Pope Francis' Exorcism confusion raises questions over the effectiveness of the Practice

A video of Pope Francis addressing a disabled man in the crowd after a recent Sunday mass, has produced an online frenzy claiming that the Pope conducted an exorcism on him. This coincides with an upsurge in people wanting to undergo exorcisms, as well as its training in Rome's religious universities. So what did Pope Francis do that has gotten the public so worked-up? This is what happened according to media reports about the video:

“The young man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, shook, then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him”.

And according to the religious officialdom, the above episode constitutes an exorcism:

“surveyed exorcists...agreed there was 'no doubt' that Francis either performed an exorcism or a prayer to free the man from the devil.”

The Vatican for its part said that Francis was not performing an exorcism, but was simply praying for him. It is also unable to state clearly if it was an exorcism or not, but it has downplayed the claims. Coincidentally, Pope John Paul II was also claimed to have performed an exorcism near the same location thirty years earlier in 1982.  

So what is really going on here? What we see is suffering people exhibiting a religious ferver, who want to believe that a healing event took place. The focus of interest is on the Pope, his homilies against the devil, and the hope that exorcism promises for healing the suffering. What is missing from the analysis of the event is observation of the sufferer, such as the following:

* There was no pre-assessment of the sufferer, in terms of his psychological and physical condition.
* There was no brain science involved, in terms of levels of consciousness and access to past memories.
* There was no observation after the event, in terms of whether or not the person exhibited noticeable change.

These are the parameters one needs to use to judge whether a person has been healed of some degree of suffering or not. To just place one's hands on a person's head, say meaningful (prayer) words, and then move on to the next person is not typically conducive to healing. Few psychotherapists do this – but many religious workers do. And the suffering person seen to be shaking, convulsing, and slumping could just signal an abreaction – a random expression of energy, perhaps due to being overwhelmed with excitement and expectation. And so it is most likely that he was not healed of anything at all.

The inability of religious people to judge whether a person has healed some of their suffering or not under exorcism, prayer, or miracle raises questions about the effectiveness of claimed healing episodes of key religious figures of the past. Most such prophets, gods, and saints got their fame for their healing abilities. But given that at those past times there was even less knowledge than there is today – together with the fact that there was no video, media, or Internet, and little opportunity for expert analysis – it raises the query as to whether their fame was due more to religious ferver and hope than to real healing.

A more official form of exorcism is practised. But even it involves only superficial pre-assessment of the sufferer, no up-to-date brain science, and superficial post-treatment observation. Because it is based on a system of faith – and not on questioning, observation, and advancement – it can never improve, grow, become more effective, or for any rare successes (i.e., when a sufferer inadvertently slips into some past pain and resolves it) to be reproducible so as to benefit other sufferers.

In contrast, with laws of pain treatment a sufferer can experience a healing episode (AKA “healing miracle”) several times a month over a number of years. That is a concept that would blow religious people's minds! And, yet, this is exactly what they are missing out on.  

For it to take 30 years between public displays of what people think could be healing exorcisms or not is way too long. Meanwhile, this suggests that other religious activities – like masses, sermons, and singing – are just there to fill in the yawning gap between supposed miracles. It is a sad but inevitable reality that the millions of religious followers around the world are forever doomed to be trapped in a wait-and-hope struggle with their faiths, and will never experience healing of their problems during their lifetimes via this pathway.

Update:

The sufferer in the video has subsequently stated that although he feels better after the encounter with the Pope, he still feels possessed. He also stated that he “has undergone 30 exorcisms by ten exorcists to no avail”.

References:

“Pope Francis' blessing on disabled man looked like exorcism, say experts”, news.com.au, (online), News Limited, May 22, 2013, (accessed 8 June 2013),
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/experts-say-pope-francis-action-on-disabled-man-look-like-exorcism/story-fndir2ev-1226647985418

“Man who Pope Francis allegedly performed an exorcism on claims to be still possessed”, Irish Central, (online), IrishCentral LLC, Updated Tuesday, June 4, 2013, (accessed 8 June 2013),
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Man-who-Pope-Francis-allegedly-performed-an-exorcism-on-claims-to-be-still-possessed----VIDEO-210049301.html