Anneliese michel biography sample

Anna Elisabeth "Anneliese" Michel 21 September — 1 July was a German woman who underwent 67 Catholic exorcism rites during the year before her death. She died of malnutrition, for which her parents and priest were convicted of negligent homicide.

Anneliese michel biography sample: In a young German girl

Read more on Wikipedia. Sincethe English Wikipedia page of Anneliese Michel has received more than 7, page views. Her biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia up from 35 in Anneliese was a year-old high school student. She suffered convulsions that a neurologist diagnosed as epilepsy. Anneliese Michel took medicine for her condition and continued her life to the best of her ability.

She finished high school and went on to college, where she studied to become a teacher. Apparently, the medicine was not helping her much. Her problems only got worse.

Anneliese michel biography sample: In , a twenty-three

Elisa Lam and Her Bizarre Death. Over time, Anneliese Michel complained of seeing disturbing visions while saying her prayers. Later, evil anneliese michel biographies sample giving her commands followed. Finally, Anneliese began showing an aversion to religious iconography. An older woman, a friend of the Michel family, noticed this while on a pilgrimage with Anneliese.

Many of them said Anneliese needed a doctor. However, one eventually said Anneliese needed an exorcism, which eventually became granted. Anneliese, the priests, and her parents truly believed she was possessed. Honestly, being chained down might have been the preferable alternative to all that. Getting chained to a chair for four hours 67 times in nine months so priests can yell at you and throw water on you and so the power of Christ can compel you would take a lot out of anyone, but, in one of the more shocking details of this case, it wasn't actually all the exorcism that killed Anneliese Michel.

As the Washington Post explainsAnneliese's sense of responsibility to atone for the sins of her generation did not end just because of the near ceaseless exorcism rituals. During the nine month period of her exorcisms, Anneliese began talking about the possibility of sacrificing her own life on behalf of the rebellious youth and sinful priests she considered to be plaguing the modern era.

By this point she had requested not to be treated medically for her epilepsy any longer, relying fully on the priests' exorcisms, and had stopped eating altogether, planning to starve herself to death to atone for the sins of others. The Telegraph says by the spring of Anneliese was emaciated and had contracted pneumonia. Exhausted from the brutal exorcism sessions, suffering from a fever, and weakened from not eating, Anneliese Michel died of starvation and dehydration on July 1,weighing a mere 68 pounds, at just 23 years of age.

The end of Anneliese's life, however, was hardly the end of the story. If you find yourself feeling angry Anneliese's parents and the priests would be so irresponsible as to let a young woman slowly starve to death in front of their eyes for basically no reason, don't worry: you're not alone. As Skeptoid explainsAnneliese's parents and both Father Alt and Father Lenz were arrested and charged with negligent homicide for failing to get Anneliese the necessary medical care in her final days.

While it was recognized Anneliese's organ failure was inevitable towards the end, experts found Anneliese could have been saved even a week before her death with the most basic medical care. However, the prosecution recognized the Michels had pursued practically every possible avenue to help their daughter and asked the court merely to charge the priests a fine and find the parents guilty but give them no punishment as they had suffered enough.

To give this already sensational trial an even more lurid edge, the Michels had Anneliese's body exhumed before the trial because a nun had told them she had had a vision Anneliese's body was incorrupt in the grave. If this turned out to be true, it would be evidence something supernatural truly was afoot and the exorcism was warranted. Suffice it to say, the body turned out to have followed the natural course of decomposition.

In the Anneliese Michel trial, more was at stake than merely the guilt of two parents and two priests. As the Washington Post explainsthe trial also served as a referendum of sorts on the issue of science and reason versus religion.

Anneliese michel biography sample: After sixty-seven exorcism sessions, Anneliese

In comparison to some other European nations, Germany is considered highly anneliese michel biography sample and secular. For example, in Italy nearly half a million exorcisms are performed each year, and about one fifth of the world's practicing exorcists live in France. By comparison, Germany has only two or three practicing exorcists, who perform in secret under the bishop's approval.

Even among baptized Christians in Germany, about one third of Catholics and half of Protestants don't believe in life after death. As such, as a country that prides itself on secularism, German officials didn't want to be seen going on the record as considering the presence of the Devil as a legitimate defense. At the same time, the Church has a vested interest in maintaining Satan is real: if demons don't exist and priests can't exhibit control over them in the name of Christ, elements of the Bible come into doubt, which could lead an already secular nation into questioning religion even more.

While the court did hear the arguments in favor of Anneliese's possession, in general the case was handled in a way that downplayed the existence of the Devil. Over the course of the trial, the tapes of the Anneliese Michel exorcism sessions were played in court as evidence Anneliese was possessed, with clips of the demons arguing being used to prop up this claim.

Furthermore, the Michels' church-sponsored attorney argued exorcism is legal and protected under the German constitution's guarantee of religious freedom. The prosecution, meanwhile, naturally produced doctors who testified Anneliese was not possessed, but that she suffered from psychological effects brought on by both her unusually religious background and her epilepsy.

As Skeptoid explainsall four defendants were found guilty, not of negligent homicide, but of the lesser charge of negligent manslaughter. However, while the court gave a more lenient sentence than the public had expected, it was not as lenient as the prosecution had suggested. At the age of 16, she suddenly experienced a severe seizure, and soon after, she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Her classmates described her as introverted and highly religious. However, even before this, Anneliese had begun experiencing unpleasant and unexplained changes in her health and mental state. Inshe was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she suffered greatly and complained of seeing the face of the devil. Around the same time, she developed pleurisy and tuberculosis.

Despite treatment, Anneliese's condition worsened, and she began complaining about the devil and hearing voices telling her that she would "rot in hell. Anneliese, who was already in a constant state of depression, started avoiding sacred symbols, including crosses. Her concerned family realized that neither therapists nor psychiatrists could help her and decided to invite a priest to intervene.

ByAnneliese's behavior had become unbearable.