642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEZECut3bO
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxpeTyh9pu
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbEJTPjbTT
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgL8NzfCBb9
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9e9OZeiOXr
According to court findings, she experienced her first epileptic attack in 1969, and by 1973 was suffering from depression and considering suicide. Soon she was seeing the faces of demons on the people and things around her, and voices told her she was damned.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WvunyDxcx
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjENgSzGzOp
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7besONakDR
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vigtDt82f
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLavUtZJu3O
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lIeNvumnP
Under the influence of her demons, Michel ripped the clothes off her body, compulsively performed up to 400 squats a day, crawled under a table and barked like a dog for two days, ate spiders and coal, bit the head off a dead bird and licked her own urine from the floor.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6l5PLtsqtl
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvfd5LSUkP
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DCNDj4igv
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnja5ZQBy5
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfot2zZ7vzo
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgzAZo8a7W
By 1975 Michel was asking for an exorcism. The Revs. Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz performed the rite 67 times over the first half of 1976. Some of the sessions took up to four hours. Forty-two sessions were recorded on tape.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11kfo3s1KO
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJY4YLWDA64
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiRdmFE1nh
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5trKumRer
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5yf1IplUn
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuwmf7omZ8
Michel’s recorded voice can still send shivers up your spine. It is the voice of a demon, growling, barking, inhuman — and surprisingly like the voice of Linda Blair in “The Exorcist,” which had been released in Germany two years earlier.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftnSF7tmrV
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL6v2znW1p
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXCJRhTCM0
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWL0ta9rcy
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvHTTeefBq
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4SvCfahaq
Sometimes the demons identified themselves — as Cain, Nero, Judas, Lucifer, Hitler and others — and even answered the exorcists’ questions, explaining what was wrong with the church or why they were in Hell. “People are stupid as pigs,” spat Hitler. “They think it’s all over after death. It goes on.” Judas said Hitler was nothing but a “big mouth” and had “no real say” in Hell.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtY7iQgr52
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdfBN6fWHD
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicHYW9rgyi
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIqs5HygcG
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyH4qHB7REI
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAgeIOfMu6
Anyway, it wasn’t the exorcism that killed Anneliese Michel.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxKrfGFcrv
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCmrWdjorC
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSvVN1K0tc
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimJQRh72vP
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgc2Ba7v4tA
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNebCuiUSN
At some point she began talking increasingly about dying to atone for the wayward youth of the day and the apostate priests of the modern church, and refused to eat. Though she had received treatment for epilepsy, by this time, at her own request, doctors were no longer being consulted.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKSqVnBEAN
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4zL06R7Ty
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYSIEsVt1c
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhKi9o1yPK
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6H8j8KHlPl
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mJ0ZFfUMs
She, her parents and the exorcists decided to rely completely on exorcism. By the time Michel died of starvation, she weighed only 68 pounds.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgYPlmTOD8
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WB9Onxa0G
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQe83XG7iaT
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfXhI5TMnp
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUHYDs6fj5
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3X79ZCX46
After her death, the Anneliese Michel trial also set reason against faith.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCCVZ1Wbfj
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQUwJ5Kiwy
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGImeF6cfG
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0s8Gw1dPF
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0BhhcXkD6
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqJgzBwbBR
“I personally believe that this case was handled in such a way as to play down the reality of the Devil,” says Norbert Baumert, Jesuit priest and chairman of the theological commission of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Germany, which cannot perform exorcism but practices “prayers for deliverance” from “demonic nuisance.”642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRffwV8ArUx
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtguW1aJmt
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvXSwcAzy3
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQawWDOkd2o
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQepqZ8ZWLL
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86Otcc0qq0
The trial went to the heart of faith: If the Bible is true, then the miracles must have really happened, and Satan must be real.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXP8xl3rwy
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqNG1vGTcz
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2emSbafGi
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mcIGTW4BD
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9kSFCrNqS
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj61x4XGw7y
But it’s not easy preaching the existence of the Devil to one of the most secularized countries in Europe. A study by research institute Infratest and published in the German newsweekly Der Spiegel last month showed that even among churchgoers, approximately a third of baptized Catholics and half of baptized Protestants do not believe in life after death.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlayE69cL7x
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLehiE9NeI
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5Dz3paMRp
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSg93AyvsDr
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AZsPxOl5s
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YaiyRTFAv
“I understand the complaint that German theologians are too rational,” says Klemens Richter, professor for liturgical science in Muenster. “But exorcism is all about helping the sick. In Anneliese Michel’s case, the sickness was supported. When I go to a patient and support her in her delusion, she gets the impression that she really is possessed.”642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78pQgVZjee
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT9tZ9GIQF
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFns2wYTWFG
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZgUIOaDjZ
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6TOuJ0Pao
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyqRteeF1B
Exorcism is far more widespread today than most people imagine. According to Richter, there are about 70 practicing exorcists in France and just as many employed in Italy. In July this year, a congress in Poland was reportedly attended by about 350 practicing exorcists.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Y9of5H96U
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g1OWioRQX
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Wf5lmMS1O
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTpREYM5os
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbx1u1Ot4H
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWvLpcmpwW
Germany is the major European exception. Here, there are only two or three practicing exorcists, and though they have the approval of their bishops, they operate in secret.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoTDfO1lwD
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqD6CQ2L9i
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LoM80MG3T
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZ8A5ZzwuU
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq78CS7Qo1
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp89QGbR4T
Secularization has the church in its grip,” says Ulrich Niemann, a Jesuit priest, medical doctor and psychiatrist who often has been called into exorcism cases by clergymen. “We do a lot for the Third World, but little for faith in a transcendent God. . . . The German church is far too cerebral.”642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27ToT1CyRz
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUGyZXX7F0
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJmCEvcspH
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9dcE8giin
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPYSsZOCtG
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCn3V8XPh6r
Niemann doesn’t consider himself an exorcist and doesn’t perform the Roman ritual of 1614. “As a doctor, I say there is no such thing as possession,” he says. “In my view, these patients are mentally ill. I pray with them, but that alone doesn’t help. You have to deal with them as a psychiatrist. But at the same time, when the patient comes from Eastern Europe and believes that he’s been impaired by evil, it would be a mistake to ignore his belief system.”642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GGImSnSA8
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDjbvnFqoZ
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVbugB7Npf
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SRDpB9vpu
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvr7ibTIb6
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fPoy7ivbf
After the Michel trial, German bishops and theologians formed a commission to review the exorcism rite, and in 1984 they petitioned Rome to change it.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdENKnfSF2
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbPBOLTPs0
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNw7rimcUcz
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAHN80kplS
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEV66FxBnW
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPEin3a2EA
The heart of the problem, they found, was the practice of speaking directly or “imperatively” to the Devil, that is, “I command thee, unclean spirit . . . ” That part of the rite seemed to do the most damage, since it confirmed to the patient that he or she truly was possessed.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKsBlSXIOi
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFrphQzSPf
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZyhMkecaC
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCOXI9Hp0P
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡav2ln4uTUz
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZM8Q57NMw
The Germans didn’t get what they wanted.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFyd5NLBi8
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDg03q7aV1e
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKhSBvqXxO
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJIXrPSXl6
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQxkC5jKAC
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3gGmu1TQc
“We were astonished when Rome issued a changed exorcism formula in 1999 which left open the possibility of speaking to the Devil directly,” says Richter. “But you can’t know for certain that a patient is truly possessed of the Devil.”642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqWsLoDKkF
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAhaAz1fFS
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYNuO7hHiy
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3JwaAOPHy
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3jUwTtcwf
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡne2aBBRjIe
Today, 30 years after Michel’s death, with both exorcists and her father also dead (her mother couldn’t be reached for this article), Michel is still revered by small groups of Catholics who believe she atoned for wayward priests and sinful youth, and honor her as an unofficial saint.642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxjB0sqq5W
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJIKaP3qer
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofGdrplQsB
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkidHrMM08w
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejp5eAdqq9
642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6rwYE7qMa
“Buses, often from Holland, I think, still come to Anneliese’s grave,” Barthel says. “The grave is a gathering point for religious outsiders. They write notes with requests and thanks for her help, and leave them on the grave. They pray, sing and travel on.”
Penana
search
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
