Geordi La Forge Visor Ring

Exorcists prevent the mentally ill/epileptic from getting the real psychological and medical help they need by encouraging the idea they are possessed through the power of suggestion to the detriment of victims everywhere.

They may not realise what they are doing is wrong, but that does not mean they shouldn't be held accountable for their actions.

Funny how movies about exorcisms never (at least not to my knowledge) show the repercusions of these priests' actions on the lives of the victims.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (losely based on the true story of Anneliese Michel who was killed by the neglect of her priest and family) seemed to be making an attempt to do this, with the inclusion of the court case with the prosecution arguing that the priest and her family neglected her to death. However then the movie implied that the prosecution lawyer was being haunted by the same deamons who killed Emily. While entertaining, the film's attempt to justify the exorcist's actions by promoting the supernatural is no doubt insulting to the memory of Anneliese.

How much medical testings were done? Probably not that many. Most of cases,they have a medical problem and can be fix with the right treatment. Philippines is a poor country,so I highly doubt they went and try to get help from a doctor.

I've been in a big room of people who started speaking in tongues (also filipino) and I can tell you the power of the "mob mentality" can make people believe and do anything.

The Philippines is more than 90% Catholic and very religious, so it wouldn't be hard to convince someone they were possessed by the devil (and have them truly and deeply believe it to the point of "manifesting" the effects of being possessed). The fact that there's a committee for exorcism scares me more than the possibility of evil "gaining a foothold" into society.

Self delusion at it's finest.

//Oooooo....I see dumb people//

2 minutes with Google:

Texas mom convicted in daughter's "exorcism" death (April 13, 2011)

Suspected witches sent to prison (April 10, 2011)

Central African Republic Witchcraft

"Every year hundreds are charged with the practice for which the punishment is execution (although there are no recent reports of this punishment being carried out) however most are sent to prison with jail terms averaging about four years. In some local prisons about 50% of the prison population is taken up by those accused of witchcraft."

Do you know how long it takes to actually file a claim of possession? Trust me, there is plenty of time for medical attention before Litany of the Saints begins.

The Church does not just start exorcism within 5 minutes of someone claiming possession, for heaven's sake.

It's amazing to see how quickly the ''I hate priests'' contingent shows up after a post having to do with religion here.

The fact alone that "exorcism" exist in the first place is absurd. And harmful.

@lulu, thanks for the strawman but I don't hate priests. I do however disagree with the act of exorcism being performed on individuals, encouraging their and their familys' delusions rather than getting them the real medical/psychological help they need.

Having studied neurological disorders quite at length, I can safely say that this might be a dysfunction of the temporal lobes which generally causes a feeling of a presence and perhaps possession. The dysfunction could be caused by congenital factors, aneurysm, stroke, head injury or transcranial magnetic stimulation. On the other hand, she could actually be possessed. I'm doubtful of the reality of possession, but doubt is healthy, denial is not.

A constant concern of mine when wathing Paranormal Research Society is that the "EMF" they pick-up on their recorders is the actual cause as transcranial magnetic stimulation of the temporal lobes. But they are busy looking around for ghosts.

@Ryan S, it could very well be one cause, but psychosis is another obvious cause that does not involve trauma or congenital neurological factors. Individuals with psychosis (caused by schizophrenia, bipolar, or depression for example) experience auditory and visual hallucinations that could certainly explain a case of "possession".

"Schizophrenia" is a disorder of phenomenological ontology. That is to say, there is always a physical correlate for psychological stuffs. Schizphrenia must have neurological correlates.

Two known contributors to schizophrenia:
Congenital Toxoplasmosis
Congenital Rubella

BTW; Congenital Toxoplasmosis is the result of a placental infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii whose primary host is the feline (cat). T. gondii can infect mice and cause them to be attracted to cats who then get infected. One day I saw a mouse trying to climb up on our cat and thought maybe it was infected. I went to the vet, and the vet had never heard of T. gondii.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasma_gondii

@Lulu
Not true. I risked myself receiving an exorcism, at risk of my own health.
It happened when I was 14 years old, living in central-southern Italy. It was 1992.

While on a day trip with the equivalent of American "Sunday School", I started experiencing a strong headache, shortly followed by seizures to part of the face and right arm, foam from the right of the mouth and rapid eye movement.

While the bus driver raced to an highway service area to call for medical assistance, the priest accompanying us took the situation in his hands and put up a ruckus to have the driver to stop at the roadside to let him "practice an exorcism". Later someone told me that of the three adults with us, two agreed with him while the third panicked.

Fortunately, the driver managed to overcome opposition and reach a service area, where he found a Carabinieri car. They took me to Naples hospital without having to wait for an ambulance. There I was visited and went under emergency surgery to remove a blood buildup that was causing pressure on the brain. The priest was later questioned, but no measure was taken.

That was a close call, the blood spill could have been fatal in just a few minutes more. It had consequences, of course, but luckily they disappeared with time.