Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). The practice is quite ancient and still part of the belief system of many religions.

The person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the clergy, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers, and religious material, such as set formulas, gestures, symbols, icons, amulets, etc.. The exorcist invokes God Jesus and/or several different angels and archangels to intervene with the exorcism.

In general, possessed persons are not regarded as evil in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions. Therefore practitioners regard exorcism more as a cure than as a punishment. The mainstream rituals usually take this into account, making sure that there is no violence to the possessed, only that they be tied down if there is potential for violence^[1].

Notable exorcisms

Salvador Dali is reputed to have received an exorcism from Italian friar, Gabriele Maria Berardi, while he was in France in 1947. ^[15] Dali created a sculpture of Christ on the cross which he gave the friar in thanks. ^[16]

[edit] Exorcism-related deaths

Exorcism and other forms of spiritual healing have been related to abuse[1]and have been known to cause considerable physical harm to the exorcee, particularly when it is performed by those who believe that exorcism is necessarily a violent process. Some of the most notorious recent cases are listed below.

• Anneliese Michel (September 21, 1952 - June 30, 1976) was a German college student who died after an exorcism. Her parents and the two Bavarian priests who carried out the exorcism were later convicted. The movies The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem were based on her story.
• Kyung-A Ha was beaten to death in 1995 in San Francisco, California by members of the Jesus-Amen Ministries.
• Kyung Jae Chung died in 1996 in Glendale, California from blunt-force trauma inflicted by her husband (a reverend) and members of the Glendale Korean Methodist Church.
• Charity Miranda was suffocated with a plastic bag in 1998 in Sayville, New York by her mother and sister during a Cuban Voodoo exorcism ritual.
• Korean woman Joanna Lee died in early December 2001 during a violent and prolonged exorcism performed in Auckland, New Zealand by Korean church minister Luke Lee. Her decomposing body was prayed over for several days before authorities were notified. During his subsequent trial, Luke Lee claimed that Joanna Lee would rise from the dead in a few days. Lee was imprisoned but has appealed the conviction.
• Terrance Cottrell Jr., an eight-year-old autistic child, died of asphyxiation in 2003 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during an exorcism carried out by members of the Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith, in an attempt to expel the boy's demons. The coroner ruled that the boy died "due to external chest compression" as the part-time pastor lay on top of him. On July 10, 2004, the pastor was convicted of child abuse.
• In 2005, Maricica Irina Cornici, a 23 year old Romanian nun, who had previously received treatment for schizophrenia, heard voices telling her she was sinful. She was subjected to an unauthorised exorcism allegedly conducted by 29-year-old Daniel Petre Corogeanu, an Orthodox monk of the Holy Trinity convent in the nearby village of Tanacu. Cornici was bound to a cross, gagged with a towel, and left in a cold, dark room without food or water for three days.[2][3] Initially it was believed that she died of suffocation and dehydration during the exorcism. However an autopsy carried out on the exhumed body showed that she died of an adrenaline overdose mistakenly administered by a medic.[4]
• In 2007, a 3-year-old girl in Phoenix, Arizona was hospitalized after being choked by her grandfather, Ronald Marquez, during an exorcism. Police are investigating "other possible abuses" and potential criminal charges against the mother, who has not been arrested, but found bloody and naked chanting "something that was religious in nature" while the child crying, screaming, and gasping was held in a headlock, squeezed, and choked by the woman's father.[5] The man was eventually subdued by police officers with a stun gun after a struggle and arrested. He initially appeared normal, but stopped breathing at the scene and could not be revived. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.[6]
• In March 1992, in Oldham, UK, Kauser Bashir, a 20-year-old woman who had a history of mental illness was claimed as being possessed and beaten to death by two Muslim holy men - Mohammed Bashir (no relation) and Nourani Sayeed. With the family's consent, the exorcism performed on her lasted 8 days. She died whilst being starved of food and sleep for eight days. She was made to eat chili powder, suffered 17 broken ribs, a broken breastbone and was cut three times between her breasts. The two men were later convicted and imprisoned with life sentences. On the same date exactly 14 years later the murder victim’s father, Mohammed Bashir dosed in petrol burnt himself to death - at exactly the same location.

[7]

• In November 2007, New Zealand woman Janet Moses died after a prolonged exorcism of a matuku (a Maori curse). Moses apparently died from waterlogging in the presence of 40 extended family members. Moses'cousin was later admitted to hospital with severe gouges to her eyes and bruising after another exorcism, when family members attacked her to remove a 'devil' which they saw in her eyes.[8][9]