Interview With The Exorcist

Is this typical? In the past, have other Popes received people for exorcisms?
I can't answer that question because I don't know. Pope Paul VI spoke a great deal about exorcism, but I have never heard of any record of what he did. Most of the records of things like this are kept in the diocese or chanceries. If an exorcism doesn't happen outside of a public situation, most people wouldn't know about them.

Has the application of exorcisms changed over the time?
Basically, no. The ritual dates back to the 14th century. The last serious revision was done in 1614. We did some minor revisions in 1962 and the English language was allowed to be used at that time.

How many exorcisms are performed each year in the United States?
The only thing I can tell you is that we in New York do 25 per year. One year we had 60, but other years average about 25.

There's been a revival, right? When did that begin?
There have always been exorcisms. The '70s and '80s were kind of a low point. But they began to pick up again towards the end of the '80s.

How many have you worked on personally?
I've done about 40 now.

Have you seen anything like Linda Blair's Regan in "The Exorcist?"
Much of what's in there, I've seen. I've never seen any high levitation, though. I've never seen any spitting up of material.