Exorcism – Dangerous dealings with the Devil | DW Documentary

Exorcism – Dangerous dealings with the Devil | DW Documentary

I’m father
Roman I’ve been a priest for about 12
years and an exorcist for eight
years I have no doubt that God and the
devil exist I have real evidence that
the devil is here that he’s active and
that we need to beware of him truly
[Music]
belief in the devil to many it sounds
like medieval law but in the 21st
century Satan is making something of a
comeback some people have no doubt the
devil exists including those who hunt
him down exorcists typically keep a low
profile but we meet with several to see
what they have to
say some
we are thrilled to welcome you here for
your
baptism a baptism is always a very
special occasion and a chance to meet a
future member of the
community we make this sign on the
forehead in the Catholic tradition when
someone is baptized they sometimes
undergo an initial exorcism upon
entering the church
at the baptism we try to banish all evil
from the
heart the ancient writs describe the
notion of a minor exorcism to be
conducted on the
child the priest back then would explain
that it was not about evil Deeds but
that it was our human nature that
required purification because we are
marked by Original Sin
I baptize you in the name of the
father and of the
son and of the holy spirit amen
amen
VOA is exist a title you’re totally fine
with yes completely there are a lot of
myths among the general public but I
fully subscribe to it I don’t see why we
shouldn’t talk about
[Applause]
it I usually meet with people here in
the rectory it’s a religious building
with statues and religious symbols at
this point we already get an idea of a
person’s level of infestation or
vexation a person who is severely
spiritually infected can’t even walk
through the rector’s door
here I have a container with the
Eucharist inside if someone in your team
was possessed they would have already
left this room because it triggers a
very strong
reaction you have the host in your
pocket exactly and another thing when I
examine a person who feels possessed I
sprinkle them with water that hasn’t
been blessed
if the person reacts very strongly that
indicates that it’s
psychosomatic and I can say there’s a
good chance it’s not a reaction from the
devil because the water wasn’t
blessed if you break your leg you know
why and how it can be healed but if you
have a spiritual problem you’re
completely helpless
do you introduce yourself as an exorcist
exist no I don’t talk about it many of
my parishioners don’t
know we have all age groups slightly
more women than men sometimes parents
bring their children sometimes teenagers
usually they come because they’re
grappling with a deep
Mala Mal they feel things inside them
that they can’t
[Music]
explain sometimes they’ve already seen a
psychiatrist and either they feel the
diagnosis didn’t resonate or that the
psychiatrist didn’t understand what they
were experiencing
they’ve often visited fortune tellers or
card
[Music]
readers and at some point someone has
said what you have is terrible I can’t
do anything for you you have to go to an
exorcist and then they just assume the
village Shaman that’s me will solve the
problem immediately with a prayer but
that’s not how it works
[Music]
I remember the very first time I’d heard
you could pray for people who had
practiced spiritualism a person came to
confession and said I’ve been practicing
spiritualism for a long time I feel bad
I don’t know what’s going on and I said
listen it’s all right I’ll give you
Absolution and then I’ll pray for
you and as I started to pray she started
Ed screaming you’re hurting me and I
realized something unexpected was
happening I was amazed that a prayer
could do something like
that things I had never seen
before like a person rolling on the
floor a person reacting because I was
wearing the stole things like that it’s
incredible it really works just how much
just how much
this book is about the rituals of
exorcism and prayers of Supplication
it’s not something you can just find in
any Corner
bookstore can I read about these
rituals you could read it but there
aren’t many copies in
circulation it’s usually handed out
personally from the diois and Bishop to
the priest in charge of the
exorcism it’s like giving a scalpel to
someone who knows nothing about medicine
or
surgery it’s dangerous if it falls into
the wrong
hands what is the exorcism take place
what’s it like can you describe
it I tailor the ritual to the person and
their individual
needs during the first stage the
dominant feeling is hostility like
there’s something that wants to tear us
down this is the vexation or Obsession
stage when someone reaches the stage of
infestation there are stronger symptoms
the person finds objects have been moved
around at
home they experience bad smells waking
up at night in Terror or sensing a
presence unfortunately for these people
this is often only seen or felt by them
this is infestation
[Music]
the last stage is possession this is
extremely rare the person Slips Away
from themselves often it’s not the
person thems who reports it but people
around them who say listen I don’t know
what’s going on suddenly they’ve gone
into a kind of frenzy I don’t recognize
them
anymore the person is no longer
themselves and what’s also quite common
in possession is levitation
you see the body contort and the person
speaks a language they don’t
know that’s very disturbing evil wants
to silence
you seen all this with your own eyes
yes also a phenomenon that looks like
normal vomiting at first but can last 10
to 15
minutes it doesn’t seem to stop at all
I think it really is the
demon it’s hard to believe or even
imagine what do you say to
Skeptics I can only report what I’ve
seen with my own eyes at the risk of
being called crazy but I don’t care
about
that so you really believe the devil
exists yes without a doubt and I think
the church needs to be clear about it
up the Catholic church has always
recognized the existence of Satan but
it’s long been wey of focusing too much
attention on him this changed with the
inauguration of Pope Francis in his
speeches the pope proclaimed that the
devil really does exist thereby
legitimizing the practice of
[Music]
exorcism but in Switzerland certain
Church Representatives oppos this
fear-based approach in 2022 the bishop
of chur announced that he would
eliminate The Exorcist Post in his dasis
sparking
debate during the time of my predecessor
we had an exorcist monor Kristoff
cassetti an influx of people came to him
from our dases from other dases and also
from abroad
that created
demand but you don’t see a need for
this there is a need because many people
are suffering feeling tormented hurt and
exhausted but you have to build a team
of experts who can deal with these
requests
this requires cooperation and exchange
between different
experts not just priests but also
psychologists and
psychotherapists people trained to
recognize what situation a particular
person is
in I read in a press release that issues
of exorcism can be dealt with by
medication and psychiatrists I’m sorry
but that’s nuts that would mean that
there are no extraordinary demonic acts
if it can be treated
medically but what really saddens me is
to hear there isn’t a priest there who
can help people in
[Music]
need for me it’s a stepping back on the
part of the church I think it’s a great
shame speaking as a former Soldier I
believe in fulfilling my duty at all
costs and this Duty includes liberating
souls and casting out Satan when he’s
there if the church steps back from this
Duty others will step
[Music]
in ex of the Catholic Church these days
are careful it’s very dangerous I
understand them sure they have The
Bishop’s mandate but that doesn’t mean
they have a gift for this work they’re
wary of the
devil Pier dulong was ordained as a
priest in the gacan church a branch of
the Catholic church not recognized by
Rome we meet the Healer and Exorcist in
a small village in the Gars Department
in the south of France and we aren’t the
only ones waiting for him there’s a hive
of activity outside his
[Music]
farm this demon Hunter’s reputation goes
back to the
[Music]
70s I feel a little depressed and
tired I still feel
blockages your inner self feels it
exactly it’s the spirit but that’s
normal it can take many months don’t
worry it’s because you’re still
possessed normally Catholic priests
don’t allow exorcisms to be filmed but
pong isn’t camera shy
[Music]
when the gift of healing was revealed to
me a force arose in me an inner force
stronger than
myself the people who come to me have
often tried everything nothing works for
them and they don’t understand why
since arriving here I felt
[Music]
unwell it’s something
inside you’re still
possessed when nothing else works that’s
often what’s behind it not always but
you have to
check you don’t know why it happens I
see myself doing it but I can’t stop it
I assume you’ve had
treatment yes I’ve been to psychiatrist
and
psychologists I’m a nursing assistant
myself so I’m familiar with conventional
medicine the symptoms correspond to what
doctors call
depression demonic possession or not
during the 45-minute session we
witnessed real
[Music]
[Music]
Agony the person can pounce on you you
can’t be alone with it it can kill
you does evil talk is there dialogue
sometimes I once asked what his name was
and why he was in this body I said the
body wasn’t his and to return it to
God what did he say you’re annoying me
stop it you can’t hurt
me 3/4 of the people who come to me now
have practiced spiritualism
they wanted to know something or talk to
their grandfather grandmother
[Music]
uncle but beware this is dangerous the
demon will speak exactly like your loved
one he’ll pretend to be them but it’s
the demon
I fought with Lucifer and even Satan he
had a rough voice and eyes he spat at me
it was
terrible and how do you know the demons
are
gone I’ve won if the person has
eliminated him the person has to
eliminate him from the front or back
I need to sit
down what are these sessions like do you
remember
them I’m aware of
everything you hear yourself screaming
yes and that’s really
disturbing did you ever think you’d feel
possessed no no
but I feel like I’m in a negative
Vicious
Circle there’s a part of me that says
yes and then there’s another
part but it’s good that I could come
tonight it does you
good can you go home yes
[Music]
how many exorcisms have you done in the
last 40 years I don’t know probably
thousands how much does it cost
€45 exactly the same as 40 years ago
don’t forget
that are the sessions over
violence yes terrible one person spat
out a
snake a snake yes that
long you
I’ve seen people speaking Spanish who
didn’t know it or Arabic German you
can’t understand them one person who was
possessed for four or five years was
levitating four people tried to hold her
down she
levitated levitation levitation High yes
50
cm
unbelievable she stayed there for a
while and then fell back again
are you aware that some viewers will
either think you’re completely crazy or
a
charlatan of course when you’re not the
one with the problem it’s easy to call
someone a charlatan but when that
changes and Medicine can’t help and
neither can anyone else then you might
be glad to meet a person like me a
person like
[Music]
dong speaking unknown languages knowing
unknowable information having superhuman
Powers there raw criteria that the
Vatican has recognized a signs of
possession but is there a rational
explanation we went in search of answers
from the medical
profession as a scientist to what extent
do you see these as signs of
possession I’ll leave that diagnosis to
the exorcists and the Vatican these are
extreme situations that we psychiatrists
don’t see in
[Music]
hospitals should
un one example is
levitation it’s said that the possessed
person rises above their bed anyone
would be frightened to see that but
there is a symptom in severe psychiatric
cases where people get terrible muscle
contractions and they form an arch if
there’s a sheet over them it might look
like they’re
floating what if these priests told you
they saw the devil at
work well I do too every day as a doctor
working with addiction you have
20-year-olds with a heroin syringe in
their arms telling you life sucks I mean
if that isn’t the devil
ja despite his scientific background Jac
Bon advocates for the use of exorcism
within an appropriate
framework the psychiatrist has
collaborated with priests in their
practice of spiritual
Liberation I think we need to move
Beyond these outdated Hollywood
exorcisms you can’t scare people these
days with a snarling devil with horns I
think it would be a good idea to develop
a contemporary approach to exorcism you
have to accept that evil exists it’s
something that concerns people and
they’re left with unmet spiritual needs
in a disenchanted world that’s plagued
by existential
[Applause]
emptiness fing an existential ual void
satisfying spiritual needs that’s
exactly what the Evangelical Church
claims to
[Music]
offer we’re in the Gospel Center oron a
place of worship in the heart of the
industrial district of oron laille in
French speaking
switzland for these believer life is a
constant battle between good and evil
demons are everywhere and the pastor’s
job is to drive them
away the founder of the Gospel Center is
Vana lemman a charismatic figure revered
by the congregation for his powers of
Deliverance God distributes his gifts
and I believe I’ve received many
spiritual gifts but we’re not superhuman
I think the term exorcism often scares
people I think Deliverance is usually a
more appropriate term that’s less
frightening you don’t have to tie people
up I’ve never had to hold anyone down so
they don’t hit
[Music]
me do people pay you for
deliverance no no
I don’t try to earn a living from
praying for others and the fact that
others make money from it doesn’t bother
me what is
Deliverance it’s when someone has
something in their life that prevents
them from living a good normal life all
people have suffered grievances things
that have hurt them when people wallow
in hatred absolute non forgiveness and a
profound anger they open themselves up
to evil spirits that torment
them let me explain how the enemy Works
I’d say the most common entry point is
rejection I was on a vacation with my
wife I met a woman who became agitated
when she saw me the spirit threw the
woman to the ground and began to speak
he said this is my home and I’m not
leaving I’ll kill her and you’ll have a
dead woman on your conscience I spoke to
the spirit I don’t normally he said he
was there because the woman’s mother had
cursed her my wife grabbed her wrist and
said in the name of Jesus I untie you
she then told us her mother wanted to
abort her but it was complicated and in
her desperation her mother said the
child belonged to the
devil I told her to say Lord Jesus
released myself from this curse and the
spirit said I want to go we prayed for
him and he
[Applause]
[Music]
went if a Deliverance works it gives you
a kind of
[Applause]
[Music]
power I don’t believe so I believe that
power never really resides in us we have
an authority that’s given to us by God
it’s given to all who are
believers but you shouldn’t ever feel
the need to say yes I can deliver you I
have the power or anything but it helps
make you charismatic yes of
course we talk about deliver
but paradoxically during the Deliverance
process people seem to get more tied up
in the Evangelical worldview and
demonological symbolism than they were
[Music]
before what’s quite perverse about this
relationship is the asymmetry it’s
always the pastor or the spiritual
leader who knows what’s good for the
person on the receiving end that person
is systematically placed in an
asymmetric relationship where they’re
inferior the pastor uses their words to
describe the person’s disturbances and
to experience Deliverance they must
agree to enter into the pastor’s
symbolic world it’s an extremely high
price to pay to feel liberated they have
to internalize a worldview in which
demons are everywhere
[Music]
I’m Christian [ __ ] I’m married with two
children I’m 50 and I lead the
Evangelical Alliance in french-speaking
[Music]
Switzerland I’ve been practicing
Deliverance for 30 years and I’ve seen
that it works I don’t see the devil or
angels I see demons and evil
spirits in a Deliverance you might see
hear or smell them there are some
spirits that have a very specific
smell spirits of control religiosity
dominance and Witchcraft smell like
ammonia based on my
experience alongside his role as leader
Ain to that of a bishop Christian [ __ ]
is also an expert on demons he even
organized his first courses in
demonology for prospective Pastors in
french-speaking
Switzerland you’re a big tough God are
you afraid of
demons no no the authority of Jesus
Christ is
all-encompassing these Spirits are
cornered so sometimes they try to trick
you or disguise themselves some Spirits
also claim to be Satan which is
laughable because Satan doesn’t
incarnate in people’s lives angels have
a Heavenly Body but demons don’t they’re
spirits and in the same matter of fact
tone Christian explains how demons enter
us it’s often our own
fault I think there are basically three
ways in which Spirits can get into our
lives into our bodies one is through
repeated sinning you don’t invite a
lying Spirit by lying once but if you
persist then you eventually get in a
tangle and the gate opens then there are
traumatic circumstances for example if
you have an accident you’re very
vulnerable physically but Also
spiritually this can happen in operating
rooms under
anesthesia there are certain
circumstances like these in which
Spirits are given the right to
enter the Third Way is heredity the sins
of your ancestors can affect
you the Bible says says the open gate
can be passed down three to four
generations or 10 Generations in the
case of
children what do you mean by to
children children conceived out of
wedlock they’re a special case but we
usually talk about curses passing on to
the next three or four generations
[Music]
this rather disturbing worldview is also
held by the director of the Evangelical
Alliance in frenchspeaking Switzerland
and shared by many Believers
amen and it doesn’t stop
[Music]
there another purported Gateway is
sexuality do you see homosexuality as a
possible Gateway
I haven’t had the opportunity to pray
for that particular problem it’s a life
choice as long as people live regular
secular lives without engaging
spiritually with God it can
work but when they come to God they may
see there are things in their lives that
need to be sorted
out it’s an obstacle an obstacle yes all
right
[Music]
homosexuality according to their
interpretation of the Bible is one of
the sins that strengthens the demon if
I’m afflicted by demons it’s my fault
and if despite attempts at Deliverance
the demon cannot be cast out it’s
because I failed to fully confess to
something so it’s a system that’s
extremely guilt
oriented Adrian the burden of guilt
around for years he was 14 when he moved
to Switzerland with his parents coming
from an Evangelical family he joined the
church community and hoped to find
spiritual fulfillment there but Adrian
soon realized he was attracted to
[Music]
boys the moment I told the church about
it they said it was not God’s plan for
me and that it was possible to be healed
from it
the pastor of the church said there was
a spirit associated with homosexuality
that had attached itself to me through a
puppet from Burma that was in my parents
house it was set on fire in the garden
with
petrol because at that time it was
believed that if an object was possessed
by a spirit the only way to drive it
away was to burn
it over the years Adrian experienced
melting pressure from his church in
Geneva he decided to take part in an
intensive week-long conversion Therapy
Program in New
York it was led by a pastor called
[Music]
Harley during the therapy I wrote down
what happened every day and all those
years I kept a
[Music]
diary Harley commands the demon that
bound to pain lovelessness and silence
to leave and join the Throne of
God the demons begin to laugh and laugh
making fun of a little boy suffering in
the
desert I had physical symptoms during
the
therapy it was like I could feel Spirits
coming out of me
what was it
like
[Music]
um I touch my neck and it’s the
Leviathan The Long Neck of a reptile I
feel it sticky scales the Leviathan is a
dragon a kind of long snake with legs
that lives in deep Waters inside me the
Leviathan doesn’t want to leave I can
feel my throat constricting and being
strangled by the Leviathan who’s
tormenting
[Music]
me I thought I’d been
liberated when I left I thought I could
be what God wanted me to be heterosexual
and I could fit into his
plans what happened
next this Deliverance lasts until your
wonderful human nature takes over again
and you start to live according to your
desires
again your dreams and the things that
make up the richness of your
Humanity at that moment you feel an
enormous guilt that’s going to destroy
you even
[Music]
more I think I was manipulated and that
it was in fact spiritual abuse they tell
you it’s the absolute truth and there’s
no other
way this doesn’t only happen in
Evangelical circles clergy from other
religious groups also engage in frequent
and excessive deliverance and exorcism
practices in the south of France we meet
a woman called Lucy the 30-year old is
originally from Madagascar she was
adopted by a family with close ties to
the societ Society of St Pas I 10th a
fundamentalist Catholic Community
founded in Switzerland in
1970 the group has been
controversial in this Society the father
has a dominant role he’s there to
command and make sure the whole family
stays on the right path of religion he’s
the
patriarch Lucy met her husband through
the society she married him at 18 became
pregnant at 20 and had five
children how were things with
him very bad there was a lot of
violence slaps kicks
punchers I sought help from the priests
in my Parish one priest in particular he
blamed me told me I’m too dominant
towards my husband that I should be
submissive
he said all my outbursts of anger were
triggered by a demon he linked it to my
past that I was adopted by a Muslim
tribe and the traces had to be removed
from
me I had about 20 exorcisms in six years
they take place in the prior in the
priest’s office
an exorcism lasts up to 50 minutes
you’re on your knees you have to confess
to your
sins you have to wait for the priest to
say his prayers and press on your chest
so the demons come
out being Catholic I really accepted the
priest’s advice because I wanted to save
my family and my
marriage despite her efforts the
beatings continued so Lucy finally asked
her husband to leave the marital home
the society then attempted One Last
Exorcism to change her
[Music]
mind that night there was a knock at the
door I opened it and the priest came in
and pulled me into the cellar he wanted
to cast out the demon in me by trying to
get me to say I was
wrong I was afraid he’d do something bad
to me I told myself he wouldn’t attack
me in my own home and he didn’t have the
right to take my
[Music]
children they talk a lot about the devil
in the Society of St Pas the goal is not
to go to hell exorcism is common among
the
priests are you still in the society
today no not anymore I’m still a
Believer but I’m not practicing and I’m
very glad I
left Lucy is not an isolated
case other testimonies and an internal
document corroborating the practice of
exorcism within the society suggest it’s
performed
regularly we contacted the society in
Switzerland but received no
response the bishop of chur urges
extreme
when it comes to
exorcisms this insistence on exorcisms
is not good pastoral care the primary
task that Christ entrusted to us was not
to fight evil but to Proclaim salvation
and
goodness the stiring up the fear of the
devil drive people towards God n while
this no because driving people would
mean forcing people to do
something they’re not free and that has
no value to God the greatest gift God
has given to us is our freedom we can
only love if we are free
[Music]
I’ve severed all ties with my former
Evangelical
Community about 10 years ago I reached a
point where I felt like a veil was being
lifted I realized that maybe everything
I believed had actually been drilled
into me and was not from God
[Music]
and this made it possible for me to
reconcile my identity and my
spirituality did you set up the antenna
lgbti Geneva group in the Protestant
church here because of your personal
[Music]
experiences I felt ready to offer others
that space of self-discovery and
Reconciliation that I had been
missing we’re here neither to judge nor
to impose our views on other
people I believe in things we can’t
see I think my faith is still alive and
real but of course it’s very different
from my former Faith because there the
ideal was Blind Faith where intelligence
and freedom of thought and
interpretation were
stifled how did I manage it perhaps by
the grace of God
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]

Exorcists don’t just exist in movies. They are active in the here and now. In Europe, they can be found in the Catholic Church, in evangelical communities or working as freelance “healers”. Who are these modern-day exorcists?

The film follows modern-day exorcists in France, Switzerland and Germany. They are priests of the Catholic Church, evangelical preachers and freelance “healers” who meet the apparently increasing demand for exorcism. Do they truly believe the devil exists? How does an exorcism ceremony work? Is exorcism a deliverance from evil, or a control technique to keep believers submissive? This film is an investigative journey into the world of contemporary beliefs surrounding demons, devils, and exorcists.

#documentary #dwdocumentary
______

DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch top documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary.

Subscribe to:
⮞ DW Documentary (English): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocumentary
⮞ DW Documental (Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocumental
⮞ DW Documentary وثائقية دي دبليو (Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocarabia
⮞ DW Doku (German): https://www.youtube.com/dwdoku
⮞ DW Documentary हिन्दी (Hindi): https://www.youtube.com/dwdochindi

For more visit: http://www.dw.com/en/tv/docfilm/s-3610
Follow DW Documentary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwdocumentary/
Follow DW Documental on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwdocumental

We kindly ask viewers to read and stick to the DW netiquette policy on our channel: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G