Agree TBC. Suzeonline your thoughts are similar to mine. Many of the mentally ill I came into contact with at work often believed that God ordered them to do certain things, or that God would strike us all down, and that the devil was trying to control their brain.

I am all for leaving people to their own beliefs no matter how strange but the sad fact is much of this nonsense affects those who are least able to distinguish between fantasy and reality - the mentally ill. Perhaps if nothing else the 'exorcism' could be seen to have some sort of reassuring 'placebo' effect but personally I think it only serves to feed the mania than to heal or lessen the impact of the condition.

Didn't the Pope expose the devil as a metaphor thus making any form of exorcism defunct?

Suzieonline and Pelican

I have an inlaw who was quite bonkers many years ago, in the USA.

She fell in with what I would describe as a 'bad crowd' but OUG might think were 'good folk'.

Pentecostal fruitcakes, complete with 'tongues' and the laying on of hands. Quite mad.

Sure enough, in her somewhat enfeebled state, the inlaw fell prey to this crew, and her father had to go and pick her up.

Years of angst followed, and many dotty episodes.

She is now known to be bi-polar and has stabilised, fortunately abandoning the extremes of religio-madness for 'mere' Catholicism.

This article reminds us all, apart from people like OUG, that the Vicar of God is no harmless old man with the best of intentions, at all. He is as much a beast as auld Nick.

In fact, there is less than a Gillette-width between the Vicar of God, and Catch The Fire's 'casting out' and resurrection antics, as far as I can see.

Dr Bob Montgomery (in the article) has it in one as far as I am concerned, he "...says he is not surprised that more people are approaching the church to seek exorcisms. 'This is a part of the anti-science, pro-superstition shift in our culture, where people are clinging to all sorts of mythical things"'.

Indeed, they are, aided and abetted by our weak and ignorant pretend religious political leaders, such as Gillard siding with Jim Wallace and the ACL (as did Howard and Rudd) on just about every piece of legislation for the last 10 years.

Now, if ever an exorcism was needed, it's within all Australian political parties!

Sheesh I'm running behind here. I finally just got around to reading
the last of the weekend papers, including this article.

Interesting that Bishop Porteous includes yoga in the non christian
alternatives that could invite "demonic trouble"

Not much surprises me about the Catholic Church. Anyone who has
read about the kinky habits of Opus Dei members, would know what
I mean.

What does amaze me is that this organisation can claim with a
straight face, that they should be our guide to morality.

From within, you are exorcising your demons given your past history and experiences TBC. It is therapeutic and I hope raising the awareness of these media issues brings peace and closure for you [a genuine wish].

We all have had them, including myself. So! One cannot deny you coming to terms with your demon[s] [ie the Catholic Church hierachy, staff, policies and practices].

Yes, the Catholic Church would have had a long way to go in addressing and ensuring that all children will be protected in the future and acknowledging the fact that childrens and adults lives are ruined as a direct result of crime and cover-ups. Most sadly it wont happen, as the Catholic Church as Australians have known it, will be finished. I saw this coming when the Nuns and Priests were dying out.

Fighting for unity of Australians to oppose and bring down the Pope, the Cardinal and Priests with their private or hushed up practices is a waste of time and not the solution at this late stage.

No one in the generations of catholics on my fathers side has ever witnessed or raised any type of exorcism subject.

Its not a practice widely carried out within Australia TBC.

You see TBC, if you were a Christian and/or believed in God, [who knows you may be], some solace and relief would be available to you [in having faith and knowing] that every person is accountable to God at the end of their day here, for every sin and deed [ranging from murder, molestation, assaults to grief] deliberately caused to their victims young and old.

Something I was taught [not through religion]by many different intelligent wise people from all walks of life through my life journey.

How some of you people get through life's obstacles as non-believers in God mystifies me, although, this may explain the bitterness, continual targetting, same rantings and revengeful comments on the same subjects raised by you for most of this year.

Suze, Bi-Polar patients often exhibit the demon fantasy in which Doctors and nursing staff always know, to be one of the major symptoms of the disease.

Practicing as a Nurse with Bi-Polar patients, you would know this first hand.

What year or era are you referring to? Back in the 70's after research was done into Manic Depression [now Bi-Polar], all of the common symptoms and treatment of those symptoms excluded shock treatment and exorcism.