TV: "Paranormal State"

[Lexee15]

Have not seen the show, but seems like it is very close if not a violation of the Catechism.

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

I am new here and do not mean to stir things up, but think people don’t realize the dangers involved in this stuff.

The people on this show are VERY aware of the dangers. They help people that are being tormented by evil spirits. They are very clear to those people that they should NOT be conjuring up spirits, demons, etc. They also make sure they are dealing with paranormal activity and not psychological problems.

There is paranormal activity and not everyone is as blessed as we are to have the sacraments to protect us. There are not enough exorcists or priests trained in this phenomena, Father Amorth’s book backs this up, to be able to help all those people suffering with paranormal activity. Also, many people are not Catholic so they wouldn’t think to call a priest.

You should watch the show sometime, it’s opened my eyes as to what can happen when you mess with the occult. The show shines a light on how BAD it is to dabble in the occult and spiritual stuff.

 

[aubreyrenee]

so I really enjoy this show. I have an aunt who is very against my even watching the show. She consideres this to be dabbling in the occult, agree or disagree?

 

[Christiano]

I’m following this show. I liked the last episode, it was really scary. I hope Laura’s possessions have stopped.

I’ve read that priests need to ask permission to their bishops to perform exorcisms, like the ones shown on “Paranormal State”. I wonder if the priest that appeared on the show asked permission from his bishop before performing the exorcism on Laura or before the show was aired.

“psychic Catholics”… That’s what always gets me.

Here in Brazil, Spiritism – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritism – is the second religion with the largest number of followers, just behind the Roman Catholic Church. Spiritist doctrines include reincarnation, the channeling of messages from spirits by mediums (allegedly spirits also paint pictures, write books, etc., through mediums), spiritual surgeries, etc.

Chico Xavier was the most famous medium in Brazil and he wrote hundreds of books that, he said, were dictated to him by spirits. Many people went to talk to him at his home looking for messages from deceased relatives and friends.

Many Catholics in Brazil also believe in doctrines such as reincarnation and mediunity, and a great number of them consider Spiritism their “second religion”.

In Brazil there is a number of magazines dedicated to publicising news and information on Spiritism and cults that share some of the Spiritist beliefs, like Revista Cristã de Espiritismo (Christian Spiritism Magazine) and Revista Orixás (Orishas Magazine).

 

[AngelRose81]

I

I’ve read that priests need to ask permission to their bishops to perform exorcisms, like the ones shown on “Paranormal State”. I wonder if the priest that appeared on the show asked permission from his bishop before performing the exorcism on Laura or before the show was aired.
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They do need permission, and they usually bring in Episcopal priests on the show, but I have seen them use one Catholic priest on a recent episode.