If you’re like me, you’ve probably known somebody who caused you to wonder, “Whoa! Is (Insert name here) some kind of screwed-up human being, or … possessed by a DEMON!?”
That can be a really hard call to make sometimes, so y’all will be comforted to know that the Vatican has issued a handy set of guidelines that you may consult when you’re trying to decide whether to call a cop or a priest.
Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, told CNA’s Italian agency ACI Stampa that typically, a person is not possessed but is struggling with some other illness.
The key to telling the difference, he said, is through discernment in prayer on the part of the exorcist and the possessed – and in the potentially possessed person’s reaction to the exorcist himself and the prayers being said.
The exorcist will typically say “(a) prolonged prayer to the point where if the Adversary is present, there’s a reaction,” he said.
[ … ]
“There’s no lack of frightening facial expressions, threatening words or gestures and other things,” he said, “but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady.”
Follow the link; this is not an Onion story, but bona fide stuff you’ve got to know next time Sweetie starts swinging a frying pan.