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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Re. Malachi Martin	Alex	Friday, April 6, 2012
Question: "You say Martin has given some false info concerning exorcism..." Just in case this is helpful to you Brother, I think I recall a couple of Martin's errors. One was an exorcism account that included a priest being mocked by a devil for certain past sins of his youth. This contradicts what real exorcists have said, which is that once sins are validly confessed, they are no longer known to the demons. This is partly why those who assist at exorcisms are advised to go to confession beforehand. Also, Martin talks about the idea of 'perfect possession' where the victim no longer has any control of their body or will. These people are supposedly unable to be exorcised. However, demons can never possess the will, that is why any person can be freed by exorcism, even if they willingly sold their soul. Fr. Fortea mentions this specifically, that even if you sell your soul, you can simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed. Martin also had wacky ideas about John Paul, the Vatican, etc. It's too bad Martin was such a good writer, his errors have become widely accepted. Even Fr. Eutenauer, while he was in good standing as an exorcist, fell for this erroneous idea and talked about it in his book. It's been over a decade since I've read the book, so I'm sorry I can't recall any more.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r) Dear Alex: Martin biggest mistake in in the concept of what he calls "The Clash". He says this is the "singular battle of wills between exorcist and Evil Spirit. Painful as it will be for him, the priest must look for the Clash. He must provoke it. If he cannot lock wills with the evil thing and force that thing to lock its will in opposition to his own, then again the exorcist is defeated." While I do not like using the term "perfect possesion" because, frankly Martin coined the phrase, the state of what he called the "perfect possession" is a reality. While Martin is a bad resource that does not mean that every word he utters is wrong. We must remember that even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day. As for "perfect possession" you are misunderstanding what it is. The reason why a person has "perfect possession" and is unable to be freed is not because Satan has taken over the person's will preventing the person from choosing to seek help. The reason he cannot be helped is because the possessed person freely chooses to remain possessed. One cannot be delivered without his consent of will. The perfectly possessed do not give that consent because they do not want to, not because Satan is forcing them. This is like the unforgiveable sin that is unforgivable because the person chooses to reject God's grace all the way to his grave. This is what perfect possession is actually, the person cannot be helped because he does not want any help. He is committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (the unforgivable sin). In a similar manner that only God can know if a person has committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we cannot really know if the possessed person is truly "perfectly possessed." We might suspect it, but unless God reveals it to us, we must always presume hope. Fr. Euteneuer, in his book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, speaks about this: Malachi Martin's description of "perfect possession" in Chapter 2, question 25 accurately describes the state. In essence, the term describes a person who has made the intentional decision subjugate his will to the devil and he lives in a state of total possession by a controlling spirit or spirits. Furthermore, he is a person who is perfectly aware of the eternal consequences of his decision and perseveres in that state with full knowledge and consent of the will. Perfectly possessed people look like "normal" human beings and may often be well-respected members of the community, often willing great power and influence, even if on a smaller scale. These individuals are the walking dammed, and they cannot be helped, nor will they come for help from the exorcist, except perhaps to test him or persecuting him. By the way, Fr. Euteneuer's book came out in the Fall of 2010, about one month before the scandal broke. The book was removed from sale immediately. Few people have a copy. That is unfortunate since this book is probably the best book that gives a survey of spiritual warfare. I have a copy, however, and use the book in our training of deliverance counselor. The next best book, by the way, is The Catholic Warrior by Robert Abel. I do not believe that Fr. Fortea said that all one must do is to "simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed." That is utter nonsense. There are never any guarantees that a person will be freed for a variety of reasons. We have an example in the Bible in which St. Paul was being harassed by a demon. He asked God to take it away three times and God said no three times. We know why because the Scripture tells us. God said no in order to keep St. Paul humble. There are cases in which a solemn exorcism has been performed daily on a person for weeks or even months with no effect. Repeated exorcisms often are needed, sometimes over a course of even years in some cases. There is nothing simple about it. The deeper Satan gets into one's life the harder it is to get him out. To "simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed" normally works only on low-level and trivial bondage. I say trivial in comparison to the cases in which it is extremely hard to cast out the demons because of profoundly serious bondage. I am not saying that everyone with a deep demonization has to receive multiple exorcisms or deliverance prayer over a long period of time, but it is something that happens often. On demonizations that do not rise to the level of possession, and thereby not eligible for a solemn exorcism, deliverance counseling and prayer is the approach that can be taken. Freedom can take years depending on the severity of the demonization. I suspect that you misread Fr. Fortea, misunderstood him, or are taking the statement out of context. I do not know a single experienced exorcist anywhere in the world that would agree with the statement you say comes from Fr. Fortea. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Re. Malachi Martin

Alex

Friday, April 6, 2012

Question:

"You say Martin has given some false info concerning exorcism..."

Just in case this is helpful to you Brother, I think I recall a couple of Martin's errors. One was an exorcism account that included a priest being mocked by a devil for certain past sins of his youth. This contradicts what real exorcists have said, which is that once sins are validly confessed, they are no longer known to the demons. This is partly why those who assist at exorcisms are advised to go to confession beforehand.

Also, Martin talks about the idea of 'perfect possession' where the victim no longer has any control of their body or will. These people are supposedly unable to be exorcised. However, demons can never possess the will, that is why any person can be freed by exorcism, even if they willingly sold their soul. Fr. Fortea mentions this specifically, that even if you sell your soul, you can simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed.

Martin also had wacky ideas about John Paul, the Vatican, etc. It's too bad Martin was such a good writer, his errors have become widely accepted. Even Fr. Eutenauer, while he was in good standing as an exorcist, fell for this erroneous idea and talked about it in his book.

It's been over a decade since I've read the book, so I'm sorry I can't recall any more.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Alex:

Martin biggest mistake in in the concept of what he calls "The Clash". He says this is the "singular battle of wills between exorcist and Evil Spirit. Painful as it will be for him, the priest must look for the Clash. He must provoke it. If he cannot lock wills with the evil thing and force that thing to lock its will in opposition to his own, then again the exorcist is defeated."

While I do not like using the term "perfect possesion" because, frankly Martin coined the phrase, the state of what he called the "perfect possession" is a reality. While Martin is a bad resource that does not mean that every word he utters is wrong. We must remember that even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day.

As for "perfect possession" you are misunderstanding what it is. The reason why a person has "perfect possession" and is unable to be freed is not because Satan has taken over the person's will preventing the person from choosing to seek help. The reason he cannot be helped is because the possessed person freely chooses to remain possessed. One cannot be delivered without his consent of will. The perfectly possessed do not give that consent because they do not want to, not because Satan is forcing them.

This is like the unforgiveable sin that is unforgivable because the person chooses to reject God's grace all the way to his grave. This is what perfect possession is actually, the person cannot be helped because he does not want any help. He is committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (the unforgivable sin). In a similar manner that only God can know if a person has committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we cannot really know if the possessed person is truly "perfectly possessed." We might suspect it, but unless God reveals it to us, we must always presume hope.

Fr. Euteneuer, in his book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, speaks about this:

Malachi Martin's description of "perfect possession" in Chapter 2, question 25 accurately describes the state. In essence, the term describes a person who has made the intentional decision subjugate his will to the devil and he lives in a state of total possession by a controlling spirit or spirits. Furthermore, he is a person who is perfectly aware of the eternal consequences of his decision and perseveres in that state with full knowledge and consent of the will. Perfectly possessed people look like "normal" human beings and may often be well-respected members of the community, often willing great power and influence, even if on a smaller scale. These individuals are the walking dammed, and they cannot be helped, nor will they come for help from the exorcist, except perhaps to test him or persecuting him.

By the way, Fr. Euteneuer's book came out in the Fall of 2010, about one month before the scandal broke. The book was removed from sale immediately. Few people have a copy. That is unfortunate since this book is probably the best book that gives a survey of spiritual warfare. I have a copy, however, and use the book in our training of deliverance counselor. The next best book, by the way, is The Catholic Warrior by Robert Abel.

I do not believe that Fr. Fortea said that all one must do is to "simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed." That is utter nonsense. There are never any guarantees that a person will be freed for a variety of reasons. We have an example in the Bible in which St. Paul was being harassed by a demon. He asked God to take it away three times and God said no three times. We know why because the Scripture tells us. God said no in order to keep St. Paul humble.

There are cases in which a solemn exorcism has been performed daily on a person for weeks or even months with no effect. Repeated exorcisms often are needed, sometimes over a course of even years in some cases. There is nothing simple about it.

The deeper Satan gets into one's life the harder it is to get him out. To "simply renounce the sinful act, repent, and be freed" normally works only on low-level and trivial bondage. I say trivial in comparison to the cases in which it is extremely hard to cast out the demons because of profoundly serious bondage.

I am not saying that everyone with a deep demonization has to receive multiple exorcisms or deliverance prayer over a long period of time, but it is something that happens often.

On demonizations that do not rise to the level of possession, and thereby not eligible for a solemn exorcism, deliverance counseling and prayer is the approach that can be taken. Freedom can take years depending on the severity of the demonization.

I suspect that you misread Fr. Fortea, misunderstood him, or are taking the statement out of context. I do not know a single experienced exorcist anywhere in the world that would agree with the statement you say comes from Fr. Fortea.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.