Expert: Fr. Michael - 12/6/2006

Question
Why is it that when the Catholic Church suspects someone of being possessed, it subjects the person to months of psycholgical "testing" before actually performing an exorcism? Why the caution? If a person were actually just mentally disturbed, rather than really possessed, would an exorcism really cause that much harm? I just don't understand the-what seems to me-excessive caution.  

Answer
If someone were dying of cancer, would it make sense to do some kind of pagan dance around him, or would it be the prudent and charitable thing to do to get him medical attention?  Sacrilege is a grave sin.  Caution is required, not optional.  Moreover, there is always the danger of scandal.