Interview With The Exorcist

Is it true that Protestants do more exorcisms than Catholics?
You have some of Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, and what I would call splinter churches doing exorcisms right and left. So my answer to that is probably yes, because they don't take time to determine if someone really needs it.

Does possession happen to older people as well?
A person can need an exorcism who's five years old, or 75 years old, if the devil chooses to move in on them.

How long does the process last?
It varies from case to case. But the majority are probably two- or three-day sessions, and then they're generally okay. But I have some that I've gone back four or five times on.

How does one know when a demon has been purged?
They certainly change in their personality, in the things that they can do. And they change in their orientation toward God.

How do you know that the demon's been extinguished as opposed to simply subdued?
In an exorcism, we command the devil, in the name of Jesus, to tell us his name and the date and hour of his departure. It's a sign that he's leaving or has left.

Ever seen a repossession?
That can happen, too, if a person is delivered from the hands of the devil and refuses to lead back into a good life or lapses back into a bad life. The devil could move right in again.