by Michael G. Mickey
(3-22-08)

Does the New Oxford Review, a monthly orthodox Catholic publication, document an actual and confirmed case of demonic possession? If so, its reporting by Richard E. Gallagher raises many questions for those who want us to believe there is no God.

Logically, if a case for demonic possession can be made complete with evidence revealing that supernatural events took place alongside an alleged possession incident, it stands to reason that, convexly, there must be a God in existence for these supernatural elements to demonstrate their opposition to.

In question, in my opinion, is the character and qualifications of the author of the article appearing in the March edition of New Oxford Review. To draw a conclusion as to the veracity of his claims, we need to know something of his knowledge of mental illness and his spiritual background. Absent of that, we don't know if it is even feasible for us to suspect he may have documented such an event.

Richard E. Gallagher, according to New Oxford Review, is "a board-certified psychiatrist in private practice in Hawthorne, New York, and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at New York Medical College. He is also on the faculties of the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Institute and a Roman Catholic seminary. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University, magna cum laude in Classics, and trained in Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Gallagher is the only American psychiatrist to have been a consistent U.S. delegate to the International Association of Exorcists, and has addressed its plenary session."

If all of the above doesn't demonstrate Gallagher to be, at the very least, of sound mind to make such a claim, I'm at a loss as to what one would require for him to be considered a credible witness concerning what he documented. Having said that, I concede that an argument could be made that his interest in exorcism could place a bias on his findings. On the other hand, however, who would one expect to investigate a case of demonic possession other than someone with an interest in same, right?

The Case

A WorldNetDaily.com article indicates that the subject of Gallagher's inquiry was an American woman who "levitated, demonstrated paranormal psychic powers and spoke foreign languages unknown to her." The woman in question did these things, according to WorldNetDaily, in the presence of Gallagher, a team of priests, deacons, several lay assistants, psychiatrists and nuns. There were many witnesses to this event if we are to believe Gallagher.

The woman, who had been involved in Satanism, reportedly did the following. She:

• demonstrated psychokinetic abilities (the ability to move objects with one's mind).
• made threats against those present.
• taunted those present while using scatological language.
• used third person phrases like 'Leave her alone, you idiot,' 'She's ours,' 'Leave, you imbecile priest,' or just 'Leave.'
• displayed a marked contempt for anything religious or sacred.
• spoke to those present and revealed personal information about them she could not possibly have known outside of supernatural means.
• spoke recognizable Latin and Spanish during an exorcism ritual although she speaks only English.
• demonstrated extraordinary physical strength.
• levitated for approximately 30 minutes "about half a foot in the air."

If Gallagher's documentation is factual, he and those present witnessed an event similar to events described in the Bible, one of which is recorded in Matthew 17:14-21.

In that case, a man came before Jesus pleading for help for his son, having previously (and unsuccessfully I might add) approached the disciples in an effort to have the demon possessing the young man removed from him. Scripture reveals that Jesus was easily capable of removing the demon but the disciples, who Christ had already given the power to cast out demons, were disturbed.

Why hadn't they been able to drive the demon from the man?

Jesus told them, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

While I don't know Richard E. Gallagher personally to form an opinion as to his reliability in presenting this matter to the New Oxford Review, there are, as we see in the case presented in Matthew 17:14-21, some people who are possessed of demons every bit as powerful as the one Richard Gallagher indicates he encountered. These demons would resist the command of a righteous man to leave the body of one possessed to the point exhaustive efforts like those we would associate with an exorcism would be required to remove the demon from a person just as Jesus described in Scripture.

I'm not saying I believe in the ritualistic practice of exorcism of demons we commonly see portrayed in movies and the like but I can see how a demon exposed to the name of Christ over and over and over would eventually be forced to succumb to His name, regardless of who was speaking it to the demon through Scripture or in what manner.

In closing, the verdict on how truthfully Gallagher documented what he saw is out, but if what he says he witnessed occurred as he recorded it, there is little doubt he witnessed a bona fide case of demonic possession.

It's too bad that a skeptic the likes of Richard Dawkins, author of the atheistic book "The God Delusion" couldn't have been along for that ride. Why? Because a supernatural event of a demonic nature wherein opposition to all things righteous is observed is quite revealing. An event of that nature screams in volumes that there IS a God. If not, a demonic spirit so powerful it could hold a human body up in the air for 30 minutes would never be able to be removed under threat of a non-existent God's wrath.

Something for us to think about, isn't it?