From: (No Email available)

Date: 2005-09-06 20:21:16

Comment:

"Before an exorcism can be administered, all possibilities of mental illness must be ruled out.  In the Catholic Church, an exorcism is not really allowed until a full psychological evaluation has taken place.  The Church understands that a person may be mentaly ill (such as paranoid schizophrenia) and seeing a doctor is the best way to treat that person.  The Church pretty much knows if someone is possesed or not."

I don't believe you can rule out that someone is schizofrenic, those personalities have their own memories sometimes, and it is extremely difficult to get rid of them, only with intense therapy. But what if that personality claims he is the devil, if the person believes he/she (women get psychoses much easier) has the devil inside, the whole being can actually take over the person.

You're right.  One cannot rule out that a person may be scizophrenic.  The Catholic Church realises that as well.  The Church knows very well about mental illneses.  If a person tells a priest that they're possesed and that they need to be exorcized, the priest will know that the person is probably just mentally ill and not possesed.  Now if that same person is showing extrordinary or super-human strength, and they know things about others that absoulutly have not been revealed to anyone, there is a chance that person may be posessed.  There is definatly something wrong if the one in questioned is revealing things (usually embarrasing things)that was not told to anyone.   I wonder if the CIA and the FBI is posessed?