the exorcist

On Sept 3, 2021, Raymond de Souza wrote:

“Many of these telltale signs of demonic possession were present during the Ronald Hunkeler exorcism and were terrifyingly reproduced in the Blatty film. Priests say that after the release of the film, confessionals were never empty, and nonpracticing Catholics by the thousands returned to the practice of their Faith.”

Mr. de Souza writes weekly articles for the oldest US Catholic newspaper, The Wanderer. He was referring to a 14-year-old boy and The Exorcist 1973. Father Gary Thomas, exorcist for the San Jose diocese (CA), will back him up on the details of exorcisms. Thomas gives an excellent account on YouTube of how he does one. He grew up in South San Francisco and advised Anthony Hopkins, lead actor in The Rite 2011. The rite is spoken in Latin. The demons fear it.

One of my short stories, "Phantasmal," addresses the subject. Thomas's YouTube videos were an excellent resource. For an account of Hunkeler's exorcism, which was recorded in a Jesuit priest's diary, go here:
​https://historyofyesterday.com/when-a-demon-came-to-maryland-69badbdb2246

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