My attention has been drawn to an ABC news item, under the deliciously restrained heading "'It's real': Priest reveals exorcism rituals" -
Apart from heads spinning in 360-degree circles and streams of flowing green vomit, real-life exorcisms are remarkably similar to what you see in the movies, an Australian exorcist says.He's apparently unenthused by the notion that he should retire, rather than serving as a sort of geriatric Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The ABC reports that -
Father Barry May - an Anglican priest, exorcist, author and former police chaplain - has performed dozens of exorcisms in his 40 years of ministry.
The 73-year-old Perth man says more Australians are seeking exorcisms, and as such, over the past four years he has dedicated his life solely to ridding people of their demons.
Father May tells anyone sceptical about the ancient Catholic ritual to "get real" and psychologists have backed the man, saying exorcism "has its place" in society.I do like the apparent assumption that anyone who badmouths Rev May must be infested by a creature of the night.
"I've been spat at, yelled at, grabbed at, sworn at, had people trying to rip my crucifix off my throat, gouge my eyes out, fighting, assault. I get all that stuff and you tell me it's superstition?" Father May said.
"No, get real. And that's exactly what it is, it's real.
"Forget the head spinning and the green vomit you see in the movies, but the rest of what you see in the movies is damn close to being real, it's not funny.
"It takes a lot out of me, I sweat profusely. It's a real exercise-and-a-half I tell you."
Father May says his first calling into the world of demons came in the 1970s when a woman at a funeral he was conducting asked him if he believed in ghosts.So much for schizophrenia or other mental states.
"I thought it was a rather strange question to ask," he said.
"I told her 'yes', and she said 'well I've got a ghost in the house next door to me'. So I went to her house and dealt with it."
Since then he has developed an expertise in exorcism - casting the "evil one" out of people - and is approached by hundreds of people each year who claim to be possessed by a demon - or two.
"I remember I did one with a girl who was about 23 years of age and I kept saying to her 'are you free yet?'.
"And she would say 'no I'm not', in her own voice.
"It took hours and hours to deliver her and as soon as I said 'spirit, reveal yourself', she would growl and spit and cross her eyes.
"She threw about 12 of the demons out and she was free."
Roman Catholic Bishop of Lismore Goffrey Jarrett helped the intrepid ABC reporter by stating that
Minor exorcism ordinarily takes place in many of the church's rites and sacraments, using the sign of the cross, and in the blessing of people and material things such as holy water.Rev May reportedly
"Major exorcism, however, may be required in rarer cases where it is established by appropriate investigation that the victim's claim to be tormented by a demon is really true.
performs both types of exorcism, but major exorcisms are his specialty. He says the ritual requires a crucifix, candle, holy water and most of all, a commanding voice.Let's not stop there.
But he says he will only perform one if, after several interviews and meetings with the person, he deems them to be possessed, rather than psychologically ill.
"I might see somebody every two weeks but generally I might have only done 20 exorcisms in my life," he said.
"The ancient rite of exorcism is only used after a lot of investigation and the person needs to agree to it... not everybody has demons. I think that's a mistake people make."
In a successful exorcism, Father May says the demon is sent straight to hell. But he says there is always the risk it will inhabit another person in the room.
Father May says one of his worst experiences has been with women and men who claim to have been raped by demons while lying in their beds at night or watching TV.The report doesn't offer information on whether there are demon offspring.
"It's rather a mystery because although intercourse doesn't take place they feel as though it has. They feel absolutely ravished and raped, and several women have had that problem," he said.
"I've had two men tell me they've had that same problem with female demons who try to have sex with them."
Lismore's Bishop Jarrett puts the issue down to "a widespread preoccupation with Satanism and various occult practices", and Father May agrees.There's a lesson there, dear readers ... stay away from the ouija board - that gateway to the domain of beelzebub - and the loopier articles in parapsychology journal World Futures!
"People are messing around with stuff they don't know," he said.
"They're not all crackers, they're not all psychos, they're those ordinary people who live in our streets, they've done something they shouldn't have done and they've got their fingers burnt."
Contemporary Australian law is uncomfortable in dealing with injury or death associated with exorcism, so be cautious if you are inspired to engage in a bout of DIY demon-removal. Examples are R v Vollmer & Ors [1996] VicRp 9, Regina v Mika and Sagato [2000] NSWSC 852 and Regina v Amete [2000] NSWSC 439.
