Even with the approach of Halloween, demonic possession is not something to be taken lightly. On Oct. 27 at the Theology/Philosophy Club, under the guidance of religion teacher Matthew Cannaday, discussed exorcism as a rite of the Catholic Church.

Since 2015, the Theology/Philosophy Club has been, as Cannaday said, “Diving deeper than you would in class into things that are theological. (The club founder) and I felt like students were not challenged enough in class, so we started a club that allowed students to dive deeper.”

Throughout this meeting, the topic that dominated the discussion was exorcism and the misconceptions that plague it. Cannaday says he has known priests who have been involved with exorcism. According to Cannaday, “In Rome there’s about 200,000 a year, but in America, there are only a few annually.”

Exorcisms are private events in which only a select few that the priest has deemed will remain calm are allowed to stay in the room with the person. In addition, exorcisms are performed only if it appears that there is no other option. Individuals who are potentially in need will first have to go to a doctor, a psychiatrist and other specialists to make sure that there is nothing that can be done for them other than the exorcism. 

To those who topics like this sound appealing, Cannaday welcomes anyone to join. He said the club is, as he called it, “usually open to everybody” and it is not too late to join. According to Cannaday, attendance at the meetings ranges from five to 20 students.