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The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel
Anna Elisabeth Michel was a German woman who had been subjected to Catholic rites of exorcism during the year before her death. She was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis (temporary lobe epilepsy) and had a history of psychiatric therapy which was not effective in general.
When Michel was 16, she experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with psychosis due to temporal lobe epilepsy. She was diagnosed with depression shortly afterward and received treatment from a psychiatric hospital. By the time she was 20, she had become intolerant of different religious objects and began to hear voices. Her condition worsened despite her medication and she became suicidal, showing other symptoms too, for which she also took medication. Having failed to improve her symptoms after five years of taking psychiatric medication, Michel and her family became convinced that a demon had possessed her. Hence her family appealed to the Catholic Church for an exorcism.
As a result, her family invoked an exorcism for the Catholic Church. While initially rejected, two priests obtained permission from the local bishop in 1975, after much hesitation. The priests began exorcism sessions, and the parents stopped consulting physicians. Anneliese Michel stopped eating food, and died after 67 sessions of exorcism due to malnutrition and dehydration. The parents of Michel and the two Roman Catholic priests were found guilty of negligent homicide and sentenced to six months ‘ imprisonment (reduced to three years ‘ probation) as well as a fine.
In the Catholic Church, when the person strictly meets the set criteria, official approval for an exorcism is given, then they are considered to be suffering from possession (infestatio) and under demonic control. Some of the first indications are an intense dislike for religious objects and supernatural powers. Michel physically worsened, exhibiting aggression, self-injury, drinking her own urine, and eating insects. Michel began her treatment with Tegretol, an anti-seizure drug and mood stabilizer, in November 1973. During the course of religious rites, she was prescribed anti-psychotic drugs and took them frequently until some time before her death.
In September of the same year, in accordance with the Rituale Romanum of 1614, Bishop Josef Stangl granted priest Arnold Renz permission to exorcise but ordered total secrecy. Renz sat in his first session on 24 September. Michel began speaking more and more about “dying to atone for the stupid youth of the day and apostate priests of the modern church” and she refused to eat to the end. Her parents stopped consulting with doctors on her request at this point and relied solely on rites of exorcism. 67 Sessions of exorcism; one or two sessions a week were held in 1975–76, lasting up to four hours, for about ten months.
On 1 July 1976, Anneliese Michel had died at her home. The autopsy report stated that the cause was malnutrition and dehydration, as it was in a semi-starvation state for almost a year while exorcism rites were being performed. She was weighing 30 kilograms (68 pounds) and suffering from continuous genuflections and knees broken. She could not move without help and reportedly suffered from pneumonia
The trial began at the district court on 30 March 1978 and drew intense interest. Doctors testified before the court that Michel was not possessed, stating that this was a psychological effect due to her strict religious upbringing and her epilepsy, but doctor Richard Roth, who had been asked for medical help by Alt, allegedly told her during the exorcism that “there is no injection of the devil, Anneliese.”
The bishop said when he approved of the exorcism he was not aware of her alarming health condition, and did not testify. The accused were found guilty of negligent manslaughter and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment (which was later suspended) and three years’ probation.
After the trial, the parents requested permission from the authorities to exhume their daughter’s remains. The official reason the parents presented to authorities was that Michel had been buried in a cheap coffin in an undue hurry. On 25 February 1978, nearly two years after the burial, her remains were replaced in a new oak coffin lined with tin.
Source: Controversy and Mystery
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