Contrary to what you might think, exorcisms are still sanctioned by the Catholic Church, but the majority of exorcisms today are done by fanatics who probably watch too many movies.
Take the exorcisms that one group of young South Koreans performed on a woman in Germany that ended up killing her, for example. Five relatives of one unfortunate woman were arrested for manslaughter after beating her to death.
The 41-year-old woman was found dead in the Frankfurt InterContinental Hotel with bruises all over her chest and stomach. A towel and a coat hanger were pushed into her mouth to keep her quiet during what they thought was an exorcism.
German police also found another victim in a basement in Sulzbach — a town that’s west of Frankfurt. She was also bound and gagged during an exorcism. She was fortunately discovered by police before she died of dehydration.
The five suspects in custody are all relatives of one of the victims — including the first woman’s 15-year-old son, who police say took part in the savagery.
Police were unable to determine the religious affiliation of the exorcists, but the local bishop insists that exorcisms require his permission. These rituals were unsanctioned by the church.
There’s nothing worse than when someone hijacks the beliefs of a religion to inflict harm on others. Whatever was going on with these people, they clearly got carried away.