Do exorcists ris the possessed of evil spirits, or is possession just a 

symptom of the mentally ill? Churches keep exorcism behind closed doors, so

what really happens when the exorcist calls?

Typical symptoms of possession include taking on a demonic personality,

swearing continuosly, developing strange cuts or marks, becoming unnaturaly

strong, xenolalia (speaking in al foreign language that he or she does not

know, often Latin), speaking in a different voice or revealing secret facts

about people.

Christianity in this century has a divided attitude to exorcism. On one hand, 

it has sought to distance itself from the practice by working closely with

psychiatrists and commisioning reports to shed some light on this phenomenon.

On the other hand, the church has covered up the practice.

Belief in possesion, hoever, is not limited to Christianity. Many other 

relibions believe in it and have elaborate, sometimes violent, ways of dealing

with it. Many people have died at the hands of exorcists who went too far and

beat them to death, or poisened them with their rituals. Indeed there have

been cases where people have been driven to murder after being exorcised.

Recognising these dangers, many religions are moving away from ritual 

exorcism towards substitute services of deliverance and blessing. Pentecostal

and fundamentalist churches attract vast congregations to their "healing" 

services which guarantee instant deliverance from the Devil.

Critics maintain that such services attract those who only want to draw

attention to themselves. Similar arguments could be used to explain certain

individual cases, but they cannot account for the testimonies of rational 

people who have witnessed frightening and seemingly inexplicable events

during exorcisms.

Despite this wealth of evidence, the Church maintains an unpenetratable

silence. What really happens when the exorcist calls ???

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