Sitka’s newest Catholic priest has a unique ability – he’s an official exorcist for Sitka’s Catholic Church within Alaska. The KCAW’s Meredith Redick sat down with Father Joseph McGilloway, a former Benedictine monk who relocated into Sitka in September to discuss his work in a church that has been portrayed as a celebrity by popular culture.
Listen:
Meredith Redick It has been an exorcist with the Catholic Church of Alaska for four years. What brought you to this? What was the motivation behind you doing this job?
Joseph McGilloway Well, then it’s not so bad, but it was nothing. What happened was that the archbishop who was then in charge of Anchorage had brought a good friend from his parish, one of the priests who’s worked as an exorcist more than 20 years, to speak with us. It was the first time I really believed in the work in the sense of it being a serious matter. And the presentation seemed to make sense. Then, a few weeks later, I tried to obtain the book. The book was denied. You could only purchase it with the permission of a bishop. Therefore, I inquired with the bishop “Hey, can you send me a written permission? or could you get it for me, and I’ll pay for it, or something else you want?’ He said”I’ll leave it until I can see you. Then, a couple of weeks later, I saw him at a dining with a friend. As we left the house, I told him”Oh, by the side, did you think about whether I could get the publication?’ And he responded”Yes, you’ll become an exorcist. Say goodbye!’ Then he took off in his vehicle and drove away. I’m thinking ‘What is that?’ and the man has a huge smile across his face. He waved to me and then drove off. That’s the way I became an exorcist. Yeah.
M. Redick How do you consider the mission for this specific ministry?
Joseph McGilloway A majority of what done is a the kind of service that is offered to people who are suffering from some sort or spiritual strain. It’s not the scary thing seen in movies, but rather something which is causing them to feel anxiety or even grief. In the end, for most individuals, what they want is a confirmation that they’re not considering whether it’s a religious illness. What you don’t wish for is everyone believing that it’s always the devil and that it’s always bad. Sometimes, a person could be physically sick. It’s about the causes of being may be due to an brain tumor, or some other condition that causes real issues in their brain. They aren’t sure. We must look into it. It’s possible that someone is suffering from mental illness. We’re becoming more conscious of mental illness as a aspect of our human existence and in a position to address it with greater rationality without fear of confronting it.
Meredith Redick: You spoke of mental illness. How can you determine whether someone is in need of an exorcism?
Joseph McGilloway Before we can take any action it is necessary to get permission from the person who is requesting to get medical and mental health check-ups as the worst thing you could do is the procedure – particularly if it’s an illness of the mind that someone is suffering from. The worst option is to feed that mental illness by suggesting that they have an evil spirit involved.
Meredith Redick: It was said that you had discussed some really extreme situations. What would those cases look like in the event that you get into that type of circumstance?
Joseph McGilloway It’s true, the first exorcism was helping Vince Lampert. He had given me prior to that, a ton of books to study and other books to read. Each book begins in the same manner, as it’s true: 99.9% of exorcism ministering is gentle, it’s a prayerful process, silent, and whatever. And then, the whole book focuses on the 0.1 percent, since I’m sure that’s what people are most interested in most of the time. So I listened to this thinking it was something like the 99.9 However, it was actually 0.1. Father Vince had told me the story for a long time before. He said, should any of these things occur, the goal of the event is distracting us from praying. We are captivated by the power and the vocal change and the change in appearance All of these things that are the kind of wisdom that a person has that’s not a natural thing. It’s exhausting. That’s why Father Vince, knowing I had a sweet tooth gave me a huge Family pack of M&Ms. After all the work, we sat at an eating table with M&Ms as well as a portioned brownie which was the only food we had the following evening. Father Vincent says he often visits Dairy Queen wherever he is to get ice cream it, as a treat.
Meredith Redick: Do you have something about the conference you attended in Rome?
Joseph McGilloway Incrediblely for an event, you know which is tackling evil, the mood was very joyful. People would ask “So what do you come originally from?” And I would declare, “Alaska” and “Alaska. Wow. You might ask, “Is the devil within Alaska?” And I thought, “Well, you know the expression “’till the hell freezes? ‘” There’s not a large amount of demons happening in Alaska Thank God but there is certain.
Meredith Redick: What do you think people may be doing wrong regarding exorcism?
Joseph McGilloway The first thing to note is that An exorcist isn’t a magician, as you might think. It’s not the equivalent of a holy wizard, or an entity that comes in and performs a few spells and everything is good. What’s important to be aware of is that, even the priest may perform the spell but you’re not a true believer or don’t have any interest in becoming one, the services of an exorcist is able to do for you is extremely limited.
