The Truth behind "Exorcism of Emily Rose"

[alternateyou]

A Tragic Case

In November 1973, Anneliese Michel, a young student at the University of Wurzburg, West Germany, was taken by her parents to see the parish priest in her hometown of Klingenberg. She had developed some worrisome signs of abnormal behavior at the university - refusing to eat, flying into violent rages, screaming, and trying to attack those around her - and her parents were deeply concerned.

In the priest’s view, Anneliese was possessed by demons, and he recommended a ritual exorcism. As Roman Catholic procedure requires, the case was investigated by a leading authority on exorcism and demonic possession, Father Adolf Rodewyk, an 81-year-old Jesuit. Father Rodewyk agreed with the priest’s diagnosis, and on his recommendation the regional bishop, Father Josef Stangl, gave permission for the exorcism to take place. The exorcists chosen for the task were the Reverend Arnold Renz and the Reverend Ernst Alt. By then Anneliese had been receiving medical treatment for epilepsy for four years.

On July 1, 1976, after several months of exorcism, Anneliese died of malnutrition and dehydration at the age of 23. She weighed 70 pounds. On March 2, 1978, the two exorcists and Anneliese’s parents were charged with negligent homicide, on the grounds that they had allowed the young girl’s condition to deteriorate to the point of death without seeking medical help for her. Bishop Stangl and Father Rodewyk, who seem not to have known that medical help was being withheld, were not charged. In April 1978, the two priests were found guilty and were given suspended prison sentences of six months.

For the Roman Catholic Church, the death of Anneliese Michel was a nightmare come true, demonstrating the dangers inherent in the ritual of exorcism and the murky distinctions between priestly and medical responsibility. In Father Rodewyk’s own handbook on possession and exorcism, originally published in 1963 and translated into English under the title “Possessed by Satan”, priests are urged to consider medical explanations for apparent possession. One section of the book, in fact, is titled “Let’s Not Always Think of Possession!” Father Rodewyk, outlining the bishop’s responsibilities, says that he “may appoint a commission of theologians and physicians to undertake a further investigation” and warns that the exorcists “must guard against playing the role of physician when encountering physiological symptoms.” He quotes the authorities Roman Ritual (of exorcism): “The exorcist should avoid giving or recommending any sort of medication to the possessed; that is the physician’s task.” Although such statements clearly suggest that a physician may sometimes be needed before and during an exorcism, there is no stipulation that a doctor MUST be in attendance.

This deficiency in church procedure was corrected, at least in Germany, after the conviction of the two priests in the Michel case. In May 1978 the German Bishops’ Conference ruled that in the future no exorcisms would be permitted unless a doctor was present.

( The New York Times, August 8, 1976; Adolf Rodewyk, Possessed by Satan, pp.11-20; Time, 111:80-81, August 8, 1978 )

[Tarheels.]

I dont know why but these things have always fascinated me. I love seeing these things, saw the movie today and I looked up the true facts on the story. The fact that the priest and parents were charged with murder was..flat out stupid. Anyways, my exorcism fascination probably is because of how when I was in 3rd grade I saw The Exorcist and..it didnt scare me. I thought it was odd how those things happened and of course I saw her face in nightmares. Its just odd that people can see these stories and still not belive in demons or god.

[Toe]

When I saw the name of the topic, I immediately thought that someone saw it, and it was actually a hardcore porn or something.

I need help....

[Lowerdeck]

I'm assuming you haven't got any of the commercials in Canada, cause they're all over the place in the U.S. It's getting plugged a hell of a lot on U.S. tv.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I hope it lives up to expectations.

[Toe]

We get the commercials, but the commercials for a movie can sometimes be misleading towards the actual content of the film.

From what I can tell, it ain't no Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland!

[alternateyou]

It was a pretty good flick, but don't buy the fact that it's "Based On a True Story". Because they use that term pretty loosley.

[Guest Pirate Bud the Staggering Drunk]

don't buy the fact that it's "Based On a True Story". Because they use that term pretty loosley.

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[Numbahs]

The fact that the priest and parents were charged with murder was..flat out stupid.

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Edited September 13, 2005 by Numbahs

[MalaCloudy Black]

Holy shit.

[ACCBiggz]

A Numbah's sighting...

From what I've read, most of the bits of the exorcism is shown in the previews, and the previews for the most part leave out the Courtroom drama aspect of this film

[Tarheels.]

The fact that the priest and parents were charged with murder was..flat out stupid.

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:thumbsdown:

DISAGREED~!

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[Skummy]

The fact that the priest and parents were charged with murder was..flat out stupid.

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:thumbsdown:

DISAGREED~!

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so I take it you don't belive in demons then. How else would you explain a situation like this, possesion is a real thing whether you want to belive it or not. There have been numerous possesions, how else would you explain bending in ways your body cant bend, speaking languages you've never even heard, the exrtremely violent spells on others and themselves. These people didn't kill this girl, the demons inside her did.

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I can't, but I'm sure there are perfectly logical explanations for all of them. Saying that it has to be Demons just because you can't prove anything else did it is ridiculous, because you can't prove it was Demons either.

[Tarheels.]

theres a few ways to prove its demons, the audio tapes. Sure it may be fake but who in the hell would go through all of the time to make a fake tape just to scare people into thinking demons are real. I've been looking around for the tape of the exorcism on the net because I heard its somewhere up here.

[Hugar Twriker Eats Spam]

The fact that the priest and parents were charged with murder was..flat out stupid.

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:thumbsdown:

DISAGREED~!

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[Tarheels.]

well Hugar, since you think its a joke then prove me wrong about it.....exactly. Theres no way to prove that somebody is wrong or right. Some people belive it and some people don't. But thats the only explanation I could see for the contortions of the body and the foreign languages.

[Godfatha]

The owness is on you to prove it was demon's.

That's like asking us to prove that Yeti's don't exist. Therefore we would have to show you each species in the world and then state that if they Yeti wasn't one of them, then they don't exist.

It's backwards logic.

You're making the assertion, therefore the owness is on you.

Epilepsy has been known to produce violent reactions in people and violent spasms. It has been documented that this girl had it. So there you go.

[Toe]

And those "tongues" being spoken could just be random gibberish.

I also saw a thing on TV where a boy faked a demonic possesion, and just made up fake words to fool his parents and the priest.

[Hugar Twriker Eats Spam]

In the movie she STUDIED the language. Maybe why she was having her reaction from the epilespy something in her brain clicked and she said them there words. Who knows. But all I know is until you prove that they exist you are a liar and I dont like people who lie.

[Tarheels.]

In the movie she STUDIED the language.  Maybe why she was having her reaction from the epilespy something in her brain clicked and she said them there words.  Who knows.  But all I know is until you prove that they exist you are a liar and I dont like people who lie.

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