This is a fair article. It underscores the confusion regarding the ritual of exorcism. Perhaps I could add information that may alleviate some of that confusion.
“I mean’ if there really was an omnipotent magic man in the sky, why can’t he just poof Satan out of existence ? “
This question has been asked since the time of the Hebrews. Why does God allow evil, or Satan, to exist? After ages has passed us by, there still is no definitive answer to this question and thus remains a mystery. But Christian, Jewish, and Islamic scholars are fairly certain that evil must exist in order for humans to be tempted, which, in turn, if we successfully resist that temptation, we then can better understand God and hence grow spiritually. This, connected with the gift of free-will, is why God allows Satan to exist. We, as humans, have the ability to resist temptation and evil. We ourselves condemn ourselves when we sin, but as good as God is, he pardons us for our evil-doing. The bottom line is this–the working of our human spirituality is very similar to that of the muscles of the human body. To develop a muscle, you need weight resistance. Weight resistance makes the muscle stronger, and shapes it to its perfection. The same principle can be used when describing spiritual growth. Resisting sin strengthens the spirit, which brings it closer to God. Without temptation and evil, goodness cannot be defined very easily. We need it to measure our spiritual growth. We can get into a deeper discussion about this, but I think you get the general picture.
Possession
Christ himself warned the apostles of Satan that there is one Demon that was very powerful. His name, or persona, is littered throughout the Bible. We know that persona to be Satan, whose name was once Lucifer. The description the priest gave regarding the determination of possession is correct. It is important to note that the person who is possessed is not the one that is violently reacting to anything sacred, it is the Demon. The ritual of exorcism is meant to remove the malignant spirit, and therefore, knowledge of other languages (languages the possessed could not have known), the possession of super-human strength, knowledge of things unknown, etc. all come from the Demon. The ritual aims to separate the human spirit from the evil one(s).
Now, before a priest determines if the case is authentic, a medical examination is required by a licenced doctor to negate the possibility of any mental disturbance or sickness. In other words, schizophrenia must be removed as a possibility that the inflicted is experiencing.
Exorcisms can last for hours, days, weeks, and rarely, for years. The afflicted must “want” to be set free, or the ritual will not work.
I will add more later, I have to run some errands. Talk to you soon.
