I have my own thoughts on this and it doesn’t necessarily match up with a lot of other opinions on this matter. I believe free will doesn’t end when your body does, therefore, the answer has to be – no – you cannot force them to leave. You can assist them in finding their way to the Other Side. You can ask them to leave. You can even demand that they leave. And in a lot cases, they will. Most of the time, they simply don’t understand that they are scaring you or are unwelcome. Maybe they used to live in the house you occupy now. As far as they know, they are just staying home. They may not realize that it is your house now. In some cases, once this is explained to them, they will go.
But there are those who will refuse to go for whatever set of reasons.
I believe you must meet ghosts where they are. As I’ve said before, they are just people without bodies. Just because you’re Catholic, doesn’t mean they are. Maybe the ghost you’re sharing space with was Jewish in his lifetime. Catholic rituals are going to mean little to them. Demanding they leave in “Jesus’ name” is pretty much going to do nothing. They have their own belief structure and may not ascribe to yours. I’m guessing in cultures where the predominant religion is say, Buddhism, they aren’t bringing in a Catholic priest to rid their houses of unwanted ethereal guests. This would explain why I hear from people who say, “Our priest came out and tried to get rid of them, but it didn’t work!“. Or why people will ask me from time to time why it works sometimes and other times it doesn’t.
In my relationships with my friends, I leave religion out of it. I treat ghosts the same way. I prefer to take a less religious approach, and more of a human one. There are common grounds for every human and if it’s approached this way, your chances of successfully moving the ghost on to better things than haunting your house are more likely.
Instead of having the attitude of forcing them to do something, try coming from a place of assisting them in finding the peace they will benefit from more than the lonely existence they are currently experiencing.
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