of an exorcism. He returned later with seven other evil spirits to repossess the person. However, there is no mention of any of the exorcisms by Jesus or his followers having produced only temporary cures.
	Exorcism is dependent upon the victim's faith: In Mark 9:18, Jesus explained to a man that all things are possible, including the exorcism of his son, to those who believe.

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In 2010 the Vatican received over half a million reports of demonic possession (The Times)

This is an article for the Faith section of The Times, based on Anthony Hopkins’ latest film, The Rite.  

The Making of a Modern Exorcist

A look at the new film The Rite which explores the nature of exorcism and a novice priest’s journey to discover his faith

There are many traditional beliefs held by the orthodox Roman Catholic Church that are hotly debated by religious and non-religious people today, but what about the idea that humans can be possessed by the devil? An age old myth or fantasy created by Hollywood movies you may think, but not according to Anthony Hopkins latest film, The Rite.

Exorcism – still a widely used Christian practice of removing evil spirits from a person – may seem like an unfeasible and predictable topic for a horror film, but director, Mikael Hafstrom, intelligently employs it here as an accessible topic through which to explore how we deal with the unexplained. Is there such a thing as the Devil? Or are the ‘possessed’ just mentally ill?

The film has been billed as another disturbing tale centred around Anthony Hopkins in the role of sinister villain. But, although his performance doesn’t disappoint, there is a danger that his presence could detract from the important messages of faith at the film’s heart.

Such questions are explored through Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), an American student priest who has doubts about his own faith as well as the concept of possession. His character acts as a mouth-piece for the audience, as he insistently challenges his superiors’ unwavering faith, with arguments based on psychology and science.

He is sent for exorcism training at the Vatican – an authentic exorcism school that is still running today – to ultimately test his faith. His time there is based around the real-life experiences of Father Gary Thomas, an American priest who underwent the same training. This was chronicled by journalist, Matt Baglio, in his book, ‘The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist’, which inspired the film.

Hafstrom stresses that the events and ideas in the film are based on real beliefs. It references the fact that last year the Vatican received over half a million reports of demonic possession and begins with the words of Pope John Paul II: “The battle against the Devil…is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world.”

Kovak’s armour begins to fall when he starts apprenticing with the unorthodox priest and exorcist, Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), who was once a sceptic himself, and treats the possessed using a combination of religious practices and medical expertise. When Kovak witnesses exorcisms first-hand and is confronted with things he can longer explain using science, he is forced to look within to reconcile what he believes.

By the end of the film, Kovak returns to being a priest, fully convinced of his commitment to God. He even rejects the advances of Angeline (Alice Braga), a pretty young journalist who is investigating exorcism for an article.

Such clichés of boy meets girl, as well as the theatrical demonic voice of those possessed – which sounds like it has been lifted straight from ‘The Exorcist’ or ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ – somewhat weakens the strong religious messages that underpin the film.

There were also various wasted threads and ineffectual creative devices used – such as Lucas’ evil looking cats that served no purpose to the plot and the Devil supposedly embodied through orange eyed frogs. This took away from the otherwise suspenseful and genuinely disturbing film.

On the whole though, the film depicted the Roman Catholic Church authentically and probably benefited from having genuine exorcist, Father Gary Thomas on board as a consultant.

However, whether or not you are convinced by the idea of possession as Kovak is, The Rite is an intriguing look into a much-forgotten practice that is still believed in by many people.

Indeed, most of us will not have the opportunity to witness exorcisms to convince us that God and the Devil exist, but Kovak and Lucas’ multidimensional characters show that asking questions about religion is a positive thing.

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Vatican's Chief Exorcists has handled more than 70,000 Cases of Demonic Possession

Father Gabriele Amorth.

The Pope's chief exorcist is telling the world that the devil himself is hard at work these days inside the Vatican.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, has held the position of chief exorcist for the Vatican for 25 years. That adds up to more than 70,000 cases of demonic possession at the end of 2009 alone.

This information comes as Fr. Amorth has given recent interviews, and has just published a new book - Memoirs of an Exorcist, a series of interviews with Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti.

Where is the devil within the Catholic Church? Fr. Amorth suggests there are cardinals who do not believe in Jesus - and bishops who are "linked to the Demon."

My first introduction to an exorcism was the 1973 film, "The Exorcist." In one interview, Fr. Amorth says he approved of the film, while exaggerated, it offered a "substantially exact" image of a real case of possession.

In fact, in the very real cases, Fr. Amorth says that the possessed may spit out nails or glass. He has stated that in some of these cases, it has taken "six or seven of his assistants to hold down a possessed person."

Apparently any priest can carry out an exorcism, but it is generally done only by those who have been trained.

Fr. Amorth is the founder and honorary president of the International Association of Exorcists with more than 200 members. A priest must have permission from his bishop to join this organization. They meet twice a year in Rome.

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Thanks goes out to Roger Marsh with the Examiner for publishing this story.