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P.S. Speaking of the small town social dynamics: I also don't know the full cast of characters who could have been involved in the choice to go to the priest and proceed with the exorcism. Again, this was Cottage City, MD, a just-over the DC line suburb. The dad was a federal employee. The kid had been expelled from Bladensburg Junior High for bad behavior probably related to his possession/mental illness, so teachers, counselors and administrators were involved. So was the family doctor. There were family friends and relatives in the close circle. Any of these people could have said, "Hey, I know Father X over at the local Catholic Church. He's a good guy. Let's talk to him."

The family physician had been consulted, but one thing led to another and the boy was admitted to Georgetown University Hospital. That means the docs and shrinks at Georgetown would have had a look at him, and presumably passed their recommendations on an exorcism up their own chain of command. The exorcism was actually begun in the hospital but was suspended when the boy wrenched a bedspring loose from his rollaway hospital cot and stabbed the exorcist. The DC exorcism was suspended. The mom then took the boy to St. Louis, where she had family, and started over. That means a different archdiocese, a different set of priests, docs and psychiatrists, and a different bishop -- a whole second set of eyes, all reaching the same conclusion. That's part of what makes the case so interesting.

We ain't talkin' about an uneducated rural family and Father O'Gullible in the back of beyond, completely isolated and trying to improvise on something above their pay grade.