For a couple of years now, my non-Catholic horror-movie loving pals have been challenging me to watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love scary movies, but not ones that involve demons and Satan and the Rite of Exorcism. If it is going to cause me to reach hungrily for my Rosary then it is probably not a movie that I will enjoy watching.
But, the very moment I began to list my reasons for not wanting to see this one (namely that I was afraid of not being able to go to the bathroom alone for several years of my adult life) after viewing it, friends informed that it was really a courtroom drama and you leave the movie wondering if the girl was really possessed or not. So, when a couple I knew had a copy of their own, I borrowed it. And, it turns out, it didn’t scare the Rosary out me. But it did make me curious and irritated at the same time.
When I was little my mother used to say things like,
“They are saying that Philadelphia is the place to make movies now,”
or
“They say that you can find out if you are anemic by running a pure gold ring down the skin of your arm. If it turns black, well, there you go…”
And this used to tick me off, because the young writer in me did not appreciate “expert advice” from They.
“Who are they, mom?” I used to ask.
But this would only irritate her, so there was never an answer for me. The lack of legitimate sources my mother’s information provided, became an rritation that was also my saving compulsion (at least one of them anyway – unlike coffee). I cite everything. I research it all. I demand to know why and what make you the expert. They will not cut it for my articles, books, or even general self-interest research. And I don’t quote They either.
So, in wondering about the irritating Hollywood seeming-facts of Emily Rose’s case, I went to the source. The Holy See. Exorcism has been a very rigid Rite in the Roman Catholic Church for hundreds of years, and a much-less orderly one – since the beginning of the Church with Christ’s institution of it 2000 years ago in Israel. But the rule has been made very strict, the criteria something that very few disturbed people can even claim as their help. In his book, An Exorcist Tells His Story, Fr. Gabrielle Amorth (renowned chief exorcist of Rome) says that while many people are oppressed (harassed by demons) very few are actually completely overtaken and have their souls possessed by them. But, the Church does acknowledge that it still happens, and this is the question for me, as a Catholic, while watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Who was the real girl, and was she truly possessed or just more than half-cracked?
The story has many holes – spiritually and legally. Firstly, unlike the movie, the real Emily was actually named Anneliese Michel and she was from a small farming community in Bavaria, not modern-day America. Yes, there was a courtroom drama, spider-eating, and body-contorting, but while the local Catholic Church in Germany eventually did approve an exorcism, it quickly revoked the initial Bishop’s response, because some of the very basic “issues” that must be present for an exorcism (versus a blessing or deep prayer) to be performed, were not present – ever – in the case. For instance, Michel never spoke in languages that she did not already understand. Every demon spoke in the languages she was already well-versed in. And Michel did not have an aversion to spiritual things. Fr. Amorth, also, readily agrees that most possessed people cannot stand the sight of Godly things, ie, Rosaries, Bibles, anything related to the Sacred. Even if they wanted to pray or utter words of love toward God, they cannot. Michel was described by even her closest family as being “extremely devout”. And those who continually engage in the Sacraments (especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist) will see the lasting effects of their deliverance. But those who refuse God will know distress seven times as great, according the New Testament writings.
Eventually though, when the first few petitions for an exorcism were denied, Michel began to exhibit an extreme distaste for all things Catholic. She started ripping at Rosaries, smashing Mary statues, and crushing Crucifixes. But, this is one of those They things for me. If she was possessed then, why did the demons become so angry when they were not acknowledged? In Sacred Scripture, they never want God’s attention. They never want to be noticed by those who could exorcise them or send them away from the soul they possess. But these demons did? Strange. Sounds like hearsay might be at work here. Sounds like something not quite right. Fr. Amorth, and sources at the Holy See, readily explain that demons will often “hide” when exorcists (whether Protestant or Catholic) show up on the scene. There is even some school of thought that this is why those apparitions called “ghosts” will often disappear whenever paranormal investigators arrive with EVP recorders and cameras. True hauntings do not want to be discovered and expelled. According to Sacred Scripture, they want to hold off hell forever for as long as they possibly can.
Michel, also, stopped eating food and started consuming bugs and urine. She was diagnosed with anorexia and told her younger sister that she did not want to return to the mental hospital, because they would make her eat. She had a definitive seizure disorder. Something that was described as “not completely diagnosable” in the movie. But in real life, she had real epilepsy, and she did not take her medication long enough for it to work. Also, she began to have severe depressive disorder. Note that her life spanned the 1950’s – to the early 1970’s. She did not have the great value of the most recent advancements in modern day medicine. Today, most (but not all) seizure disorders can be controlled the majority of the time with effective medications. And there are MRIs now that were not present in Michel’s day. Perhaps, she had a defect deep inside her brain that could not be detected on a 1970 EEG. While in the grip of uncontrolled (or poorly controlled) epilepsy, one can experience any one of the following possession-like symptoms: Severe Depression, Anxiety, Psychotic Symptoms, Hypomaniac Symptoms, Neurovegitative Symptoms, Extreme Body Contortions that can hold a person prisoner for several long minutes – something Michel complained of and exhibited often. All of these are especially felt during the 72 hour period following a seizure. A period known as the Postical Period. Michel exhibited all of these mental disturbances, and included a few more. Never did she stop praying or believing in God, except when she was denied help by the first few priest. Perhaps, I too, would do these things to get the help I needed from a spiritual father if I was so severely ill and there seemed no other help available. Never did she exhibit anything that marked her as possessed as apposed to simply suffering from severe mental illness.
While I agree with my Church’s findings in this case, that the criteria for complete demon possession was not present in Michel, I do believe Catholic teaching that states that there is evil in the world and that evil can often be well-defined and given a first name. It can also inhibit the well-being and mental and physical health of even the faithful. I truly believe this girl was troubled, but exorcism almost always works – even if they have to be performed several times in a row or in conjunction with fasting and prayer (St. Mark 9:29). Even Fr. Amorth states that he has had to perform monthly Blessings (what he calls exorcisms, because he believes they bless the believer in their deliverance) for two years or more before an afflicted person will see a complete healing. But, even in the beginning, from the very first exorcism, the chief exorcist of Rome, says that the person being delivered always sees, feels, and knows the difference between the touch of God and the hammering of Satan. To be even partially delivered, in a process of ongoing treatment, always makes a difference. Michel only got worse – the hallmark of untreated mental illness.
Still, there are many who disagree with me. Many from around the world, because Michel’s graveside is now the busy hub-of-a-pilgrimage-site that is visited by thousands of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faithful every year. The girl believed Mary spoke to her and offered her freedom from possession or the trap of carrying Satan in order to reveal to the world the truth of God’s existence. I don’t know. It seems God usually has a smarter way of conveying His presence. Like the Eucharist, through the kindness of others, or by the power to deliver a soul from hell and Satan with one simple whisper: Get Thee Behind Me, Satan. And there he goes, leaving St. Peter, leaving the boy who tore at his clothes, leaving the bent-over woman – for the pigs, the air, anything else that might give them residence. According to Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and History – Satan and God stand at odds. They don’t usually enjoy spending time together. So, this Catholic thinks Hollywood has, once again, gotten it all wrong – along with a few other people.
“When Jesus had the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick…So they sent out from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.” Luke 9:1,6
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is fiction – something the faithful and agnostic can agree on together.
Reference:
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcism Wikipedia
