Dominoes Pizza has nothing on the Catholic Church. The diocese of Milan, Italy, the world's largest, has set up a hotline to cope with surging demand for exorcists. It seems some exorcists have been seeing as many as 120 people every day - too many. The Monsignor of Milan says it should be no more than 2-4. The number of exorcists has been doubled to improve service. The Monsignor didn't say whether the exorcists will also deliver pizza.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 68988.html

'Hi, deliver me from evil': Catholic Church sets up an exorcist hotline to deal with demand

Michael Day

Friday, 30 November 2012

The Catholic Church has established an exorcist hotline in Milan, its biggest diocese, to cope with demand. Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni, the diocese’s chief exorcist since 1995, said the curia had also appointed twice as many exorcists to cope with a doubling in the number of requests for help over 15 years.

“We get many requests for names, addresses and phone numbers; that’s why we’ve set up a switchboard in the curia from Monday to Friday from 2.30pm to 5pm,” he told the chiesadimilano website.

“People in need can call and will be able to find a priest in the same area who doesn’t have to travel too far.” And to that end, the number of demon-busting priests on call has increased from six to 12.

The Monsignor said he knew of one exorcist who had been seeing up to 120 people a day. “But with so little time per client he was only able to offer a quick blessing. That’s not enough,” he said. ”There should be two to four appointments a day, no more, otherwise it’s too much.”

It’s not clear why the number of suspected possessions has risen so sharply. But Monsignor Mascheroni said that part of the increase might be explained by the rising numbers of parents having difficulty controlling disobedient teenagers.

“Usually the parents call [because they are] concerned about a child who won’t go to school or who’s taking drugs or rebelling. In reality it’s not a demon, but when they’re 18 years old young people don’t want to be told what to do.”

He warned that many worried and vulnerable people were at risk from charlatans. “Magicians demand money; we … give our time, give benediction … all for free. It couldn’t be any other way.”

The Monsignor said that all those who sought help were welcomed. But he added: “The real diabolical phenomena, at least in my experience, are very rare.” He said that “mental phenomena, mental and psychiatric disorders” were often to blame for unusual behaviour.

Not all Catholic exorcists take such a pragmatic approach, however. Father Gabriele Amorth, who was the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years, claims to have dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession.

Father Amorth said that sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church were proof that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”. He also claimed that satanic behaviour lay behind Vatican attempts to “cover up” the deaths of Alois Estermann, then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and another Swiss Guard, Corporal Cedric Tornay, in 1998.

Father Amorth also took a dim view of fantasy novels and yoga. Practising the latter, he once warned, was “satanic; it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter”.

The act of exorcism: Catholic practice

Defined by the Catholic Encyclopaedia as “the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice,” exorcism has been practised by the Church for centuries, but its use has increased dramatically over the last half century.

They are living in the Middle Ages before the Enlightenment.

I do believe in Possession.

Such created a tragedy for a friends family.

The victim was one of the sweetest, kindest people you can imagine.

After the deed she did not want to do but a compelling voice convinced her it was right -

she was "okay" and remembered everything fully.

While in Jail, the sub cultures knew she was not one of them and all gang groups protected her.

One who did pick a fight with her because she suggested the other could have given their cookie

away rather then throw it on the floor and lost a tooth as they struggled,,, apologized to her the next day.

Not the apologetic kind don'tchyaknow. Jail culture told the attacker an apology was good life insurance.

This episode was related to a series of dreams I had before I could know anything. And I rarely dream.

My friend and I then studied spooky Spiritual stuff after. I was not his only friend who had dreams.

"A major disturbance in the Force".

Children hear the Angels and the 21st century beats it out of them

Those effected by the non physical realm have really no resources of guidance.

Moi

Some know my Ethereal qualities.

I always thought, being raised catholic, that demonic exorcisms were only performed after medical, psychological and other tests to prove that there is no other explanation. Then approval from the Vatican was needed. I am glad my mother did not have the phone number.

You know when I hear something like this coming from a church I always first check my wallet then ask how much is this going to cost. when in doubt follow the money and remember to keep this ministry going.

Dave (imported) wrote: Sat Dec 01, 2012 7:03 pm They are living in the Middle Ages before the Enlightenment.

I am not sure that calling a problem possession and treating it with the ritual of exorcism (which isn't very effective) is intrinsically any less scientific than calling it a schizophrenia or psychosis and treating it with the ritual of psychoanalysis, (which isn't very effective.) In fact, in a population that believes in possession, it may well be more effective. Throughout history treatments have often succeeded for reasons different than the rational behind the treatment. For instance shamans drove out spirits causing headache with a magic potion brewed from willow bark and twigs, which contains the natural precursor to aspirin, which worked with or without the spirits.

The mind is the ultimate black box, and Id, Ego, Superego, Collective Unconscious, Subconscious are just other names for demons, whose existence we can only infer. Like early mapmakers we mark the unknown with "Here there be dragons." In the end we can only judge whether the treatment was effective.

Transward

Does anyone else here believe in possession?

Moi

Involuntary Spiritualist

Yes, Moi. I believe that you are possessed. I won't say by what.

P.S. Give my regards to Belial.

Transward is on to something. For many believers, the rite of exorcism might provide the same emotional catharsis as therapy. Doctors say that as much as 25% of reported illnesses are psychosomatic and may be alleviated with placebos. Exorcism might be as useful as sugar pills.

moi621 (imported) wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2012 12:25 am Does anyone else here believe in possession?

Moi

Involuntary Spiritualist

I must point out that "tiny demons which seek to work us ill," is a pretty good description of germs and viruses. Were I explaining disease to people before Pasteur, that is how I would probably describe the process.

And you have a patient reporting voices telling him people are out to get him and he should take a gun and kill them. A psychiatrist examines him and concludes he has paranoid schizophrenia; a priest doing the same concludes he is possessed by demons. The patients is clearly possessed by something, or if you prefer the terminology, has something. The nature of that possession depends o

bobover3 (imported) wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:07 am n the world view of the observer and of the patient.

Transward is on to something. For many believers, the rite of exorcism might provide the same emotional catharsis as therapy. Doctors say that as much as 25% of reported illnesses are psychosomatic and may be alleviated with

placebos. Exorcism might be as useful as sugar pills.

If you look at the data on double blind drug tests where some patients are given a placebo and others the drug being tested, often the improvement of the drug over the placebo is less than the improvement of the placebo over no treatment, which implies that most of the effect of the drug is the placebo effect.

Transward