The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist (21 page)

T
HE BIBLE INDICATES
that there is a hierarchy of demons. The “ruler of the demons” is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 9:34), while Jesus referred to this hierarchy when he said “the Devil and his angels” (Matthew. 25:41). Moreover, since the demons were once angels, it seems logical to assume that they were once connected to the angelic hierarchy.

The Bible mentions nine different orders of angels: Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2); Cherubim (Genesis 3:24); Thrones (Colossians 1:16); Dominations (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 1:21); Virtues (Ephesians 1:21); Powers (Colossians 1:16, Ephesians 6:12); Principalities (Ephesians 6:12); Archangels, and Angels (Romans 8:38). Three Archangels appear in the Bible: Michael (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Apocalypse 12:7), Gabriel (Daniel 8:16, 9:21), and Raphael (Tobit 3:17). Commonly these nine orders are called “Choirs,” since their principal job is to sing the glory of God.

Though many writers have attempted to address this hierarchy, perhaps the most well known is a man who lived about 500 C.E. called Pseudo-Dionysius, so named because he was mistaken by later writers as the convert of Saint Paul, Dionysius the Areopagite (Acts 17:34). A neo-Platonist, Pseudo-Dionysius grouped the nine choirs of angels into three hierarchies: the “Supreme Hierarchy,” consisting of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; the “Middle Hierarchy,” with Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; and the “Lower Hierarchy,” made up of the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. For Pseudo-Dionysius, this hierarchy constituted a sacred order of beings who were arranged in their likeness to God in descending order and who in their duties presided over the government of the world. Each hierarchy acted as a kind of “mirror” that “receives the rays of the supreme Deity which is the source of light… and pours it forth again abundantly, in accordance with God's law, upon those below itself.”

More than a few theologians have pointed out the rigid and arbitrary nature of this structure. In the Bible, Michael appears as the leader of God's angelic army; and yet here, Archangels are near the bottom of the scale.

When talking about the hierarchy, it's impossible not to see the limits of human reasoning at work. If angels are incorporeal spirits living in a world that we as humans can't even begin to comprehend, then how could we pretend to know their various ranks? Saint Ire-naeus had doubts about a structured hierarchy of angels, as did Saint Augustine, who wrote: “That there are in heaven Thrones, Dominations, Principalities and Powers, I firmly believe; that they differ among themselves I have no doubt; but as to saying what they are, and in what way they differ … I must admit I do not know.”

Today, a majority of Catholic theologians lean toward the hierarchy as proposed by Thomas Aquinas, who adopted the Pseudo-Dionysius model, but used a slightly different distinction between the Choirs—that of varying degrees of intelligence.

According to Aquinas, each angel is a distinct individual constituting a species unto itself. As a result each angel and demon varies slightly from the next, though rather than differing in materialistic ways, spirits vary in the degree of their perfection as spiritual beings—in other words, in their ability to manifest their powers.

Yet, as with any intellectual theory, other factors must be taken into consideration. In a practical sense, this is also true when it comes to demons, exorcists say.

The demons of the highest hierarchy always have biblical names like Satan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Zebulun, Zebuin, and Meridiano. As Father Carmine explains, “They are usually followed by many others who are secondary and are the ones who go to possess a person because they have been ordered to by their leader.” Satan, of course, as the most powerful demon, is always present to some extent in every possession, but almost never is he “physically” present.

The key to being able to differentiate between the types of demons is by their level of intelligence. “You don't measure the power of the demon by the strength of the person, but by the intelligence of the demon who talks,” says Father Gramolazzo. “They will always manifest a profound knowledge of theology.” In addition, a stronger demon will always be able to resist the prayers of exorcism longer than a weaker one, and he may be able to pronounce sacred names such as Jesus or Mary, names that a weaker demon will never say. Instead of using names, they will simply say, “He is destroying me,” or “She is burning me.”

While the hierarchy of the angels is based on love, there is no such concept in “hell,” say exorcists. The demons keep their former angelic ranks, but the only thing that unifies them is their hatred for God and man. The demons of the lower ranks obey the stronger ones, not out of obedience but out of fear. “They are like slaves,” says Father Nanni.

Exorcists have seen this firsthand when a more powerful demon blocked a weaker demon from leaving a person's body during an exorcism, even though the prayer caused him great pain. This is also evident when there is more than one demon present. The weakest demon will always manifest first. “The strongest tend to hide; in the meantime they send out the smaller ones,” says Father Nanni.

Some demons seem to be actively antagonistic toward one another. Father Daniel (who became an exorcist briefly in Rome in 2006) had to schedule two possessed people he was seeing on different days. The instant they saw each other, their demons would manifest and become so violently enraged that they would often come to blows. And yet, even while some apparently despise one another, other groups seem to be able to work together. A stronger demon— or perhaps the leader of the possessing demon—will often come to the aid of a weaker demon. Most often, this will happen during the
Ritual
, in which the exorcist will discern that he is dealing with a stronger demon, or in between exorcisms, when the character of the demon (and its name) will change from one session to the next.

As for Giovanna, there was no way for Father Gary to know the hierarchy of her demon. He had been too engrossed in reining her in to hear whether Father Carmine had addressed the demon by name. Later, Father Daniel would speculate that the case was one of the rarest of rare instances—an actual Satanic possession.

O
N THE WAY HOME FROM SAN LORENZO
, the bus was jammed with tourists and Saturday afternoon commuters wearing bulky winter coats. The windows were fogged from breath and body heat and the overhead fans blasting hot air. Father Gary had only been able to get a few feet inside the front door and stood crushed between the driver's compartment and the mass of bodies swaying along with the lurching bus. It was a weird juxtaposition to be surrounded by so much humanity after the events he'd just experienced at San Lorenzo. Replaying the exorcism in his mind, he couldn't get over the way the demon had looked at him. The gaze seemed to penetrate his very soul, as if the demon had been able to read him.

Numerous exorcists have attested that they are constantly watched by the demon. Many, if not all, have had strange moments when their lives have been touched by an evil presence. Father Bamonte remembers an exorcism when a demon somehow knew that he was suffering from rheumatism. “How are your bones feeling this morning?” the demon asked him sarcastically. Father Carmine once had a demon mock a recent trip he had taken, saying, “How stupid you are to think that visiting Lourdes would actually help you,” even though he hadn't mentioned to the person he was praying over that he was going.

“The spiritual dimension is adjoining to the material one— [angels and demons] live between us and they see us but we do not see them,” explains Father Nanni. “From a biblical perspective, their function is one of catching every mistake we make in order to throw them in our face.” It's for this reason that on numerous occasions Satan is referred to as “the accuser,” as in this passage from the Bible: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming, ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God’” (Revelation 12:10).

“This means that the demon is always actively watching people and he gets pleasure when he sees that they are not faithful to God and, as a result, take his side,” says Father Nanni. “He wants humankind to rebel against God as well, and this is the one ‘accusation’ that he can level against an individual at the Last Judgment that has the most weight.”

For the next few days the experience of having the demon lock eyes with him would continue to dog Father Gary. He wondered what kind of effect such a direct connection would have on him. After his hiking accident, he'd often wondered if God had saved him for a reason. Over the years since then, when something would happen in his life, he would think,
Well, maybe this is the reason why.
After some time, he stopped worrying about it. However, when he looked back on the series of events that had led him to Rome, there did seem to be a logical sequence at work. His time in the mortuary, his accident, his depression, his belief in healing prayer—had God somehow been grooming him to be an exorcist all along? Ultimately he couldn't say; but he knew that, as a result of those experiences, he would certainly be more motivated to try. And if this was what God wanted him to do, then even if the Devil were somehow watching him, so was God; and that's all that mattered.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

LIBERATION

The Devil's main trick is to make people think they are unworthy of God's forgiveness. This is the biggest lie that the demon gives us, not making us believe in God's mercy.

—
A charismatic individual who assists Father Bamonte during exorcisms

F
ather Daniel and Silvia, a hollow-eyed woman of thirty-seven with thinning hair, sat together on a bench across from the shrine. Silvia, wearing a scarf and heavy jacket to ward off the night air, kept her eyes focused on the statue of Mary while Father Daniel, his dark brown robes partially hidden under a black parka, prayed the rosary softly under his breath. It was nearly midnight and the shrine was deserted. Eyeing his watch, Father Daniel wondered if the demon's promise would turn out to be true. Two months before, the demon had proclaimed his departure for this very night. Father Daniel, who normally didn't put much stock in what demons said, remained skeptical. This time, however, over the course of several exorcisms in Rome, the demon had been very precise, giving not only the date, but the time and place—at the stroke of midnight in Lourdes, France.

Silvia continued to finger her rosary beads as she prayed, rocking slightly. Father Daniel was trying not to get his hopes up. Her possession had been a terribly trying case, lasting more than twelve years (though he had been praying over her for only eight months) and bringing her to the brink of suicide.

As the minute hand ticked closer to midnight, Father Daniel wondered what would signify her liberation. Would the demon depart violently or would she vomit up a talisman? He braced himself. His mind returned to the rosary, and he lost track of the time. They continued to pray for several minutes, when suddenly Silvia let out a deep, guttural sigh, as if some invisible hand were pushing on her abdomen: “Huhhhhhhhhh.”

He looked up, studying her. She had a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

He scrutinized her carefully to see if the sigh was a prelude to something more. Silvia sat completely still. Finally she turned, looking a little unsure.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Fine,” she said, thinking about it.

“Anything else?” he persisted.

She shook her head no.

He waited for her to add something, but she didn't. Remembering, he looked down at his watch and saw that it was only a few minutes after midnight. She was not wearing a watch herself, so she was unaware of the precise time.

“Let's say a prayer of thanksgiving together,” he suggested, secretly hoping that this wasn't a nefarious ruse on the part of the demon.

They prayed for several minutes, while Silvia's mood continued to lighten. She wiped away tears as the realization of what had happened dawned on her. The demon was finally gone.

A week later, back in Rome, still hesitant to declare victory, Father Daniel sent her to Father Amorth, who prayed over her. After two sessions in which she showed no reaction, he said another prayer of thanksgiving, sang a hymn, and declared her “healed.” Silvia's long ordeal was indeed over.

I
T CAN TAKE A LONG TIME
for a person to become liberated, and Father Gary had yet to see it happen, though Father Carmine had told him about improvements in some of their “regulars.” At one point, Sister Janica hadn't been able to even get out of bed. Another young woman who had been unable to study was now going to the university full-time. But for Father Gary, who had only recently met these people, it was hard to gauge any true progress. On one occasion, he thought Sister Janica seemed a little better. After one exorcism toward the end of his stint with Father Carmine, she actually smiled at him and kissed his hand.

Exorcism is not a magic formula. There are three factors, say exorcists, to consider when it comes to liberation: the behavior of the victim, the action of the exorcist, and the permission of God. All three are important, yet obviously to varying degrees. Essentially, liberation comes when the Spirit of God commands the demon to depart. In an exorcism, of course, it is the exorcist who, as a representative of the Catholic Church and by invoking the name of Jesus Christ, does this. And while this action is important, God is still the one doing the heavy lifting. As Father Matteo La Grua states, “Liberation is a gift from God, and God can liberate when He wants and how He wants, even without the intervention of man.” The effectiveness of God's presence depends, however, in large part on the cooperation of the victim and to a lesser extent on the faith of the exorcist. A good analogy is a person who burns an ant by focusing sunbeams through a magnifying lens— the sunlight represents the Spirit of God and the lens the person who accepts God's love, focusing it on the ant, which of course is the demon.

In order for any exorcism to work, victims must cooperate with the exorcist. They must renounce the demon and any sins or actions that may have led them to become possessed; they also should pray and return to practicing the sacraments. (Not everybody has to be a Catholic, or convert to become liberated, though some do. Father Amorth says he has exorcized Muslims and Hindus on rare occasions, but mentions that he will pray the
Ritual
using the name of Jesus Christ. “I also ask them to fulfill their spiritual duties. For example, Muslims have the obligation to pray and so I tell them to do so. Otherwise I tell them to be a good person, an honest person who fulfills their professional and moral duties.”)

The sacrament of reconciliation, say exorcists, is incredibly important. “Exorcism can drive a demon out of a person's body; confession can drive evil out of a person's soul. Confession not only forgives, but heals our soul and fills it with light,” writes Father José Antonio Fortea.

Liberation can be a particularly drawn out process when the person has strayed far from God, or in some cases has joined a satanic cult. Another difficult hurdle to overcome, claim exorcists, is the victim's inability to forgive. “Sincere forgiveness, which includes prayer on that person's behalf and having masses said for the person's conversion, often breaks open a deadlocked situation and helps speed up the healing,” writes Father Amorth.

This is a difficult process for the demonized person to undergo, and the demon will attempt to stop it, say exorcists, attacking internally (by convincing the person that he or she is only crazy, not possessed, and so doesn't need an exorcism) or by intervening directly (for instance, causing such fatigue that the victim can't get out of bed). According to Anna, when she was close to liberation, the demon almost convinced her that she was imagining everything, even putting the thought in her mind that Father Bamonte was trying to take advantage of her by recording her exorcism to write about it in a book, for his own benefit. Father Bamonte freed her from this obsession by tricking the demon into guessing the contents of a sealed envelope. When the demon knew what was in the envelope, Anna says her conviction was affirmed. After this incident, Anna's sense of desperation faded and she began to pray with renewed vigor.

Obviously an exorcist needs to have a strong spiritual core. “An exorcist must live an intense life of prayer and not be afraid,” says Father Bamonte. “If you don't have a strong spiritual life, if you don't have the protection of your faith, how can you be able to fight? Praying, loving God, not committing sins—those are the weapons an exorcist uses.”

Some demons are apparently more difficult to cast out than others. The duration of the possession is the first and most important element that exorcists look at. A person who has been hit in infancy and then doesn't see an exorcist until adulthood is going to have a much harder time getting rid of the demon that has now become almost a part of his or her identity, say exorcists.

The strength of the demon can also be another factor, though the most difficult cases are said always to involve a curse. As Father Carmine explains, “There remains a connection between the victim and the one who caused the curse. In those cases it's difficult because it's about the hatred of other people toward the affected person.”

Unlike a natural illness for which treatment usually brings relief, the process is reversed in demonic possession. Once the demon is discovered, he fights hard to resist the prayers of the exorcism. And even though the person suffers, these attacks are, in the big scheme of things, an indication that the victim is headed in the right direction, say exorcists.

“It can happen that when a person who has been possessed for a very long time gets close to God, he can be hit by a series of bad events. I know this may sound strange, but this is a good sign because it means that the demon is losing; that's why it is reacting like that. You don't have to be discouraged; it is a good sign. I always say, ‘Don't be scared of the demon, be scared of the sin,’” advises Father Bamonte.

As the exorcist continues to pray the
Ritual
, and to pray for the victim to return to God, the power of the exorcism begins to weaken the demon. There are several signs that indicate the demon is close to leaving. “He is weaker in the voice, in the ability to manifest in the crisis; he leaves sooner every time. When those exorcisms become weaker and weaker, when the possession time gets shorter and the temporary liberations come sooner than before, it means that he is getting weaker. Also, outside of the exorcism the person's life is more normal,” Father Nanni says.

At the moment of liberation the demon may offer a “sign” that he is leaving. If the person has been hit by a “spell,” then the demon may indicate that liberation will come when a certain object is vomited. It may even be expelled through the anus or secreted through the skin. Exorcists have seen it all. Father Carmine once saw a woman sweat a green mucuslike substance through her skin. Another sign may be the demon saying a prayer, or reciting a hymn.

In certain cases, the exorcist may ask for a sign that is directly connected to the suffering the demon may be causing. Father Daniel claims that he once asked that a woman become pregnant as a sign of liberation, because the demon had been preventing it. Sure enough, he says, a month after the woman's liberation, she became pregnant—something that she had been trying unsuccessfully to do for five years.

An outward sign is generally not necessary. “If the person lives in peace, is no longer disturbed by the demon, can pray, and lives in the grace of God, you know she is liberated,” explains Father Nanni. “If you go back to pray and during another exorcism the crisis starts again, then it means only that the liberation was just temporary.” As a precaution, many exorcists will continue to pray over people a few times even after they have been liberated.

Once the person has been liberated, the demon will often try to return. Exorcists generally offer a prayer of thanksgiving (Father Davies uses the Gloria, which Catholics recognize from the Sunday liturgy) and ask that the Holy Spirit fill the void left by the departing spirit. In addition, the newly liberated person must continue to live a Christian life and not fall back into the habits or sins that caused the possession in the first place, or else there is a high risk of becoming possessed again, this time worse than before (Matthew 12:43-45).