from gnomes national news service
THE Diocese of Valladolid has admitted to having ‘exorcised’ a teenage girl up to 13 times – at the request of her parents.
She was 16 at the time when, in 2013, her parents sought help from the only vicar in the region of Castilla y León (Spain) ‘licensed’ to exorcise people, Luis Argüello.
The young woman, from the cathedral city of Burgos in the central north-west region was suffering panic attacks and anorexia, and her parents were convinced she was possessed by the devil.
Her aunt and uncle on her mother’s side reported the matter to the police after hearing that she had tried to commit suicide soon after the 13thsession.
Burgos court number 2 is investigating whether the exorcism may be connected with the lady’s attempt to kill herself, and thus whether it constitutes the criminal offences of habitual psychological violence, blackmail, degrading treatment, serious injuries and incitement to suicide.
The Diocese of Burgos, as well as that of Valladolid, openly recognised having ‘exorcised’ the troubled youngster.
But Argüello says the girl’s unsuccessful suicide attempt could not have been linked to the exorcism, and would have been part and parcel of the mental health problems she had been suffering before and during the 13 sessions.
“People have preconceived ideas of exorcism based upon Hollywood films, but it’s nothing like that – it’s just another Church ritual, or prayer,” insists Argüello.
“It involves praying to the Holy Spirit for help in the event the person in question may be possessed by the devil.
“In a nutshell, it’s as simple as saying, ‘we’re going to pray with you’, and that’s it.”
The vicar says the tradition of exorcism, carried out only upon request by members of the congregation, is ‘normal’, has been carried out on ‘many normal people’ and it is not unusual to do it several times with the same person.
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