Somebody help Geraldine!

Well, after all, it had been 385 years since the Vatican last put out a set of guidelines for driving out demons, and you know as well as I do that the little buggers have been looking for loopholes the whole time. It was catch-up time.

There is, as you probably have heard, a shortage of Catholic priests who are well-trained in the delicate art of knowing when and how to cast out demons, so about a week ago, they held a conference in Baltimore to catch up on techniques, and all that.

It is a fine art, apparently, knowing just when the problem is really demon-possession. There is no point in casting out demons if the problem is just plain, old, paranoia or political opinion. The Baltimore conference might be thought of as Continuing Education, with the credits counting toward a Master's Degree. More than 50 bishops and 60 priests signed up to attend.

Pope John Paul performed an exorcism on what was affirmed to be a case of possession by the devil. There aren't a lot of cases, apparently, but John Paul could not be expected to do all the casting-out by himself. Anyway, he died.

I do not know how to say this, but I wonder if just thinking there are demons might not be a sign of something; loose screws, maybe or, to be kinder, evidence for time-travel, say about 15 or 20 centuries?

Why am I thinking about Flip Wilson? Or Geraldine Jones? You know: "The devil made me do it!"

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