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Demon/demonic possession website #3

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Certainly, you likely don't believe in the possibility of demonic possession and think it's the stuff of Hollywood movies. But it may also be that you don't really know how to recognize being possessed. To remedy this, one of the world's leading exorcist's just shared some of his knowledge.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, r evealed to the Italian Catholic News Agency that the key to telling whether you're possessed or suffer from some other (possibly mental) illness is in your reaction to the exorcist himself and the prayers being offered.

He specified that the exorcist will usually say "a prolonged prayer to the point where if the Adversary is present, there's a reaction. A possessed person has various general attitudes towards an exorcist, who is seen by the Adversary as an enemy ready to fight him."

The Adversary, as you might imagine, is the demonic presence.
If you are possessed, you are likely to experience a very unsettling reaction to the exorcist's prayer.

Father de Meo described it like this: ""There's no lack of frightening facial expressions, threatening words or gestures and other things, but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady."

Basically, you will know something seriously wrong has taken over you.

You might be skeptical whether a possession can exist at all and your skepticism is justified. The Catholic Church also takes seriously the possibility that most people with a possession-like affliction would not necessarily be possessed, but might just exhibit disturbing symptoms. Chances are, you will never see a truly possessed person yourself.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks to the importance of knowing the difference between mental illness and demonic actions: "Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness."

The Vatican held a special congregation in 2015 aimed at training priests and even lay people in understanding the differences between psychological and demonic issues. Think - a large gathering of exorcists.
Here's a trailer for a documentary featuring Father de Meo:
If you are interested in training to become an exorcist, Father de Meo apparently has just such a school, that he's been leading for 13 years. It might be a worthwhile endeavor for some as, for example, in 2014, the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) indicated that there was a rise in occult activity they deemed a "pastoral emergency".

Some things you can do to avoid getting possessed start with prayer. That's at the root of what the Catholic Church ultimately wants you to do to lead a good and sinless life. But it's also important to avoid anything to do with Satan, conjuring the dead, or reveal future events.

In fact, the Catechism states: "Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone."

Don't get your palm read. It might lead you down the path to getting demonized.

In case you are wondering, possessions are not just something that worries European priests.

Here are Chinese men dressed up like ' Wutu' meaning "tiger".

They are dancing during an annual exorcism ceremony of the local Tu ethnic minority group at Nianduhu Village in Tongren County, northwest of China. The village has held a ceremony to drive out evil spirits every year, in which they will choose seven strong men to perform the ancient dance Wutu.

The men apply ashes and draw lines on their bodies, while villagers then put Chinese bread and meat on the sticks of the Wutus. The more food Wutus took, the more luck they were considered to bring, as the villagers think Wutus take away bad luck and evil. In the end of the ceremony, Wutus wash themselves in the river symbolizing getting rid of the evil. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

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Exorcist reveals how to tell if you are possessed by a demon

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Certainly, you likely don't believe in the possibility of demonic possession and think it's the stuff of Hollywood movies. But it may also be that you don't really know how to recognize being possessed. To remedy this, one of the world's leading exorcist's just shared some of his knowledge.

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Demon/demonic possession picture #3

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Demon/demonic possession website #2

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First article in series...
How Do Demons Take Control of a Free Will Being?

God gives each person gifts and talents at birth, and the demons want to use and twist these assets for evil purposes. Some of God's gifts include a measure of faith, the ability to hear the Holy Spirit, intelligence, the ability to reason, reanalyze and remember, the capacity to love and be loved, and most of all, free will (Romans 12:3, John 16:13, Joshua 24:14,15, John 3:16, Revelation 22:17). When a person reaches maturity, God's gifts and talents enable that person to be a self-directed adult who becomes responsible to God and his neighbors for his actions.

The curse of sin mars God's gifts and talents in various ways. Each person is born with a propensity for selfishness, rebellion, and wrong-doing, and if this propensity is allowed to dominate God's gifts and talents, the results will be harmful. The demons know this so they prey on our natural propensity to do wrong. The shameful and vulgar ways of talented and gifted people today, a bulging prison population, and thousands of years of sordid human history reveal their many successes.

Demons understand the gift of free will. After all, each demon knows that he deliberately and willfully chose to rebel against God. Therefore, their greatest delight occurs when they can lead young people to make foolish choices because the demons know these actions can produce unbearable misery for a lifetime. The demons carefully study each of us from birth to determine how the inescapable consequences of sin can be used to ruin us. Demons are masters at gradualism; if it takes 20 years or even 50 years to ruin a person, this is not a problem. They have nothing else to do. If a well-known person's credibility and respect are ruined in later life by some defect in character, the demons are delighted! They watch to see which temptations are most effective, which natural traits of character are dominant, which opportunities where entrapment is possible, and they especially watch to see whom each person will choose for friends. One of their best tools for getting young people to make rash decisions is through friendship with bad people. The demons know, "'Bad company corrupts good character.' " (1 Corinthians 15:33) They have seen this phrase fulfilled billions of times!

The Bible indicates that demons are intelligent and they can speak their minds. (Matthew 8:29,31; Luke 4:33,34; Acts 19:15) God permits them to speak to human beings through the same spiritual channel the Holy Spirit uses to insert thoughts into our minds! The problem we have is that we cannot always identify the source of the voice. Each sinner has an imagination and can create evil thoughts because all sinners have a natural propensity for doing wrong. The demons are experts at doing wrong and they can insert their knowledge of evil into our minds. They are masters at using the power of suggestion. This power is not trivial and do not confuse it with our own ability to generate evil thoughts on our own. Similarly, the Holy Spirit uses the power of suggestion, puts thoughts in our minds, and prompts us to obey God and do right. He also inserts thoughts that go beyond man's natural ability to think of good things to do! For example, consider the marvelous ministries of George Müller (1805-1898) or Mother Teresa (1910-1997).

I am convinced that a phenomenon called "mob mentality" occurs when demons insert the same evil thought into a mob of people at the same time. When a mob is caught up in a moment of passion, demons know the power of suggestion can become actionable and when this occurs, the result is a true phenomenon. It is as though the mob suddenly behaves as if it has "one mind." The fruit of demonic behavior is anger, hatred, violence, and destruction and when adrenalin induced anger goes beyond reason, you can be sure demons are present. Because demons are angry beings focused on our total destruction, we should not be surprised if their victims mirror them. In fact, the pigs in Matthew 8:32 displayed "mob mentality" when Jesus sent the demons into them and they all drowned.

Demons know our fears, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. They are masters at tempting and tormenting people. Even though demons live among us and are bent on destroying us, the Father has placed "a hedge of protection" around each sinner. Demons cannot penetrate this hedge of protection unless we willfully and knowingly do wrong. When we choose to do something evil, this hedge is momentarily removed and the demons start talking. If we continue to willfully and knowingly do wrong, the hedge becomes weaker and the demon's attacks become stronger. God has given us free will and if we want to give it over to demons, we can. Therefore, when we willfully sin, God allows a demon to insert evil thoughts and if we act on any of these thoughts, the demon will be back with a thousand more!

Demonic Influence and Oppression Is A Slippery Slope

If you have been born again, you know that we live in a world that groans under the heavy influence of demons. Many people do not realize that billions of demons are hovering over us, ready to destroy. People go about their merry lives totally unaware of lurking demons because demons are invisible and we cannot see their predatory efforts and intimate involvement. People are also desensitized by the decadent state of human conduct. A pig farmer once told me, while I was gasping for breath, that if I lived near the pigs for a short time, I would not smell them. I have also had former pig farmers tell me that after being away from the pigs for a while, they cannot believe how badly they smell! This proves that whatever is usual soon becomes normal. Each day we learn through the media there are more murderers killing innocent people. Robberies, drug use, and corporate crimes are rampant; political hatred and infighting are disgusting, and sexual immorality is everywhere. This is our normal and people brush it off with, "the world is a crazy place." The devil is energizing this degenerate craziness. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

There is a difference between mental illness and demonic oppression; however, distinguishing between the two can be difficult because demon possession can mimic mental illness. Of course, God knows the difference and He can heal any form of mental illness. He can terminate demonic oppression or cast out any number of demons from a possessed person. Humanly from a medical perspective, demonic oppression can be difficult to distinguish from mental illness. Some people are sure they are demon-oppressed when, in fact, they have mental problems. Some people think they are not demon-oppressed when, in fact, they do have demonic problems. If a person thinks he has a demonic problem, he should seek a thorough physical and mental exam to make sure that a physical defect is not causing the problem.

To make matters even more complicated, there are different degrees of demonic oppression and many different routes lead to demonic oppression or possession, but the doorway is always the same: Free will. God insures that no one can be demon-possessed involuntarily, otherwise everyone on Earth would be demon possessed! In this article, I define demonic possession as a condition where the victim can no longer exercise free will. The victim has no self-control because demons have complete control. (Matthew 8:28, Mark 1:23-26)

Demonic oppression is different than demonic possession in that demonic oppression does not necessarily end with demonic possession. Demonic oppression occurs when demons begin to torment willful and deliberate sinners. Demons are able to agitate, incite, and upset their victims in various ways. For example, demons can rob a person of sleep and this one thing can create a train of physical problems. Demons will often magnify the innate tendencies of their victims. For example, a demon can make a person who has a tendency for paranoia extremely paranoid. A demon can make a person who has anger problems very explosive and violent. Demons can make people behave in rash and unpredictable ways. When demons switch these personality states off and on, mental health experts are baffled. Medication makes little difference. What can a victim do?

The detection of demonic oppression requires a gift from God. Notice these verses:

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

"To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines. " (1 Corinthians 12:8-11, emphasis mine)

Remember, the door to demonic oppression opens when we knowingly and willingly choose to do wrong and violate our conscience. Demons are not stupid. At first, their approach is gentle and benign because they want to work on us without us knowing it. They want us to think that their thoughts are our thoughts. Over time, the demons gain deeper access if we act on their suggestions. Demons will not stop oppressing a victim unless the sinner comes to his senses and takes a firm stand to stop doing the wrong that he has been doing. If a person resists the demons and hardens his heart against their suggestions, God requires the demons to back away. They have to respect our free will. Freedom from demonic oppression will come with a struggle and it will take time, but it does happen by standing firm for what is right!

If a victim of demonic oppression reaches a point where he realizes his true condition before God and is willing to sorrowfully repent of his sins and live by faith, God will receive Him. In turn, the Holy Spirit will give him additional strength to fight the good fight of faith! God is willing to restore and protect the free will of every sinner whether the sinner becomes a believer or not. However, God's hedge of protection only occurs for as long as the sinner will not willingly and knowingly do wrong. God generously provides this protection because He loves every sinner and wants each sinner to have the freedom to choose whom he will serve. God knows what is best for us, but we have to choose to serve Him. He wants us to put our faith in Him and obey His Word. Living by faith means doing what is right in God's sight regardless of the consequences. This is using free will for its highest purpose.

For some people, the road to demonic oppression can have an innocent and naive start. Bad friends may introduce addictive vices such as tobacco, drugs, alcohol, pornography, or violent movies and games. Given juvenile curiosity and peer pressures, many addictions have started in young people this way. For some people, the road to demonic oppression may have started with exploring the occult, sexual lust that led into sexual immorality or through abusive or unloving parents (or foster parents). Demons love to hurt children because children can grow up and hurt their offspring. Demon-oppressed parents can make a child feel self-loathing and shameful which results in the child having no self-esteem, self-worth, or self-value. Evil parents can physically, sexually, and emotionally abuse a child, causing great psychological damage, and they can cause a child to inordinately thirst for love and friendship, whether good or bad. These are just a few avenues that demons use to prey on children because they know that damaged children are vulnerable.

Can Demons Possess Children?

In ancient times, certain physical defects or illnesses were believed to be the result of demonic possession (Matthew 9:32 and 12:22) and this is still true in certain parts of the world today. Because this was a prevailing practice in Bible times, I believe Bible writers sometimes lumped physical defects and illnesses into a general category called "demonic possession." This issue needs discussion because I believe that God does not permit minors to become fully demon possessed. I do believe that demons can insert thoughts in the minds of older children starting with early adolescence and oppress them, but only after the child has knowingly and willfully chosen to disobey the good that he knew to do (he exercised his free will to do wrong).

Consider this: If demons can possess children, what would keep demons from possessing all children? I know, sometimes it looks like the kids in the checkout line at Walmart have a demon in them, but that is a matter of poor parenting skills. There is a story about a little boy having a demon in the Bible. Three gospels relate the story and you have to study all three versions of the story to properly understand the situation. (See Matthew 17:13-20, Mark 9:17-29 and Luke 9:38-42.) The little boy suffered from a condition that caused him to foam at the mouth and to fall involuntarily into the water or fire. The father thought his son had a demon so he took him to Jesus' disciples because Jesus was unavailable. The disciples were publically humiliated because they could not cast out the demon or heal the little boy. Fortunately, Jesus showed up, rebuked the demon and the little boy was healed.

Whether the little boy had a physical defect like epilepsy, an unknown mental condition, or even a demon, Jesus healed him. This story is important because it reveals a profound point that many people misunderstand! A few weeks before this event occurred, Jesus gave His disciples a commission to go throughout Israel telling everyone that the kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus gave His disciples the power to heal sicknesses and cast out all kinds of demons to ensure their testimony gained traction. (Luke 9:1,2) Naturally, this power created quite a sensation in the towns and villages where the disciples went. So, when the father showed up with his afflicted son, he rightfully expected his son to be healed; and the disciples were totally confident they could do the job, but they were humiliated and embarrassed.

There is a simple reason for their failure. The public failure of the disciples stemmed from a hidden defect in character. While Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration - the remaining disciples were at the base of the mountain - and while waiting for Jesus to return, they had nothing to do. I believe they began discussing the miracles they had performed and the coming kingdom of God. This led to some argument about who would be greatest when Jesus set up His kingdom. Based on Mark's (Mark 9:33,34) and Luke's (Luke 9:43-48) comments, it is difficult to identify the location and timing of events that transpired that day. However, we do know that Jesus and His disciples headed for Capernaum shortly after Jesus healed the boy. (Mark 9:30) As they walked along, I believe some of the disciples continued their discussion privately about who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom of God because they were very excited about the coming kingdom and their position! However, when they arrived at Capernaum, Jesus asked "What were you arguing about on the road? But they kept quiet. . . Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.' " (Mark 9:33-35)

You have to understand that at that time, the disciples believed that Jesus was going to imminently establish the kingdom of God on Earth! (See Mark 1:15; 9:1; 9:34.) Therefore, when Jesus gave them power to heal the sick and cast out all kinds of demons, this amazing power caused them to think more highly of themselves than they should have. Jesus sent them out with this amazing power to validate a prophetic message but the disciples thought this power was a personal validation of their importance to God! Because of their arrogance, selfishness, and self-seeking (the original sins of Lucifer) they had broken their connection with God and this left them powerless and they did not realize it.

The Holy Spirit embarrassed the disciples by refusing to heal the boy when they called upon the name of Jesus! I imagine they took turns at healing the little boy and all of them failed. Later, when the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon, Jesus did not mention their sin. Instead, He jumped to the point that the power to cast out demons is from God and this power is only given when God has a purpose for it. God will not be used by men; God uses men. The moral of the story is if any person is called to cast out a demon, let him seek God's will through fasting and prayer. If God informs the seeker that He will give him the power to cast out the demon, the seeker can humbly go and cast out the demon. Otherwise the seeker must report that God has not given him power to cast out the demon. He should excuse himself from the matter or the demons may beat him up! (See Mark 9:29 KJV and Acts 19:13-17.)

Demons Are Masters at Influencing People to Sin

When a person chooses repeatedly, of his own free will, to knowingly and willfully violate his conscience and integrity, knowing that he is doing evil (for profit, thrill or because of peer pressure), that person is fair game for demons because there is no hedge of protection when he continues to willfully sin. (Hebrews 10:26,27) Such a person is on a road that can end without any help from God and the demons know this. So they watch for our response to temptation and when we let down our guard and willfully choose to do wrong, a door is opened for them to speak to us. They know how to use their power of suggestion to cause us to commit more serious sins than we would otherwise commit.

A person will often do a greater sin than he intended when demons are able to insert their suggestions into his mind. How many times have you heard a person say after his actions are presented on video, "That is not me! I'm not that way!" Each time a new low in conduct is reached, the demons rejoice. They keep careful records and they have good memories. If a sinner does not notice any immediate consequences for his wrong doing, demons know the sinner will minimize the event and soon forget it. This is exactly what they want. When the time and circumstances are right, the demons will insert another evil suggestion and if the sinner reaches another new low in conduct without any immediate consequences, the sinner becomes more comfortable with his unrealized downward spiral. This is how gradualism works. One sin opens a door for another. Soon, the thoughts inserted by the demons will drown the efforts of the Holy Spirit and this is what "the gentle giants" want. They know that everyone who sins becomes a slave to sin. (John 8:34) So, they make sin exciting, sensual, daring, and thrilling. The pleasures of sin may be many and irresistible, but the consequences are inescapable (Galatians 6:7) and they often prove to be unbearable later on.

As the old gospel song says, "Sin will cost you more than you want to pay and take you farther than you want to go." Sin is like the drug, Novocain. It numbs the conscience and causes the sinner to minimize the seriousness of his deeds. If a person does not stop violating his conscience and personal integrity and repent of his sins, the Holy Spirit will respect his free will and leave the sinner alone in his slavery. When a sinner complies with the thoughts inserted by demons, he will become increasingly degenerate and decadent. This is their purpose and goal. Over time, they strengthen their efforts.

One final point: Being set free of demonic oppression or demonic possession is not the end of the story. Jesus said,

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. . . " (Matthew 12:43-45)

When a person is set free of demonic possession, he must understand that he cannot live as he previously lived. If necessary, He must abandon his previous life, friends, and family. He must totally separate himself from his past and make every effort to do what is right and holy in God's sight. He must read God's Word, hold on to God's truth, and claim God's promises, asking for strength to do what is right or the demons will surely ambush him in a weak moment and his final condition will be worse than before!

If God did not overrule, demons would control the whole world. They have gained control of so many people that we now have the same situation that existed in Noah's day. If you want to be free of demonic oppression, then ask God for help! Make every effort to do what is right and honorable in God's sight. The Bible says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:7,8) If you know someone who wants to be set free from demonic oppression or possession, find someone who has spiritual discernment. He or she can meet with the victim and assess their condition. Then, they should fast and pray, seeking God's will and His power. This is not a trivial topic. We can be sure that with the Lord's help in removing the demons, they will come out fighting and shrieking as they lose their control over that person.

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Demonic Possession - How Demons Take Control

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First article in series... God gives each person gifts and talents at birth, and the demons want to use and twist these assets for evil purposes. Some of God's gifts include a measure of faith, the ability to hear the Holy Spirit, intelligence, the ability to reason, reanalyze and remember, the capacity to love and be loved, and most of all, free will (Romans 12:3, John 16:13, Joshua 24:14,15, John 3:16, Revelation 22:17).

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Demon /demonic possession website #1

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Dr. Richard Gallagher is an Ivy League-educated, board-certified psychiatrist who teaches at Columbia University and New York Medical College. He was part of the team that tried to help the woman.

Fighting Satan's minions wasn't part of Gallagher's career plan while he was studying medicine at Yale. He knew about biblical accounts of demonic possession but thought they were an ancient culture's attempt to grapple with mental disorders like epilepsy. He proudly calls himself a "man of science."

Yet today, Gallagher has become something else: the go-to guy for a sprawling network of exorcists in the United States. He says demonic possession is real. He's seen the evidence: victims suddenly speaking perfect Latin; sacred objects flying off shelves; people displaying "hidden knowledge" or secrets about people that they could not have possibly have known.

"There was one woman who was like 90 pounds soaking wet. She threw a Lutheran deacon who was about 200 pounds across the room," he says. "That's not psychiatry. That's beyond psychiatry."

Gallagher calls himself a "consultant" on demonic possessions. For the past 25 years, he has helped clergy distinguish between mental illness and what he calls "the real thing." He estimates that he's seen more cases of possession than any other physician in the world.

"Whenever I need help, I call on him," says the Rev. Gary Thomas, one of the most famous exorcists in the United States. The movie "The Rite" was based on Thomas' work.

"He's so respected in the field," Thomas says. "He's not like most therapists, who are either atheists or agnostics."

Gallagher is a big man -- 6-foot-5 -- who once played semipro basketball in Europe. He has a gruff, no-nonsense demeanor. When he talks about possession, it sounds as if he's describing the growth of algae; his tone is dry, clinical, matter-of-fact.

Possession, he says, is rare -- but real.

"I spend more time convincing people that they're not possessed than they are," he wrote in an essay for The Washington Post.

Some critics, though, say Gallagher has become possessed by his own delusions. They say all he's witnessed are cheap parlor tricks by people who might need therapy but certainly not exorcism. And, they argue, there's no empirical evidence that proves possession is real.

Still, one of the biggest mysteries about Gallagher's work isn't what he's seen. It's how he's evolved.

How does a "man of science" get pulled into the world of demonic possession?

His short answer: He met a queen of Satan.

A 'creepy' encounter with evil

She was a middle-age woman who wore flowing dark clothes and black eye shadow. She could be charming and engaging. She was also part of a satanic cult.

She called herself the queen of the cult, but Gallagher would refer to her as "Julia," the pseudonym he gave her.

The woman had approached her local priest, convinced she was being attacked by a demon. The priest referred her to an exorcist, who reached out to Gallagher for a mental health evaluation.

Why, though, would a devil worshipper want to be free of the devil?

"She was conflicted," Gallagher says. "There was a part of her that wanted to be relieved of the possession."

She ended up relieving Gallagher of his doubts. It was one of the first cases he took, and it changed him. Gallagher helped assemble an exorcism team that met Julia in the chapel of a house.

Objects would fly off shelves around her. She somehow knew personal details about Gallagher's life: how his mother had died of ovarian cancer; the fact that two cats in his house went berserk fighting each other the night before one of her sessions.

Julia found a way to reach him even when she wasn't with him, he says.

He was talking on the phone with Julia's priest one night, he says, when both men heard one of the demonic voices that came from Julia during her trances -- even though she was nowhere near a phone and thousands of miles away.

He says he was never afraid.

"It's creepy," he says. "But I believe I'm on the winning side."

How a scientist believes in demons

He also insists that he's on the side of science.

He says he's a stickler for the scientific method, that it teaches people to follow the facts wherever they may lead.

Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in Long Island, he didn't think much about stories of possession. But when he kept seeing cases like Julia's as a professional, he says, his views had to evolve.

"I don't believe in this stuff because I'm Catholic," he says. "I try to follow the evidence."

Being Catholic, though, may help.

Gallagher grew up in a home where faith was taken seriously. His younger brother, Mark, says Gallagher was an academic prodigy with a photographic memory who wanted to use his faith to help people.

"We had a sensational childhood," Mark Gallagher says. "My mother and father were great about always helping neighbors or relatives out." Their mother was a homemaker, and their father was a lawyer who'd fought in World War II. "My father used to walk us proudly into church. He taught us to give back."

Gallagher's two ways of giving back -- helping the mentally ill as well as the possessed -- may seem at odds. But not necessarily for those in the Catholic Church.

Contemporary Catholicism doesn't see faith and science as contradictory. Its leaders insist that possession, miracles and angels exist. But global warming is real, so is evolution, and miracles must be documented with scientific rigor.

One of Gallagher's favorite sources of inspiration is Pope John Paul II's encyclical "Fides et Ratio" ("On Faith and Reason"). The Pope writes that "there can never be a true divergence between faith and reason, since the same God who reveals the mysteries and bestows the gift of faith has also placed in the human spirit the light of reason."

The church's emphasis on faith and reason can even been seen in the birth of its exorcism ritual.

The Rite of Exorcism was first published in 1614 by Pope Paul V to quell a trend of laypeople and priests hastily performing exorcisms on people they presumed were possessed, such as victims of the bubonic plague, says the Rev. Mike Driscoll, author of "Demons, Deliverance, Discernment: Separating Fact from Fiction about the Spirit World."

"A line (in the rite) said that the exorcist should be careful to distinguish between demon possession and melancholy, which was a catchall for mental illness," Driscoll says. "The church knew back then that there were mental problems. It said the exorcist should not have anything to do with medicine. Leave that to the doctors."

Doctors, perhaps, like Gallagher.

Gallagher says the concept of possession by spirit isn't limited to Catholicism. Muslim, Jewish and other Christian traditions regard possession by spirits -- holy or benign -- as possible.

"This is not quite as esoteric as some people make it out to be," Gallagher says. "I know quite a few psychiatrists and mental health professionals who believe in this stuff."

Dr. Mark Albanese is among them. A friend of Gallagher's, Albanese studied medicine at Cornell and has been practicing psychiatry for decades. In a letter to the New Oxford Review, a Catholic magazine, he defended Gallagher's belief in possession.

He also says there is a growing belief among health professionals that a patient's spiritual dimension should be accounted for in treatment, whether their provider agrees with those beliefs or not. Some psychiatrists have even talked of adding a "trance and possession disorder" diagnosis to the DSM, the premier diagnostic manual of disorders used by mental health professionals in the US.

There's still so much about the human mind that psychiatrists don't know, Albanese says. Doctors used to be widely skeptical of people who claimed to suffer from multiple personalities, but now it's a legitimate disorder (dissociative identity disorder). Many are still dumbfounded by the power of placebos, a harmless pill or medical procedure that produces healing in some cases.

"There's a certain openness to experiences that are happening that are beyond what we can explain by MRI scans, neurobiology or even psychological theories," Albanese says.

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, a psychiatrist who specializes in schizophrenia, arrived at a similar conclusion after he had an unnerving experience with a patient.

Lieberman was asked to examine the videotape of an exorcism that he subsequently dismissed as unconvincing.

Then he met a woman who, he said, "freaked me out."

Lieberman, director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, says he and a family therapist were asked to examine a young woman who some thought was possessed. He and his colleague tried to treat the woman for several months but gave up because they had no success.

Something happened during the treatment, though, that he still can't explain. After sessions with the woman, he says, he'd go home in the evenings, and the lights in his house would go off by themselves, photographs and artwork would fall or slide off shelves, and he'd experience a piercing headache.

When he mentioned to this to his colleague one day, her response stunned him: She'd been having the exact same experiences.

"I had to sort of admit that I didn't really know what was going on," Lieberman says. "Because of the bizarre things that occurred, I wouldn't say that (demonic possession) is impossible or categorically rule it out ... although I have very limited empirical evidence to verify its existence."

The tragic case of the real 'Emily Rose'

If you want to know why so many scientists and doctors like Lieberman are cautious about legitimizing demonic possession, consider one name: Anneliese Michel.

Michel was a victim in one of the most notorious cases of contemporary exorcism. If you have the stomach for it, go online and listen to audiotapes and watch videos of her exorcisms. The images and sounds will burn themselves into your brain. It sounds like somebody dropped a microphone into hell.

Michel was a German Catholic woman who died of starvation in 1976 after 67 exorcisms over a period of nine months. She was diagnosed with epilepsy but believed she was possessed. So did her devout Roman Catholic parents. She reportedly displayed some of the classic signs of possession: abnormal strength, aversion to sacred objects, speaking different languages.

But authorities later determined that it was Michel's parents and two priests who were responsible for her death. German authorities put them on trial for murder, and they were found guilty of negligent homicide. The 2005 film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" was based on Michel's ordeal and the subsequent trial.

One of the leading skeptics of exorcism -- and one of Gallagher's chief critics -- is Steven Novella, a neurologist and professor at Yale School of Medicine.

He wrote a lengthy blog post dissecting Gallagher's experience with Julia, the satanic priestess. It could be read as a takedown of exorcisms everywhere.

He says Julia probably performed a "cold reading" on Gallagher. It's an old trick of fortune tellers and mediums in which they use vague, probing statements to make canny guesses about someone. (Fortune teller: "I see a recent tragedy in your family." Client: "You mean my sister who got hurt in a car accident? How did you know?")

Or take the case of a person speaking an unfamiliar language like Latin during a possession.

"A patient might memorize Latin phrases to throw out during one of their possessions," Novella wrote. "Were they having a conversation in Latin? Did they understand Latin spoken to them? Or did they just speak Latin?"

Novella says it's noteworthy that no one has filmed any paranormal event such as levitation or sacred objects flying across the room during an exorcism. He's seen exorcism tapes posted online and in documentaries and says they're not scary.

"They're boring," he says. "Nothing exciting happens. The most you get is some really bad play-acting by the person who is being exorcised."

In an interview, Novella went further and criticized any therapist who believes his patient's delusions.

"The worst thing you can do to a patient who is delusional is to confirm their delusions," says Novella, who founded the New England Skeptical Society.

"The primary goal of therapy is to reorient them to reality. Telling a patient who is struggling that maybe they're possessed by a demon is the worst thing you can do. It's only distracting them from addressing what the real problem is."

Driscoll, the Catholic priest who wrote a book about possession, is not a skeptic like Novella. Still, he says, it's not unusual for people on drugs or during psychotic episodes to display abnormal strength.

"I have seen it take four grown guys to hold one small woman down," says Driscoll, a chaplain at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa, Illinois. "When a person has no fear and is not in their right mind and they don't care about hurting themselves or hurting others, you can see heartbreaking things."

That doesn't mean he thinks possession isn't real. He says the New Testament is full of accounts of Jesus confronting demons.

"Do I still believe it happens? Yes, I do," he says. "It happened then. I don't know why it would be totally eradicated now."

Gallagher agrees and has answers for skeptics like Novella.

He says demons won't submit to lab studies or allow themselves to be easily recorded by video equipment. They want to sow doubt, not confirm their existence, he says. Nor will the church compromise the privacy of a person suffering from possession just to provide film to skeptics.

Gallagher says he sees his work with the possessed as an extension of his responsibilities as a doctor.

In a passage from a book he is working on about demonic possession in America, he says that it is the duty of a physician to help people in great distress "without concern whether they have debatable or controversial conditions."

Gallagher isn't the first psychiatrist to feel such duty. Dr. M. Scott Peck, the late author of "The Road Less Traveled," conducted two exorcisms himself -- something Gallagher considers unwise and dangerous for any psychiatrist.

"I didn't go volunteering for this," he says. "I went into this because different people over the last few decades realized that I was open to this sort of thing. The referrals are almost invariably from priests. It's not like someone is walking into my office and I say, 'You must be possessed.' "

What happened to Satan's queen

He may not have asked to join the "hidden" world of exorcism, but he is an integral part of that community today. He's been featured in stories and documentaries about exorcism and is on the governing board of the Rome-based International Association of Exorcists.

"It's deepened my faith," he says of the exorcisms he's witnessed. "It didn't radically change it, but it validated my faith."

He says he's received thanks from many people he's helped over the years. Some wept, grateful to him for not dismissing them as delusional. As for letting a journalist talk to any of these people, Gallagher says he zealously guards their privacy.

Julia, though, gave him permission to tell her story. But it didn't have a happy ending.

He and a team of exorcists continued to see her, but eventually, she called a halt to the sessions. She was too ambivalent. She relished some of the abilities she displayed during her trances. She was "playing both sides."

"Exorcism is not some kind of magical incantation," Gallagher says. "Normally, a person has to make their own sincere spiritual efforts, too."

About a year after she dropped out, Gallagher says, he heard Julia's voice on the phone again. This time, she had called to tell him she was dying of cancer.

Gallagher says he offered to try to help her with a team of priests while she was still physically able, but her response was terse:

"Well, I'll give it some thought."

He says he never heard from her again.

Inevitably, there will be others. His phone will ring. A priest will tell him a story. A team of clergy and nuns will be summoned. And the man of science will enter the hidden world of exorcism again.

The critics, the souls that aren't saved, the creepy encounters -- they don't seem to deter him.

"Truly informed exorcists don't tend to get discouraged," he says, "because they know it is our Lord who delivers the person, not themselves."

Is Gallagher doing God's work, or does he need deliverance from his own delusions?

Perhaps only God -- and Satan -- knows for sure.

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a man of science confronts demonic possession - cnn

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Dr. Richard Gallagher is an Ivy League-educated, board-certified psychiatrist who teaches at Columbia University and New York Medical College. He was part of the team that tried to help the woman. Fighting Satan's minions wasn't part of Gallagher's career plan while he was studying medicine at Yale.

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Possessed: The Modern Exorcism 1/27/2011

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The Chilling Exorcism Of Anneliese Michel

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Stories Of People Being Possessed That Will Terrify You

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