OFFICIAL N.Y. EXORCIST SEES THE EXORCIST AS CORRECT PORTRAYAL OF MANIFESTATION

SpiritDaily ^ | September 26, 2003

[NYer]

There is the temptation to see him as in the movie: dressed in black, Holy Water and stole and prayer book at the ready, standing in front of a mist-enshrouded house. Wasn't that the image in The Exorcist?

[NYer]

And then there is Fr. Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit priest, who performed exorcisms for 30 years. Fr. Martin is now deceased.

The dark shadows of skyscrapers are falling across New York as an elderly white-haired priest leaves the reassuring comfort of his home and heads through the streets towards the apartment block where the others are waiting. He walks quite slowly, carrying a small black case filled with the essential paraphernalia of the ritual he is about to perform. The room has been prepared to his precise instructions: cleaned, sprinkled with holy water, and stripped of movable objects. Of those now gathered inside, only the priest - his face drawn and solemn - has any idea what to expect. Or rather, what to expect. After 30 years as an exorcist, Father Malachi Martin has learnt to recognize the natures of the demons he pursues. They may be ingenious or stupid, coarse or charming, brazen or craven. Hell, it seems, is no place for stereotypes. "I need to know who they are," the Irish-born priest says softly. "I need their names - and their stories."

An Article on Exorcism

[eastsider]

Father Martin cites David Berkowitz, the 1970s New York serial killer, as a classic case of perfect possession. "I met him in his cell, at his request," says Father Martin. "He confessed that he had been, for many years, a member of a Satanic coven. This was the source of his evil."

Why isn't this a violation of the seal of confession?

[.45MAN]

PING

[abigail2]

I love spirit daily. I'm not even catholic LOL! I loved Malachi Martin. Have you ever read his book about possession I forget his name.

[Pyro7480]

He might be using the verb "confess" in a manner not referring to the sacrament.

[abigail2]

Ping

[ventana]

Interesting question. Father John Hardon has a wonderful theological program called "Eternal Life," one of the series within the program is a set of tapes called: The Truth About the Angels. It is a marvelous teaching tool. One of the tapes discusses Satan and posession. It is not a tape for the feint of heart. It is chilling and ought to be listened to in the company of others and in, in my opinion, easy reach of a rosary and a crucifex as help and reminder. V's wife.

[eastsider]

You're probably right, considering that Berkowitz is Jewish ...

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but the cobwebs in my brain need a little shaking this morning.

[redhead]

"Why isn't this a violation of the seal of confession?"

Probably, as mentioned above, because Berkowitz is not Catholic, so he cannot participate in the Sacrament of Penance, which, in the Catholic Church requires an initial reception of the Sacrament, similar to First Holy Communion.

Anything an individual might reveal in a "confession" in such a case would be free to be disclosed. The only "seal" might be a request by the confessing individual that the person he tells not reveal what is confessed, which could be observed or broken by the person who hears such a confession, depending on the importance of the material.

[Catholicguy]

Great post. BTW, back when I was working as a psychiatric social worker and doing mental health status exams on the streets and in bars, apts, ect, I took the time to buy and read Msgr. Corrado Balducci's "The Devil, alive and active in this world."

It is indespensible to anyone working in the Mental Health field and, I think, a must for any layman - especially these days.

[Desdemona]

Thank you.

IMO, this is a subject we all should know far more about than we do. For our own safety and protection if nothing else.

[Coleus]

Berkowitz was a Jew who was talking to a priest in conversation (not in a sacramental way between priest and penitent) and "admitted" that he was in a Satanic coven.

Also, at that time I think Fr. Martin was layasized.

[Coleus]

What does anyone think of Charismatics who expell demons as this guy does, his uncle is the president of Steubenville university?

Casting out demons, by means of deliverance

The Older Brother Returns: Finding a Renewed Sense of God's Love and Mercy

[NYer]

"Sometimes there may be a sigh or a cough or some expression of a spirit leaving," he writes.

Does this count?

[Romulus]

There is also an upswing, he says, on other satanic holidays.

Good Friday? Bastille Day ;-)

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Frankly, I'm disturbed by the Catholic Pentecostals and their entire history of derivation from Protestant Holy-Rollers. There symptomatic behavior (speaking in "tongues", ecstasies, etc.), is a classical manifestation of demonic possession. When I observed them once at Mass at Steubenville, I found them to be a bunch of terrifying freaks - with their bizarre behavior during the minor elevation (everybody starts crying out in unintelligible tongues). It reminded me of the noise I heard on a tape of an exorcism being performed. If it is not the Evil One at work, self-suggestion seems to be the other method.

Any movement that begins in violation of some of the basic premises of Canon Law, such as Canon 1258 in the 1917 code, is certainly suspect.

Unsurprisingly this movement tends towards cultish behavior, as at the Mother of God community outside Washington, DC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/mog/mogmain.htm

It is impossible that Catholics should be able to receive special extra Sacramental graces from heretics.

Good critical article demolishing this new Montanism here:

http://www.petersnet.net/browse/2673.htm

[NeoCaveman]

Bastille Day ;-)

ROTFLMAO, I wish I had thought of that.

[fabian]

thanks for the ping abigail2...I think some degree of posession is unfortunately very common.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Ditto on the pneumatic apocalypse of "charismatic" cults. It's not Catholic. The giddy emotional phenomena which derive from fringe Protestant sects should be avoided.
There has been a great deal of Protestantization creeping in from sources within modern American culture. Some Catholics seem to be getting confused and modelling their religious behavior on the pop customs of fringe Protestantism.