Impressive footage of real exorcism by Father Mathieu

[MisterLove]

Another impressive video of a real exorcism, this time performed by Father Mathieu, that was shown on France's Antenne 2:

You can actually see the physical changes in the body of the possessed man.

What really impressed me was the expression of suffering on Father Mathieu's face - almost like the face of a war veteran.

[MisterLove]

Here's another one, it's incredible how three adults can barely restrain a teenage girl:

[Bowyn Aerrow]

The Catholics are one group who know their business when it comes to exorcism.

I didn't watch the whole videos, as the subject perturbs me greatly - I did skip and click and watch parts and it looks legit to me. Of course the simplest way is to get the name of the demons involved (they usually possess in hosts or legions, rarely singularly).

However that process can take years...

[MisterLove]

The Catholics are one group who know their business when it comes to exorcism.

[...]

I never understood why they're so secretive about it. Usually the Catholic Church doesn't allow exorcisms to be filmed, the case of Father Mathieu was a rare exception. Maybe they want to protect the privacy of the victims, I don't know.

[MisterTinkles]

Contrived BS to sell to the masses when they, "the church", feel they need publicity to keep raking in the bucks.

Ive watched a couple of REAL "exorcism" videos (beginning to end without breaks or pauses) when this stuff got popularized by that idiotic movie "The Exorcist". Nothing more than mentally handicapped people (or with extremely low self esteem) forced to believe they are "evil" and have a "devil" inside them. And then played on by "competent" adults and force-fed all this bullshit to believe they are something they are not.

Nothing more than the true evil people praying on the less fortunate, the less mentally capable, and those who feel they have no self worth.

The ONLY thing wrong with these "possessed" people are shitbags abusing them for their own gain.

[Dreamer]

I'm possessed by the hardest demon known to man.
It takes the longest, roughest "exorcism" there is to overcome.

My dick...

[MisterLove]

Contrived BS to sell to the masses when they, "the church", feel they need publicity to keep raking in the bucks.
[...]

If it were BS to sell to the masses, they wouldn't be so secretive about it.

Do you really believe that everyone involved in those exorcisms (incl. the late Father Mathieu that everyone described as a wise man and a saint) is trying to abuse those people?

And did you know that the Catholic Church only authorizes an exorcism with the approval of a doctor? This is a complex procedure and the Church takes it very seriously.

I've never seen an exorcism, I have no idea if they're legitimate or not and I'm not defending the Catholic Church here but in both videos you can clearly see that the possessed victims were there of their own accord; the 'seizures' and violent behavior only took place during the ritual.

But yes, I'm sure there are lots of fake exorcisms and I've seen a couple of those on YouTube - incl. the alleged 'exorcism' of a young kid that was actually infected with rabies, I'm not even going to post the link here because it's so disturbing and revolting.

[SolemnBoy]

Okay, this thread is about exorcisms so if my skepticism is irrelevant or something and you feel like I'm hijacking the thread I'll respectfully go away.

HOWEVER, to anyone who believes in possessions and exorcisms: why do you feel like Youtube videos are sufficient evidence? Anything you see on camera, regardless of how real it looks, can be skillfully manipulated to fool you. There are plenty of movies out there who try really hard to come off as snuff flicks and some of them manage to portray disturbingly realistic scenes of torture and murder. That doesn't make them genuine though. Furthermore, even if the content onscreen is authentic there could be numerous explanations that carry significantly higher amounts of medical evidence. It seems to me like using a demon or any form of unseen entity as an explanation is pretty unnecessary and far-fetched.

[MisterLove]

MisterLove is being very diplomatic

[...]

Sweetie, you know me: I'm a lover not a fighter.

[MisterLove]

Okay, this thread is about exorcisms so if my skepticism is irrelevant or something and you feel like I'm hijacking the thread I'll respectfully go away.

HOWEVER, to anyone who believes in possessions and exorcisms: why do you feel like Youtube videos are sufficient evidence? [...]

I never said it was sufficient evidence and I don't think it is sufficient evidence.

I would say that it is evidence but not conclusive.

There are, however, other elements that you should also consider:

a) Ok so there's video footage, we've already mentioned that and it is relevant - many criminal convictions these days rely on far less (e.g. purely testimonial evidence)

b) Reliable sources: we're not talking about snuff movies or anonymous videos posted on the internet, these are clips from serious journalistic pieces done by professionals, then scrutinized and endorsed by other professionals and later broadcasted by some of the biggest tv networks in the world (BBC, Antenne 2)

c) Credible eyewitnesses: Relatives and friends of the victims, as well as clergymen and Father Mathieu, the most reliable witness you could possibly ask for.

d) You speak of medical science but you forget that these exorcisms only took place because science could not provide any solution. Like I said, the Roman Ritual is very strict and a previous intervention of a doctor is mandatory

e) Countless cases of documented exorcisms and the official doctrine of the Catholic Chruch that acknowledges the existence of the devil and the possibility of possessions.