Trivia / Hollywood Exorcism

• Real life exorcisms in the Roman Catholic Church:
  • The church's reluctance to resort to exorcms now is due to the fact that many cases of Demonic Possession were actually a result of severe physical or psychological disorders (usually epilepsy or schizophrenia.).
  • There are several symptoms which must be met for the church to consider that an exorcism is needed, Some of the required symptoms with include,
    • Being aware of events that the possessed individual should not have any way of knowing.
    • Being horrified by religious things or imagery.
    • Behaving in a very angry or violent manner.
    • Having periods where one appears to be possessed and others were the possessed seems normal.
  • Still, even with the reluctance to perform exorcisms, the Vatican requires every diocese to have at least one exorcist. This is usually the Bishop by the virtue of his office but he can delegate the office to one or more priests. Until very recently there was no formal training or schools in the United States, but in recent years US Catholic bishops established to train exorcists at a US seminary.[1]