Ireland's Exorcists want the Paranormal to be taken Seriously

Exorcists within the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland have made a plea for an official forum to investigate paranormal events on the Emerald Isle.

Whether it is Saint Patrick’s battle of conversion over Ireland’s pagan natives or the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, a war of faith has always been present in Irish culture. Through folklore and a firm religious grip on politics, these earthly battles have been ultimately portrayed as a greater battle between good and evil. And what greater battle is there than that between God and the Devil for the human soul?

According to a BBC article released in 2000, exorcisms have been on the rise around the world. In 2005, the Roman Catholic Church organized a seminar that would instruct priests on how to deal with the latest demonic insurgence and paranormal activity.

Ireland, boasting one of the world’s most ancient Christian cultures, has been a stronghold of conservative values and has always been a fertile ground for breeding exorcists. Most notable is the late Father Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit priest and researcher of the occult.

In his book Hostage to the Devil, Martin reveals multiple cases that he was personally involved with. He describes demon possession to not only be the spitting of pea soup and craziness we see in the movies, but an attempt by the invasive entity to corrupt the person it inhabits and everyone and every thing around it. Like the priests who are calling for an official forum, he believed that the paranormal is a world that has been ignored for far too long.

A skeptic, I attempted to do a little research into this matter and called the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Although I could get no one official, an anonymous source did say that the diocese continues to perform exorcisms in the Baltimore area. Though exorcisms are far and few between, it was stressed that cases need to be approved by the Vatican and that it is a very involved process. The act of ridding a person from a demon can take years.

This is all interesting enough, but it does not prove that those claiming to be possessed are nothing more than very sick people in need of a psychiatrist and some good drugs.

But, perhaps that is what the Lord of Darkness wants us to believe.

In the case of Anneliese Michel, the inspiration for The Exorcism of Emily Rose, it is reported that the devil spoke through her and said, “Those who don’t even believe in my existence are the dearest to me.”