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This is a general overview of the unusual spiritual problems and how the Church addresses them.

Hauntings, Possessions, and Exorcisms (2017)

This is a survey of the many kinds of miracles and how the Church regards them.

The Catholic Guide to Miracles (2021)

This is a collection of stories from cases that have some teaching value for the public.

The Exorcism Files (2022)

The history of the rite of exorcism is complex and interesting. See how we got to how things are done today.

The History of Exorcism (2023)

Debbie and I, host of The Spirit World, can appear at a venue, give a talk, answer questions, and possibly do the show live from the location. Travel times are limited. You can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.

I have provided training at clergy days, seminaries, exorcism conferences, the Leo XIII exorcism school, and for particular priest exorcists. Please contact me through the Pittsburgh diocese.

Being a church decreed expert on religious demonology and exorcism that has taught at conferences, seminaries, the Pope Leo XIII institute, and clergy days. Assisting at somewhere between 1500 and 2000 exorcisms, and teaching exorcist priests in most of those. Having a masters in adult clinical psychology and a Licentiate in Canon Law. Working in psychological services in forensic settings, seeing all forms of mental illness and human evil.

Demons are angels that fell of their own free will at the beginning of creation. They are purely spiritual beings, having no physicality. They are permanently separated from God, having made a permeant choice to rebel.

Their ordinary activity is tempting people to sin, which they are allowed to do our whole lives. This is very common and has been going on since the garden of Eden. This should not cause undo fear or concern. It is like learning about bacteria: you can't see it, it has always been there, and you need to take precautions against it.

Their extraordinary activity is broken down into troubling places, attacking people, and possessing people. These are called demonic infestation, oppression/obsession, and demonic possession. Possession is RARE, meaning about one new case in a diocese per year.

The Church asking that, in the name of Jesus Christ, a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One, and withdrawn from his dominion. Simple exorcisms are meant to address original sin, and are performed at the celebration of Baptism. Solemn exorcism are meant to liberate demonically possessed people, and can only be performed by a priest with permission from their bishop. See paragraph 1673 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Canon 1172 of the Code of Canon Law.

The signs taken to substantiate demonic possession are:

• Fluency in all languages, including ancient languages and dialects. This is not knowing a few words or a phrase, but complete understanding and production of languages. In one case a person raised in a rural area with a High School education knew English, French, Latin, Lithuanian, and German. In another case a person who only knew English communicated in Icelandic, but in the grammar from about six hundred years ago. Mental illness does make you fluent in all languages.
• Knowledge of hidden things. These include a person's secret sins and the most shameful things they have done, including things where no one else was present. These are not things that are online about the person. They also sometimes recount mundane details about a person's life to scare them. Epilepsy does not make you know people's secret sins.
• Reacting to the holy (when it is not obvious). Possessed people can identify whether things have been blessed or not, and whether holy objects are in a closed box or not. They know whether water has been blessed or not just by getting near it (there is no odor to blessed water to detect, it is just water with a bit of salt in it). Demons sometimes reference the name of the saint's relic one has in their pocket, that one has not taken out or mentioned.
• Strength beyond their state in life. The strength that demons can cause in the human body is remarkable. It is not just a burst of adrenaline like the mother lifting a car off their child, but sustained for many minutes or hours. We have seen a woman launch a large man into the air with one arm.

There are very rare signs that also substantiate demonic possession. These include levitation, both hovering about twelve inches off the ground and flying up into the air many feet. There was one case where a child was walking on the ceiling of a principles office.

There are things that are commonly misunderstood as demonic possession. Schizophrenia is the most common, as they almost always have mean voices they hear all day and all night. Bipolar with psychotic features, urinary tract infections, specific brain problems, and other medical problems are sometimes mistaken for demonic possession. None of these produce the signs listed above.

Avoid wicca, witchcraft, and Satanism. Basically avoid all forms of black magic and the occult. Do not ghost hunt. Do not consult psychics and mediums. Do not use Ouija boards. Do not live a life of deep and persistent sin that gets worse and worse. Do not take street drugs, which may be cursed by people who appeal to the demonic.

The Church is organized by diocese. Unless you are in the Pittsburgh diocese I cannot get directly involved in a specific case. You need to contact the central administration of your diocese, usually called a 'Pastoral Center,' and ask them if they have someone who looks into these type of cases.

For a number of years I have been privileged to co-host the global EWTN radio show The Spirit World with my friend Debbie Georgianni. The show is produced by The Guadalupe Radio Network and won the 2025 Best Radio Program Gabriel award from The Catholic Media Association.

Our radio show is carried by all of the major podcasting platforms.

I continue to write and have a book in the editing phase now. A number of additional books are planned.

I have been interviewed for a number of TV shows, and for many youtube channels.

I have consulted on a number of scripts as a subject matter expert.