A Sprague woman who spent six years seeking an exorcism because she was tormented by "demons" plans to demonstrate in front of the Norwich Diocese today to raise awareness about the issue.
Ms. B., who asked not to be identified by name, at one point was possessed by 19 demonic spirits and spoke in "a tongue in which she is not familiar" in a session with her psychiatrist, according to mental and spiritual assessments of her.
The 51-year-old former schoolteacher's case sheds light on the continuing practice of exorcism -- the ancient rite of casting out Satan and his demons from the souls of possessed -- which still is practiced in some religious circles, including the Roman Catholic Church.
Exorcism has been in the news in recent years, ranging from a report that an exorcism was performed on Mother Teresa before she died in 1997 to an exorcism on a 19-year-old Italian woman who displayed superhuman strength.
"Exorcism is more readily available today in the United States than perhaps ever before," Michael Cuneo, a sociologist at Fordham University, writes in his book, "American Exorcism."
The Catholic Church has at least 10 official exorcists in the United States, nine more than a decade ago, Cuneo said.
Cuneo said most exorcisms are performed by Protestant denominations.
Roman Catholic exorcisms are carefully planned rituals that can include holy water, crucifixes and sacred ruins, according to De Exorcismus et supplicationibus quibusdam, a manual approved by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
However, getting one in eastern Connecticut isn't easy, which is why Ms. B plans to protest at noon today in front of the Norwich Diocese at 201 Broad St.
"I'll be carrying a sign and have my head covered in a hood. I want public exposure for the unpardonable neglect of people who are possessed by a demon," she said.
Ms. B's story is one of torment, rejection and uncertainty. After traveling from town to town and state to state seeking an exorcism, she said she obtained one from a Missionary and Alliance seminary in Nyack, N.Y., in 1999.
The symptoms started in 1993. "I heard hateful voices, I had an involuntary blurb here or there. I had involuntary motions. For example, if I had been cutting a vegetable, the knife would move. My eyes would move without my permission," she said at an interview in her home Tuesday.
Possessed
Ms. B has lived in Connecticut with her husband since 1980. She worked full time as a schoolteacher at a Narragansett school until 1999, when she couldn't concentrate any more. The episodes had her convinced she was possessed by a demon. She started contacting local priests and doctors to no avail.
"We're in a secular age where this is not easy to believe," she said, explaining the process was hard because mental health professionals seemed leery of someone being possessed by a demon, and leaned toward other medical diagnoses at first. However, Dr. Gerald Flamm, a psychiatrist who evaluated her in from 1994-95, wrote that "she is firmly convinced of being possessed and this has been reinforced by her occasionally involuntarily and with no awareness speaking in a tongue with which she is not familiar. This happened at one session with me, so I can attest to the event."
Another doctor reported bizarre behavior that he could not fully diagnose.
In the early stages of the process, Ms. B received character references from church clergy and employers to prove she was sane. The "possession" plagued her mind so much it was difficult to work, so she started a part-time job taking care of the elderly, where she works now.
In the spring of 1995, Jackie Keller, now spokeswoman for the Norwich Diocese, referred Ms. B's request for an exorcism to the Rev. Bernard Bush at the Jesuit Retreat House in Los Altos, Calif. Bush then referred her back to Connecticut in Hartford, to a "Father A" who agreed to see her. Little came out of that session.
"Father 'A' misassessed me to my face, even when I'd writhed a bit holding a crucifix and spat out the holy water he'd given me," the report reads.
The prayer group with Father A resulted in a spiritual assessment of her, listing 19 different demonic spirits assigned to her. They included Masonic spirits from her mother's father, a spirit of "voodoo" associated with occult dabbling by ancestors and a seaman involved in the African slave trade.
After several trips to New York, Dr. John Ellenberger and his wife in Nyack finally called in Ms. B for an exorcism.
In March 2001, she wrote to Pope John Paul II in Italy, the Rev. Daniel A. Cronin of the Hartford Archdiocese, Bishop Daniel Hart of the Norwich Diocese and several other ministers about her years of suffering. She stated she'd been refused an exorcism in six dioceses in three different states with a well-documented case.
Church cautious
Those who spoke for the dioceses in Connecticut said they don't recall Ms. B, and that the church always takes precautions when dealing with someone who may be or thinks he or she is possessed. They say that exorcisms are real but are rare.
"We don't have an exorcist here in the diocese," Keller said, explaining that a person wanting an exorcism first would have to talk to her pastor and then her pastor would have to talk to the bishop.
The Rev. John Gatzik, director of communications for the Hartford Archdiocese, would not say whether there is an exorcist within the archdiocese. He said such information is not to be disclosed.
People often have psychological problems when they think they're possessed by a demon, Gatzik said.
"I can tell you that exorcisms in church are rare, and before the church would jump to any conclusion, every logical call would be made to look for probable cause," he said, adding "that would include a referral to psychologist or psychiatrist to find a natural cause to the person's problem."
There has been at least one exorcist within the Hartford Archdiocese, Gatzik said.