EXORCISING PRIEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 113, 14 May 1936, Page 18

EXORCISING PRIEST.

OBJECT OF REVENGE. PURSUED BY DEVILS. HIS TALKS WITH DEMONS. Every Roman Catholic priest, -when ordained, is empowered to exorcise — to cast out devils —though lie must have permission of his bishop in each case. 111 J !)'-'(>, Father Tlieopliilus, of St. Anthony's monastery of Capuchin Friars, at Marathon, Wis., cast the devils out of a woman at St. Joseph's hospital in Milwaukee, causing considerable excitement locally. Two years later he exorcised the same ■woman at Earling. la. This case-y— now famous in Catholic circles—is being widelv publicised. Catholics, incidentally, are not required to believe in exorcisms, except those chronicled in the Scriptures. (By FRANCES STOVER.) APPLETON, WIS., April 10. It was a strange experience to interview scholarly Father Tlieopliilus, in 1930, in the supposed era of "Rationalism," to sit across a table from a sen-sible-looking old gentleman with a parted white beard and a business mail's black overcoat, and talk familiarly about such far away things as "exorcisms," "possessions" and "energuments. There was a kind of embarrassment in asking the old priest just what he "then said to Beelzebub," and of inquiring as to Beelzebub's reply. One was amazed at the lusty give-and-take of virile invective between the uncompromising man of God and the devil. It was like listening to the story of a good light between two determined persons, with Riglit the victor. But the next instant, as Father Thcophilus continued, you were puzzled and wondering. Where were you, anyhow? Was this really the little reception room of St. Joseph's monastery in Appleton ? Or were you in the tower chamber where Faust is said to have parried with Mepliistopheles ? Or had the frescoes 011 the walls of some dark church in Italy come to life — those showing St. Zeno of Verona or bt. Hidulplius casting out devils. "Casting out devils" is what Father Thcophilus Riesinger, 0.M.C., says that he does. "Exorcise" is the dogmatic term. Up to date Father Tlieopliilus has exorcised 22 "possessed" persons. Much Comment Pro and Con. He is a member of the order of minor Capuchins, and of the community of St. Anthony at Marathon, Wis. He wan born in Bavaria and was ordained at the St. Francis monastery of the Capuchins in Milwaukee. He accomplished his first exorcism at 40. He is now 08. An account of the exorcism accomplished by Father Tlieopliilus in 1928 at Ealing, lowa, put out in pamphlet form bv the Rev. Celestine Kapsner, of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minn., with an official "imprimatur' of the Bishop of St. Cloud, has recently occasioned a sharp divergence of opinion. _ Republished in various Catholic newspapers, it has called forth much comment, both for and against.

While no Catholic is required to believe in any particular account of a case of diabolical possession outside those set forth in the Scriptures, nevertheless, numbers of people, through the centuries, have testified to the actuality of demoniacal possession and to the efficacy of exorcism as it is conducted according to the rites of the Catholic Church. St. Mark tells of the seven devils that Christ cast out of Mary Magdalen; St. Luke of the legion of devils that, at Divine command, went out of the wretched creature who lived in the tombs, and entered into a herd of swine, which ran down a liill and into the lake. The Middle-ages were filled with cases of diabolical possession. "The people were all victims of hysteria, or were insane or epileptics," says one side. "Xo, they were possessed, just as in Biblical time," says the other. The Earling, lowa, case which has occasioned the comment, is that of a 40-year-old woman (previously exorcised in *1920 in Milwaukee, at St. Joseph's Hospital, by Father Theophilus), who through the prayers and exhortations of Father Theophilus was rid of what he says were literally billions and billions of devils," among them Judas, the woman's own father, who had been an old reprobate; his concubine, and Beelzebub himself, most important devil in hell. Father Theophilus held intimate conversations with all the leading devils. Tliey speak, he asserts, in any tongue used in addressing them. Prayers Force Devils to Talk. This particular exorcism took 23 days of prayer and exhortation on the part of the priest. In this time, according to the published account, what, we are used to call the "laws of nature" were broken time and again. The woman was unbelievably strong; her rigid body floated in the air and hung with cat-like ! grip to the wall above the door. Although she had been able to take little nourishment for a long time —on some days a spoonful of water —a vast amount of poisonous material was given forth from her body. From her mouth came .voices of varying tones speaking in three languages —German, English and Latin. "You cannot imagine the terrible symptoms and feelings that possessed persons have," said Father Theophilus. "Strange cats and dogs talk to them in the night. They cannot perform their religious duties, they are kept away from the sacraments, they are exceedingly unhappy. "I admit that these symptoms look like hysteria and insanity. But that is not the case. Through exorcism and through the prayers of the church we can force the devils to talk." "Is the possessed person conscious of what you are doing?" "No, he knows nothing of it. Next, I ask the devil whether he will leave the body and when. Naturally, there is great resistance on the part of the devil. Many times they have threatened to take revenge on me. But I tell them that I am not afraid of their threats, and I continue with the exorcism. ■ "I have written the whole report, first in German, then in Latin. It has gone to the holy office in Rome." Billions And Billions of Devils. In the report Father Theophilus states that the devils sought many forms of revenge on him and his assistants. They got into a brand new auto so' it wouldn't run; they caused a 'mysterious dense, black cloud to drift suddenly in front of the Rev. Joseph Steiger's face (friend and helper of Father Theophilus) so that he crashed into a bridge rail and wrecked his automobile. "Hellrats" later bothered many of the persons who helped with the exorcism. "You cannot imagine how strenuous it is," Father Theophilus continues. "Think: —the body of the possessed person floats in the. air. The eyes are always closed. When the eyes are

opened finally they are seen to be covered with a yellow skin. On several occasions when I have drawn near with the Blessed Sacrament I have observed the devil moving around under that skin (film) just as a pea would move. "Sometimes there is diabolical material in the body. This must be expelled. As long as it is there the devil can always come back. This material is given up only through application of holy water and by exorcism. "Now," lie leans back a little wearily and smiles, "I think that I have about given you the quintessence." "About the Earling case, Father?" "That is a mystery that is still going 011. God has destined that case to break the power of hell in a very special way, so that billions and billions of devils will be locked up and unable to do harm. This case will continue until Christ says 'It is enough.'" "Do you mean, Father, that she will have to be exorcised again and again, and that each time billions and billions of devils will be locked up and made unable to work harm to humanity?" He nods his head in serious assent. — N.A.N .A.