The out of body event is in no way disallowed by Catholic theology, and it need not be assumed to be false.
Historically many such events are recorded by trustworthy persons.
The core of the NDE is not near death, but a visit to the afterlife, and out of body experiences are repeatedly recorded in the lives of the saints. Brain seizure, extreme stress, hypoxia, even orgasm have all produced out of body experiences; clinical death is just the most common means.21 None of these things produce an NDE; they chemically reconfigure the brain to perceive spiritual worlds.
NDE’s as discussed here are real experiences of the preliminary stages of the afterlife, due to the soul’s short term loss of its human body. If the body fails to a sufficient degree, the soul loses the services of the body including its limited physical perception. The soul may then observe the world of the spirit: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory which are always present, but rarely observed, (Heb 12:1).
A person, out of body in an NDE may be accurately aware of persons and events even far beyond the location of his (former) body. This is simply one’s soul, unbound from the physical senses, observing beyond its former limitations. As a person enters further into physical death, the NDE is more extensive. The out of body experience is just the first NDE
element encountered.
21
Many out of body experiences are verified between hospital staff and patient, with the revived patient reporting something not observable from the operating table, and impossible for the unconscious patient to observe. Persons and events in other rooms, or even far locations are accurately described.
A meaningful study of the numbers and depth of the NDE was conducted by Dutch cardiologist Dr. Pim von Lommel from 1988-1992. The study was professionally conducted, and in a statistically unbiased manner and included ten hospitals, and both physicians and psychiatrists.22
344 survivors out of 509 patients participated in the study, all were resuscitated survivors of heart stoppage, 62
persons (18%), retained memories of their NDE. Of these 62
people, 31% reported the light tunnel, 20% reported meeting deceased relatives, 23% reported communicating with “the light”
and 8% had a life review. Asking about a distressing NDE was intentionally avoided, so that no survivor would avoid the interview. Other studies put the percentage of distressing NDE’s at 10% -25%.
Factors which were examined, but made no difference in the numbers were: duration of cardiac arrest, medication, religion or education. The reader may consult the website of the International Association for Near Death Studies, www.iands.org, for a listing of the many NDE studies made.