An American church has been condemned over a video showing a 16-year-old boy apparently being exorcised by church leaders trying to cast a “homosexual demon” from his body.
The 20-minute video posted on YouTube shows the teenager lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church shout “Rip it from his throat!” and “Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!”
Later, the teenager is seen coughing and apparently vomiting into a bag before lying on the ground, limp and covered in a white sheet.
Gay and youth advocates claim the film depicts abuse and are demanding an investigation. But a spokeswoman from Manifested Glory Ministries, which posted the video on YouTube, this week denied any wrongdoing.
“We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man,” the Rev Patricia McKinney told the Associated Press. “We have nothing against homosexuals. I just don’t agree with their lifestyle.”
McKinney denied the ritual was an exorcism, describing it instead as a casting out of spirits. She said the church took care of the youth, providing him with clothes.
“He was dressing like a woman and everything. And he didn’t want to be like that,” McKinney said.
The church has since removed the video from YouTube.
Robin McHaelin, the executive director of True Colors, an American advocacy group for young gay people, said her organisation was aware of five cases in recent years in which people in her programme were threatened with exorcism.
In one case, she said, a child called to report that his caregiver had called a priest who was throwing holy water on his bedroom door.
“I think it’s horrifying,” McHaelin said of the video by Manifested Glory. “What saddens me is the people that are doing this think they are doing something in the kid’s best interests, when in fact they’re murdering his spirit.”
McHaelin said she had spoken to the boy, who told her staff that the church performed the ritual three times at his request. She said the boy had been engaging in risky behaviour that she blamed on the church’s treatment.
McHaelin said she planned to report the situation to the Connecticut child welfare authorities. An agency spokesman said it did not comment on complaints or investigations.
Jeff Buchanan from Exodus International, a Christian group that believes gay people can become straight through prayer and counselling, said it did not advocate the church’s approach.
The Rev Roland Stringfellow, a minister in Oakland, California, said he was subject to demon casting in the 1990s when he was at a Baptist church and was struggling with his sexuality. He said he was put in front of the church as members shouted “demon of homosexuality come out of him”.
“It caused nothing but shame and embarrassment,” Stringfellow said.
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Greet work there. signed
First off, the woman in the end with the “murdering soul comment could be as nuts as the people in the video. Second, whether we want to accept it or not, last I checked freedom of religion still exists in this country. Just because we might not agree, doesn’t make them wrong. People should practice however they choose, as long as it doesn’t infringe in others’ rights….
What kind of sick, depraved church of satan is this. This is the problem with small town churches and backwards christians. I don’t think this would fit in the WWJD mindset.