ALCALA DE HENARES, SPAIN (dpa) – In his long black frock, the pale and bespectacled man looks like just another Roman Catholic priest, but Father Jose Antonio Fortea is not afraid to engage in a trial of strength with the devil himself.
Spain’s best-known exorcist claims to have driven demons from the bodies of possessed persons half a dozen times, and describes Satan as an intelligent spirit whose outstanding characteristic is his hatefulness.
“The demons who serve him show extraordinary physical strength, and always know what to scream at you to hurt you as much as possible,” says the 33-year-old priest who is regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on exorcism.
Father Fortea has a Ph.D. on the subject, has published a book which is selling very well, and is constantly receiving phone calls from people who believe themselves or others close to them to be possessed by Satan.
The overwhelming majority of such people suffer from psychiatric problems, yet cases of devil possession which the church regards as real are also on the rise, Fortea told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur at his home in Alcala de Henares near Madrid.
“Increasing numbers of people are engaging in devil worship or spiritualist practices, and open the way for demons to come through,” he added.
For most people, the word exorcist brings to mind images of the middle ages or a U.S. horror movie of the same name, yet for real- life exorcists such as Father Fortea the devil is a reality.
Even in today’s modern and secularized Spain, priests are still exorcising demons.
The Roman Catholic Church has roughly 200 exorcists or other specialists attending to alleged cases of devil possession worldwide, and Pope John Paul II himself is known to have performed a few exorcisms.
People possessed by demons behave so violently that they need to be overpowered by several helpers of the exorcist or even tied up, Fortea explains.
They writhe, scream and appear to want to kill everyone present. They may crawl like snakes, turn their head at unnatural angles and even vomit nails and glass shards, according to experts at the Vatican.
Demons are best recognized by the nausea they exhibit near Christian objects such as crucifixes or blessed water. “Demons also understand all languages,” Fortea adds.
The cure is brought about in a simple ceremony, during which the exorcist prays, sprinkles the victim with holy water, anoints him with holy oil and orders the demon to leave. “Some demons are expelled in one session, while others only leave after the seventh attempt.”
Fortea also attends to poltergeist cases, in which objects move by themselves or the residents of a house hear, smell or see strange things. “The previous resident may have been a devil worshipper and left a bad influence in the place,” Fortea explains.
After dealing with alleged cases of devil possession for five years, Father Fortea says he has lost fear and trusts in the power of God. “In the end, Satan is always defeated.”
Fortea says he often takes psychiatrists to see cases of devil possession and that they are left baffled.
“The symptoms resemble schizophrenia, but differ in that the personality does not stay split, but the demon only takes over for a short while,” he explains.
Possession is always some kind of a psychological phenomenon, though exorcisms can work if both the priest and the victim believe in their power, psychiatrist Alberto Fernandez told the daily El Pais.
Spirit possession is a universal phenomenon, and mediums around the world have become possessed by gods or ancestral spirits. The Catholic Church, however, teaches that possession is always the work of the devil.
“The only exception is the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person, which is in an entirely different category,” Fortea says.
So what does a real exorcist think of the 1973 film “The Exorcist”, one of the best-known horror movies in the history of cinema, whose longer and re-edited version came to screens two years ago?
“It is actually quite well documented,” smiles the priest whose affable manner makes it difficult to believe that he is acquainted with the devil himself.
