Oh, Paranormal State, where even the pagans are Catholic.
Well, that was a hot mess.
I remain convinced that this is anti-Catholic propeganda, because, really, I can’t believe the Church would let priests participate in the banishment of demons as sidekicks to some Captain Kirk wannabe. What terrible PR.
I mean, I’m not Catholic, but I assumed that the benefits of having priests around is so that your salvation isn’t in the hands of whatever jackass can get his hands on a Bible and a motion-detector, but I could be wrong.
On the other hand, I was glad to see that they gave some attention to the real problems of the people they investigated. And I’m glad to know that having a dirty house is a sign of demonic activity. That will give me a great excuse when my parents get here next week.
I wanted to clean, but some demon kept me from it.
Tiny Cat Pants 
I’ve never watched Paranomal State, and until this moment in time I don’t think I had ever even heard about it. I’m in a wierd, unfocused place right now.
Anyway, I can’t imagine they have a real Catholic priest handling the exorcism (if that is indeed what they are doing) because the first rule of exorcism is to make sure that there are not any viable receptacles for the expelled demons in the immediate vicinity. (Remember Jesus and the pigs? And doesn’t that sound like the best band name ever?)
I doubt that a true Catholic exorcist would perform an exorcism with anyone else (i.e. a camera crew) in the room.
—
Or I’m totally wrong. According to the revised 1999 ROE I’ve found, bystanders are okay if they’re sprinkled with holy water.
Personally, were I a priest I would not have bystanders at an exorcism.
No, Coble, this is exactly what’s so disturbing about how they edit the show. The paranormal investigators stumble on a really fucked up household. They decide there is some paranormal activity and call in a priest. But then, they don’t really let the priest do anything and, then, knowing that the folks are going to be battling a demon, said priest doesn’t bother to show up for the battle and exorcism. He leaves that in the hands of the lay people.
Let me repeat: the priest says he agrees there’s a demon present and also does not show up for the demonic showdown and, by virtue of his not showing up, leaves an exorcism in the hands of lay people.
Now, if these guys were Protestant, I wouldn’t have any problem with that.
But Catholic? That priest should be taking charge, not calling in sick.
Also, you would have loved the pagan woman who prayed to all the archangels. It was hilarious.
Not that easy…in the Catholic faith, exorcisms are very tightly controlled rituals and have to be approved up the chain of command, only after a medical and psychological exam is done to rule out other explanations. Priests can believe whatever they want to, but they have to have permission to do it. Exorcisms are rarely performed and when performed, they aren’t the type of thing that bishops would be ok’ing to film for shits and giggles on A & E.
Hmm. Well, then it seems problematic to involve priests at all. Because here I am, as an outsider thinking the priest is just heartless, but his hands are genuinely tied.
So, why even be on the show?
Hopefully this show will be gone soon. It makes those of us who are serious researchers look bad. In my 20 years experience as a research medium I have never encountered a demon. According to this show we are overrun with them. This could actually be harmful to some of the people who watch it.
It used to be if the kid saw a monster under the bed, Dad would turn the lights on and show him there was nothing to fear. Now that Dad is watching a show like this he thinks the kid is seeing demons instead.
Some people actually believe these shows are real. Come on people it is all about the money. They are not trying to educate the public. Horror has always been a big seller. It is no accident that they use the same tactics for these paranormal “reality” shows.
If you want the real thing write to A & E and tell them. I have a real documentary about the spirit at the Hotel Del Coronado. It is filmed in the light of day and backed up by some hard evidence. The networks are not interested because it is not scary.
http://www.sdparanormal.com/page/page/507340.htm
IMHO,
Bonnie Vent
San Diego Paranormal Research Project
http://www.sdparanormal.com
I was under the impression that exorcists from the Catholic church take forever and a day to process the case before it ever get the a full exorcism. Obviously, I’m not Catholic, but that was the impression I’ve had for years.
The “pagan” ritual was a hoot. Calling on Christian Archangles? I guess she didn’t have much faith in her own faith. Not to mention chanting was hysterically funny. Every note off-key
If I was the person living in the trailer, I’d be mortified to have a film crew there recording deplorable condition of my home. Have they no self-respect?
you would have loved the pagan woman who prayed to all the archangels. It was hilarious.
I’ve been known to pray to Moroni, Ba’al and Cthuhlu when I need something done in a trice.
/sarc
I’ve a feeling I won’t be turning into PS anytime soon because it sounds like one of those “religions are teh funneh” shows that can’t get a single religion right.
As for the ROE controversy, I think they probably just called the “priest” for confirmation because after the movie nobody believes that exorcism can be done without a priest.
True, which is weird because the bulk of malign spirit interventions performed inside the cover of the “Catholic folk tradition” are done by laypersons…I guess you can’t call them exorcisms because they aren’t done by priests, but they are intended to cast out whatever’s riding a feller and they use the conventions and ritual objects of the Church.
I couldn’t find a page for the other episodes, so I’ll talk about a few of them here:
First, Katrina is pretty hot. If she were to lose 20 pounds she’d be the obvious choice for Ryan to hook up with, since every girl in their little group seems to be in total awe of that total loser.
Also: it’s easy to figure out the name of the “demon” that is “following” Ryan: Belial, one belonging to both Jewish and Catholic lore.
Regarding the episode about the “Emily” ghost: I googled any murder victims in San Antonio named Emily, and I found that the girl’s name was Emily Garcia. Contradicting this episode’s huge revelation, however–and the so-called proof of Savannah’s gift–is that the newspaper article I saw was attached to this headline: “Pregnant Woman Found Dead.” So why is this show making things up out of thin air? (I can understand making up the ghost stuff. That’s all for fun. But this is kind of like lying, isn’t it?)
If your trying to make sense of a show that doesn’t make sense, make yourself a reservation for a stay in a padded room. And while your at it, make one for the mother/daughter from “Emily”. They have some past issues of assult/abuse and Savannah ends up with an imaginary friend with similar circumstances. Even my untrained and slightly alcohol impaired brain can see it. I wish them well and hope they find the right path. Telling her that she is a medium is not the help she needs.
I think this show is however honing my medium skills. When I watch I get this voice that keeps shouting ” I see dumb people”.
It’s no surprise that many of you are slamming this show and the existance of demons. The vast majority of you are simply demon-infested and wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped you in the face.
Yes, that’s it. We all have demons. That’s clearly the most likely scenario, not that this show sucks infected donkey balls.