The fraudulent business of exorcisms

The renunciation prayer is the climax in which the alleged “ evil presences ” manifest, causing symptoms like vomit, headaches, crying, moans, and even screams and convulsions.

Every Friday, the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe receives believers from the municipality Los Reyes, La Paz in the State of Mexico , but also others who come from nearby neighborhoods in the east area of Mexico City to attend the so-called “ healing masses ” or “ exorcisms ,” that priest Miguel (his name has been changed to protect his identity) has been performing for 15 years.

The ceremony lasts for over three and a half hours and is made up of three stages: the first includes a community mass where people say the rosary , as an interlude, attendees sing religious songs and, finally, they arrive at the renunciation prayer in which the alleged “evil presences” manifest with the “word of God.”

The believers go to the parish with bottles of water, even with jugs, salt, olive oil, and candles, articles that are sold as kits outside the temple and that are put in the altar to be blessed and later used with “ possessed ” relatives.

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Sister Adriana Romero

, assistant secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy of the Conference of the Mexican Bishops (CEM) , comments that “healing masses” are not the same as exorcism and, although many churches perform them, they are not advisable because, she asserts, it is an issue that must be treated with care so that the person can receive the adequate help that also considers the medical perspective .

“ Evil exists and it must be treated with care, but we have to be responsible in this kind of ceremonies because not every priest can perform them because they require special training, from knowledge in psychology to theology .

“Priests who perform exorcisms must be appointed by the bishop of the corresponding diocese,” she explains.

She warns that there have been many cases of abuse in the topic in the so-called “ healing masses ” in which people pretend to be priests to ask for money in exchange for allegedly performing exorcisms , so she asks the population to be aware.

Sister Romero highlights that the priests who actually perform these rituals need special and strict training to do so, in addition to being “very spiritual” to be able to tell if the person is really under a satanic possession .

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Recognized by the Catholic church

These ceremonies are a practice recognized by the Catholic church ; the requirements for a priest to perform them are established in the canon 1,172 of the Canon law , which points out that only bishops can grant the minister of exorcists to those priests who are “ pious, learned, prudent, and who have integrity. ”

According to sister Romero, there must be at least one exorcist priest in each diocese; however, she says that there is not a national directory of the ministers authorized for these ceremonies so when a person suspects he or she is “possessed” they must go to their local priest .

Activity against shows

Priest José Alberto Medel

, a member of the Exorcists College of Mexico’s Archdiocese and of the International Association of Exorcists , highlights that in recent years the demand for these ceremonies has risen, which he thinks is related to the suggestion of believers, who see in satanic possession an answer to their suffering, something “ impostors ” have taken advantage of by pretending to be priests.

“There is a lot of people who out of misguidance , religious ignorance , or the disappointments of the current world go through the wrong paths. The demand for this kind of thing has increased a lot.

“There are fake priests who deceive people by doing alleged exorcisms. The true exorcists do not promote themselves and are not looking for work,” he says.

He explains that in Mexico’s Archdiocese there are nine exorcists who have a team of “experts” made up of doctors , psychologists , and psychiatrists who help the priest to determine if a person is “possessed.”

He adds that there is no symptomatology of possessed people because people can become influenced, “they see or read that the symptoms are these or those and thinks ‘I have that, I’m possessed.’”

The priest says that if a person thinks they are “possessed,” they must go to their local priest who will direct them to the exorcist to assess the situation along with a team of experts in different areas to determine if they “have been invaded by an evil entity.”

“It is a process that can take years, with medical, religious, and psychological attention ; it’s not as in the movies in which they pray for a while and the evil is expelled. This issue has been highly misinterpreted,” he points out.

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Superstitions prevail

Leonardo Centeno

, a psychotherapist by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) says that when people have any problem, whether emotional or economic, they prefer to resort to this kind of rituals, like exorcisms, cleanses, or santería, instead of visiting a mental health professional.

“There is little trust in psychology ; it is not a field rooted in society; cultural and religious beliefs are stronger. People know more about this kind of rituals than what a therapist actually does.

“Usually, if someone says they go to psychotherapy it is because they think they are crazy or emotionally weak,” adds the expert.

He adds that as human beings, we prefer immediate satisfaction: “When people go to a fortune teller or a shaman is because they want their problem to magically disappear.”

Some in this situation, he asserts, makes others responsible for their “bad luck” or attributes their health problems to “evil entities.” And if they go to a therapist, it implies a commitment to attend, in the mid or long term, to a comprehensive treatment to recover their mental health.

He highlights that these “magical” businesses are in the public eye because there are many places where people read cards or where they do cleanses or witchcraft : “That is what is most common to people who looks for help in what is in front of them, what is close to their understanding , their faith , and their economy .”

He adds that people with emotional, economic, or health problems are vulnerable and it is easy for a group to deceive them into fraud.

“They abuse the suffering, of the emotional, health, and economic problems; they take advantage of these weaknesses,” he mentions.

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