The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist (24 page)

Sitting in the packed pizzeria, with a huge spillover crowd mingling in the street outside, reminded him how much he enjoyed the energy of Rome. And now that his sabbatical was coming to an end, he realized how much he would miss it.

A
FEW DAYS LATER
, Father Kevin Joyce flew out from San Francisco, and Father Gary went out to the airport to meet him. The two had a great deal to discuss. Father Kevin had been sent a few cases by the bishop during Father Gary's absence and was eager to get Father Gary's opinion. One woman in her early thirties claimed to have balls of energy fly out of her. At times her fiance didn't even recognize her. A Hispanic man claimed to hear demonic voices and even see demons from time to time. More than a few times Father Kevin had been called out to bless parishioners’ houses.

As Father Kevin listened to what Father Gary had to say about these cases, both became so engrossed that they got on the wrong train and found themselves heading into the countryside rather than toward the center of town.

Father Kevin could see right away how passionate and excited Father Gary was about all that he had learned. Impressed with the new confidence and sense of spiritual growth that he observed in his old friend, he described Father Gary as a “changed man,” and observed, “I think with this training you will be a real asset to the diocese.”

“I hope,” Father Gary responded.

Because Father Carmine was out of town for a few days and thus not available to talk with them, Father Gary instead contacted Father Daniel (who was so busy that he could be reached only between nine and ten in the evening) and asked whether he'd come over to the Casa to answer a few questions. The three sat in the break room for two hours talking about exorcism. Father Gary had already discussed many of the topics with the Franciscan, such as the best way to go about blessing houses; but other topics were new, such as how to recognize the presence of a curse, and about the efficacy of using blessed oil, water, and salt, specifically having the possessed person cook with them. In certain cases, Father Daniel even asked people to put a few drops of holy water into the washing machine to purify their clothes, which he said helped.

Father Daniel also discussed practical issues specific to the United States. For example, he suggested that before Father Gary performed an exorcism on anybody, he might want to draft a consent form for everyone to sign. Father Daniel offered another piece of advice that resonated: “Never bless a home without making sure the whole family is present. It's a great opportunity to perform a little catechesis, and that way you can also see if the problem isn't related to the house but instead to the family.”

When they were finished, the two agreed to stay in touch. Father Gary thanked the Franciscan and promised to let him know what happened with his ministry when he got back to the States.

O
N THE THURSDAY BEFORE HOLY WEEK
, Father Gary and Father Vince went out to San Lorenzo for the last time. Father Carmine had a light load that day and they saw only a couple of people until five that afternoon, when the three sat down in Father Carmine's office and talked for about an hour and a half. Father Carmine had finally arranged for the English-speaking layman at San Lorenzo to act as a translator, so Father Gary had no trouble getting answers to all his questions, such as why Father Carmine put holy water in the person's ears, or where the demon went when it wasn't tormenting the person. There were also unexpected moments of levity. Since the
Ritual
mentions that the exorcist should fast, Father Gary wanted to know whether Father Carmine did this. Once the question had been translated, Father Carmine responded by laughing and patting his protruding belly. “I don't fast from food,” he said, smiling. But then he went on to tell Father Gary that he did fast from other things, such as TV and alcohol, and stated, “I have to deal with many humiliations. This is not an easy ministry.” Apparently he felt these humiliations were a form of “fasting” as well.

Near the end of the discussion, Father Carmine turned to Father Gary and said, “It's too bad you have to go home now.”

Father Gary thanked Father Carmine for being such a kind and generous teacher, saying it would not have been possible to have even contemplated performing the ministry without his invaluable training.

As he and Father Vince were getting ready to go, Father Carmine imparted one final piece of advice: “During the prayers of exorcism, remember that you are never addressing the person in front of you; you are always invoking the power of God. If you start focusing on this presence of evil in front of you as if your own self is dealing with it, you will get yourself into trouble, because that is not what you are doing; it is what God is doing through you.”

As a token of his appreciation, Father Gary gave the Capuchin a silver-plated image of Padre Pio and thanked him again.

With that, as Father Gary and Father Carmine shook hands, the Capuchin patted him on the back in a brotherly way.
“Fai il bravo,”
he said just before Father Gary left. Be good.

I
N THE DAYS FOLLOWING HIS VISIT
with Father Carmine, as he organized his things for his return trip to the States, Father Gary reflected on his time in Rome. Not only had his training opened up his eyes; it also changed the way he approached his priestly ministry. In many ways he felt like Father Daniel, who said that now that he knew the reality of the spirit world, he felt more responsibility to do something to help people. To go back now to the way he was before would be like “turning my back on God.”

A
T THE START OF APRIL
, the city slowly shifted gears as the bun-dled-up days of winter were replaced by the leafy
passeggiate
of spring. Father Gary had really been looking forward to celebrating Easter in Rome. He appreciated the holiday more so than the overly commercialized Christmas. For him, Easter was always about baptism and perhaps an apt time to start a new chapter in his priestly ministry. Father Kevin, who had been in Assisi on a retreat for a few days, returned in time for the two to participate together in the Triduum—the three-day period of Holy Thursday (the day of the Last Supper), Good Friday (the day Christ was crucified), and Holy Saturday (the night of the Great Paschal Vigil). On Thursday night Father Gary went to the mass of the Lord's Supper and afterward out to dinner with Father Kevin. On Good Friday, he went to the Vatican for a three-hour service and, in a coincidence, ran into Father Carmine, which allowed him another opportunity to say
grazie.
On Holy Saturday night he went up to the NAC for the Easter Vigil, which he found “glorious” and deeply spiritual. It also presented him with a chance to say good-bye to many of the seminarians and priests, some of whom he had grown close to and with whom he intended to maintain friendships.

When he stopped and thought about it, he had never imagined that his sabbatical would have turned out this way. It had been an incredibly enriching experience. When he'd told some of the seminarians that he was heading home, a few had said how much they wished they could go home, too. “Oh no you don't.” He shook his head. “I have had ten months without stress, and now I have to go home to a set of unknowns.”

Beyond a new parish, perhaps the biggest of these unknowns was about his own abilities as an exorcist. That demons existed he didn't doubt, but would they respond to him the way that they had responded to Father Carmine? Would the prayers of exorcism work for him? In addition, he worried about the prospect of having to confront a demon on his own. During the exorcisms that he'd witnessed, most of the demons had directed their attention at Father Carmine, and as an observer he had remained relatively isolated from that exchange. But as an exorcist, he would now have to bear the brunt of it himself. Would he be able to do that? There would be no way of knowing until he actually performed an exorcism himself.

When the vigil was over, it was past midnight and still the streets were packed. Alone now, he walked back to the Casa, and even though it was late he felt completely safe. Most of the restaurants and bars were still full, some with people just sitting down. Passing in front of the Pantheon, he followed the crowds heading down Via dei Pastini and toward Via del Corso, comforted by the fact that he knew his way around the city without a map—certainly a far cry from his first four days at the NAC when he'd been anxious about going out on his own. The nights had warmed up considerably over the past few weeks, making it easier for him to take his time. A few people he passed flashed him a polite smile, but most ignored him. To them he was just another part of the backdrop—a black-clad figure on his way to one of the many churches in Rome.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE EXORCIST

Once when I was a young man, trees were trees, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers. When I grew up, trees were no longer trees, mountains were no longer mountains and rivers were no longer rivers. But when I became old, trees once again became trees, mountains became mountains and rivers became rivers.

—
Zen poem

F
ather Gary began the morning as he always did, by reading the obituaries. It was a habit he'd picked up from his days in the funeral business. Back then, of course, he'd checked the listings for professional reasons—noting which funeral homes were handling the services. Now he did so to see if he recognized any names. He'd lived his whole life inside the confines of the South Bay and Silicon Valley, and during that time he'd gotten to know the community as only a parish priest can, from the minutiae to the milestones—baptisms, weddings, and yes, funerals. Spared the grief of recognizing anyone on that particular day, he moved on to the sports pages, devouring both the
San-Jose Mercury News
and the
San Francisco Chronicle.

After finishing his morning routine, Father Gary walked to the parish offices. As always, there was much to do and never enough time. As he passed the church—which had nearly triple the capacity of his former parish, Saint Nicholas—and the school (K-8), his mind wandered back to Rome. There was a square patch of asphalt with some trees that served as the drop-off area for the kids; perhaps for no other reason than its shape, he'd dubbed it the “piazza.”

His first order of business had been to get to know the staff and let them know just how involved he intended to be in the running of the parish. One thing Father Gary had yet to discuss with them was exorcism. At some point he planned to sit down with Father Kevin and go over the specifics of his exorcism team, but for the moment he figured there would be plenty of time before he had to hash it out. Later that morning, however, while he was chatting with the parish administrator in the conference room, his secretary tentatively knocked. Unsure, she paused for a second as if weighing each word carefully. “There is a couple here for an exorcism.”

Father Gary froze.
I don't believe this
—
already!
he thought, then advised her calmly, “Tell them to wait in the front room. I'll be down when I finish up here.” After his secretary left, he turned to the parish coordinator, who was eyeing him expectantly. “There are some things I'm going to have to clear up with you. I can't go into it now, but we'll talk later.” Wrapping up the meeting, Father Gary pulled himself away and headed downstairs.

The couple was waiting in a small room just off the entrance to the parish office. As he entered the room, they stood up from the couch and he shook their hands. Their ages were hard to guess but he thought perhaps early thirties. The woman, Stephanie, had a very plain appearance and kept her eyes down, while the man, Chris, did most of the talking. As they began to tell their story, Father Gary recognized their case as one that Father Kevin had mentioned in Rome. In fact, the couple had seen Father Kevin but weren't happy with how things were progressing. “I need an exorcism,” Stephanie announced.

Chris described how, at odd times of the day and for no apparent reason, Stephanie would suddenly be overcome by what he called “attacks” on her mind (which sounded to Father Gary like mood swings). According to Chris, she would become enraged beyond any rational thought. One such “attack” had left her walking on the side of the road while Chris sat dumbfounded in the car. It wasn't until Chris brought it to her attention that she became aware of what she was doing.

Thinking that the problem might be spiritual in nature, Chris tried a spontaneous deliverance prayer over her and something amazing happened. During the prayer Stephanie felt “hot spots” on various parts of her body—either her forehead or stomach or the back of her neck—and simultaneously felt that entities were leaving her. Chris also confirmed that while praying he'd felt warm balls of energy releasing from her.

Perplexed, Father Gary dug deeper, asking a little about Stephanie's past, specifically if she had any involvement in the occult, and if there was any particular event that had prompted this problem.

The problem had begun the previous March, when an older woman she knew approached her at their church and gave her a hug. This innocuous act, however, suddenly turned into something very bizarre as she heard the woman's voice change into a gruff, demonic-like growl. The episode triggered an unpleasant memory of being abused by her father as a child, during which he also spoke in the same gruff, demonic voice. In addition, there was some strange relationship with a minister from her church, whom she described as being obsessed with her (she'd stopped attending her church because of it).

At that point she'd gone to see Father Kevin who sent her to an internist, who gave her a clean bill of health. She then went to see a clinical psychologist, an agnostic. He told her that she seemed fine and that maybe her problem was “spiritual” in nature.

After this she returned to Father Kevin, who recommended she see a Catholic therapist. That didn't work out because Stephanie had refused to be interviewed without Chris being present, something the psychiatrist wasn't comfortable doing.

In the meantime they'd searched for other priests who might be willing to help them but had been turned away each time. One priest even said, “I hope it's not something I can catch.” Sensing that they were desperate and unsure where to go, someone in the vicar's office at the diocesan chancery ultimately directed them to Father Gary.

Father Gary could see that Stephanie was clearly distressed. It upset him to think of the flippant remarks made by priests who turned her away in such a callous manner.

He told her that he'd recently been trained as an exorcist in Rome but that he'd yet to actually perform an exorcism himself. But, he said, “I am willing to meet with you.” He cautioned them, however, not to expect quick results. “We're going to have to start addressing this from the bottom up, and it may take some time.”

Stephanie was noticeably relieved. Here at last was an exorcist, and an officially appointed one at that, who was willing to help. “Thank you,” she said.

Contacting his bishop, Father Gary relayed the details of the story. The bishop told him not to proceed with anything until Stephanie got a full psychiatric evaluation.

Without his team in place, Father Gary scrambled to locate a person who might assist him. Thinking back to his days at Saint Nicholas, he contacted a female clinical psychologist whom he knew to be very devout, but she felt the case was out of her league. He got in touch with another female clinician who seemed more willing to help. Father Gary then met with her for two hours, and after asking about her perspective on concepts such as demons and Satan, he was satisfied that she was equipped to give a competent analysis.

At first the couple balked at having to see another doctor. But when Father Gary told them, “If you are even going to contemplate this as a possibility, you have to do it,” they relented.

In the interim, Father Gary prayed a simple blessing over Stephanie and anointed her with the sacrament of the sick. She showed no reaction during the blessing but claimed to feel better afterward.

After evaluating her the following week, the psychologist could find nothing clinically wrong.

In the meantime, Father Gary consulted with an American exorcist on the East Coast who was associated with the upcoming exorcism conference in August to ask his advice. The exorcist told Father Gary that he had seen symptoms such as Stephanie's many times.

Armed with this information, Father Gary went back to his bishop, who gave him the go-ahead for the exorcism, reminding him to have the couple sign a release form beforehand (an American prerequisite). Father Gary called Stephanie and told her the news. The exorcism was scheduled for the following Saturday.

During the week, Father Gary was too busy with the details of the parish to spend much time on the exorcism. He did take the parish coordinator and his secretary aside and fill them in about his appointment. Now that the cat was technically out of the bag, it was likely that more and more people would be calling (or showing up unannounced), so it would be better if his staff knew. In addition, at Father Kevin's suggestion, he downloaded the 1952 version of the
Roman Ritual
for exorcism off the Internet. Since his Latin was a little rusty, it would be much easier to pray this version because he was allowed to do it in English.

The morning of the exorcism he was anxious. While he had witnessed nearly eighty exorcisms, this would be the first one he'd be performing. Chris would be present and assisting him if he needed a hand.

He decided to conduct the exorcism in one of the unused offices. The room was tasteful and small, without a lot of furniture that might get in the way. Rather than skip straight through to the exorcism prayers as Father Carmine had, he resolved to pray the entire
Ritual
from start to finish. He didn't want to leave anything to chance.

He began the
Ritual
, reciting the litany of the saints in Latin and then moved on to the Gospel reading in English, followed by a brief homily. After the homily, he had both Stephanie and Chris renew their baptismal vows; “Do you renounce Satan? And all his works?…” Once that was finished, he began the exorcism prayers, using a wooden crucifix that had been hanging on the wall in his office and touching it to the back of her neck as he did so. “I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy, every spectre from hell and all your fell companions…” As he prayed, he tried to keep one eye on the page and the other on Stephanie, who sat placidly on the couch, showing no sign of reaction. After the first prayer, he shifted the crucifix, placing it on the top of her head, and began the second prayer. When he was ready to move on to the third prayer, he placed it on her forehead. After he'd finished, he offered them both communion.

The whole exorcism had lasted about an hour, and as far as Father Gary was concerned, the woman had shown no outward reactions to the prayers.

“So what did you feel?” he asked her.

“I felt this heat on my head, but then it went away,” she said. “At one point I felt this thing kind of pull out of my stomach and leave.”

Afterward he sat in his office and went over the details. The exorcism had turned out to be pretty uneventful. Was there something he'd overlooked? Or was Stephanie faking? Was she perhaps trying to get Chris's attention? His experiences in Rome had taught him to be circumspect; but since this was his first exorcism, he couldn't be sure. As he analyzed it, he remembered that it was possible for demons to hide—maybe that's what had happened. He knew that exorcism wasn't an exact science and that he would become more competent with experience. Beyond that, he wondered anew how Father Carmine had the stamina to see so many people. Just this one exorcism had tired him out, and there were days when Father Carmine had seen twelve people. No wonder he had skipped to the heart of the
Ritual.

He saw Stephanie and Chris a few more times over the following months, and each time her reaction was the same—she sat perfectly still and afterward described having a burning sensation where he'd touched her with the cross and then the feeling of entities leaving her. He began to wonder why, if a demon was present, he hadn't manifested yet.

In August he flew out to the exorcism conference being held in the Midwest, hoping to get some practical tips about Stephanie's case, as well as to network with other exorcists. At Father Gary's instigation, Father Vince also attended the conference. Father Vince had seen a few people already, though he hadn't prayed the
Ritual
over anybody yet. He had met one woman he believed might be possessed but she'd failed to return after he instructed her to attend mass and confession in conjunction with any formal help he'd provide. She basically huffed out, telling him that if he wouldn't help her right then and there, she'd go somewhere else. He discovered later that she'd gone to a local prayer group that told her that she could be freed only when she had devoted herself to prayer and her rosary beads turned the color of gold.

The conference was run by a group of Charismatic laypeople who sometimes assisted American exorcists in their ministry.

The day started with prayer before breakfast at 7:30, followed by morning lectures until 11:15, then daily mass and lunch. The afternoon consisted of classes from 3:00 to 5:00 followed by an early dinner; then, at 7:00, there was an hour of questions, after which everyone gathered to pray over one another.

On the whole, Father Gary found the conference to be extremely helpful, especially since it allowed him the opportunity to meet other American exorcists with whom he could compare notes. He found the talk on the sacrament of reconciliation and the spirituality of mercy and the Eucharist as a weapon against evil influences to be very useful. It also jibed with what he'd learned back in Rome— a fundamental job of an exorcist is to bring people back to the sacraments. However, while he was pleased by the direction of the conference, he also felt uncomfortable with some of the people in attendance who tended to see the Devil in every crack and crevasse of life.