Hi Roy,

Thanks for the question, but none of us our priests who have been trained in demonic possession. There are priests being trained in the Vatican on this topic, but I'm not aware of any by name.

I'd only be taking a guess for an answer.

This article on New Advent and the resources that follow it may help:

• Demonical Possession
• Identifying Demons by Michael P. Orsi
• Demonic Possession on Wikipedia
• How does one avoid getting possessed? from EWTN
• A Question on Demonic Possession and Oppression from EWTN
  

Barry,

You said:

• Can Satan read our minds?

I remember a set of audio tapes I listened to a while back done by a priest-friend of mine on this topic.

It's my understand that No, he cannot read our minds. He can act on outward expressions and on what we say, but he can't read our minds.

If we give permission, our guardian angels can read our minds.

You said:

• Can Christians be possessed by a demon?

Sure! Although many times, what appears to be demon possession, is really someone with a severe mental condition. This is why the Church goes very cautiously in determining whether someone needs an exorcism.

Mike

Hi Roy,

For what it's worth, I can give a little information. One point of Catholic doctrine about the angels and demons is that they cannot see people's thoughts: only God can read the soul. From this it follows logically that angels and demons cannot control anyone's thoughts. Of course they can see our visible actions.

Let me recommend a piece by Catholic philosophy professor Peter Kreeft on angels:

Angels — The Twelve Most Important Things to Know About Them

God bless!

— Richard