Question about possession

[Monica4316]

Hi…this is such a strange question, but I’m wondering something. Do people who are possessed by demons, always know it? and my second question is, what happens to a possessed person’s soul once they die? does the Church say anything on that?

thanks

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Hi…this is such a strange question, but I’m wondering something. Do people who are possessed by demons, always know it?

I doubt it. However, it is clear from a number of accounts that many possessed people are conscious of the spiritual presences influencing or controlling them.

and my second question is, what happens to a possessed person’s soul once they die? does the Church say anything on that?

If a person dies while possessed, they probably would go either to Hell or to Purgatory. I can’t imagine someone like that going straight to Heaven.

The fact is that when a demon forces a person to do something, the person is not culpable for that act because they did not do it. The demon did it through them. The person’s free will was not in control. Insane people have a similar situation. Their free will is often imperfect, so they are not always culpable for all that they do.

However, a person usually becomes possessed because they exposed themselves to evil in some way. If they become possessed through their own sins, those sins might be severe enough that they end up in Hell because of them. The possessed, like everyone else on Earth, are judged based on what they have done. If the sins of a possessed person are not mortal, the person will go to Heaven. If the sins of the possessed person are mortal, the person will go to Hell.

I’m not giving you official Church teaching when I say these things, but I doubt the Church has a teaching that covers the eternal future of all possessed souls.

 

[beckycmarie]

I don’t know the answer to your first question, but I have a response for question 2:

what happens to a possessed person’s soul once they die? does the Church say anything on that?

It depends on whether or not the person dies in a state of grace. It is possible to be in a state of grace and possessed. An example of this is detailed in the book Evidence of Satan in the Modern World by Msgr. Leon Cristiani. You can read about the case of Antoine Gay in Ch. 4, here:

ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/EVIDSATN.HTM

If the possessed person dies in the state of grace, he will go to Heaven or purgatory. If the person dies unrepentant in mortal sin, he will go to hell.

 

[Erethorn]

But what if possession itself, by denying one’s free will, prevents her/him from confessing/repenting a mortal sin ? And what if that possession was not due to her/his willing exposure to evil ? Do I see a hint of predestination here ?

 

[Student09]

But what if possession itself, by denying one’s free will, prevents her/him from confessing/repenting a mortal sin ? And what if that possession was not due to her/his willing exposure to evil ? Do I see a hint of predestination here ?

If the possession is not the person’s fault and prevents them from going to confession, then they are not culpable and won’t go to hell. It’s the same with people who are severely mentally ill. In order to commit a mortal sin, you have to be in a position to make a deliberate choice, with full consent of the will, knowing that what you are doing is grave matter. Someone who is possessed or insane is presumably not in a position to do that.

I guess only God knows how much of any given individual’s will remains free under such circumstances, but He will judge them on the part of their will that they do have control over, not on actions which are beyond their control. God is loving and merciful.

 

[beckycmarie]

But what if possession itself, by denying one’s free will, prevents her/him from confessing/repenting a mortal sin ? And what if that possession was not due to her/his willing exposure to evil ? Do I see a hint of predestination here ?

God Himself never takes over a person’s free will, and He doesn’t allow demons to do so either. A demon may control someone’s body, but never possesses the will.

From Fr. Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary:

POSSESSION, DEMONIC. The inner control by the devil of the actions of the body in a human being. The victim’s liberty of soul always remains intact. Possession can be continual or intermittent, and the victim need not have culpably brought on the devil’s control. There is an official exorcism provided by the Church for possessed persons. Public exorcisms must be authorized by ecclesiastical authority.

 

[mdgspencer]

As far as I am aware, the Church never said anything about this.

 

[Student09]

God Himself never takes over a person’s free will, and He doesn’t allow demons to do so either. A demon may control someone’s body, but never possesses the will.

:

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1734: "Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts.

Imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors."

Perhaps it’s true that a person never completely loses their free will, and I’ve certainly read about possessed persons fighting against their possession, but to the extent that someone’s free will is hampered, the Church says they will be less culpable.