Deliverance Prayer

APRIL 2011/SEPTEMBER 2013

Note: Whenever I use bold type the emphasis is mine and not the emphasis of the source that I am quoting. Everything in Italics is quotation from Holy Scripture.

Q:

Ron, I certainly wish I had the gift of delivering my husband from his obsession to gamble. This has been my cross for many years. I was under the impression that only a priest had that authority. Also, I remember this very powerful priest, Fr. Machado saying one day, on speaking about ‘The Power of Confession’, that every Confession is like mini-deliverance freeing us from our sins. He said it has been known that people with various illnesses, including cancer have been healed simply by going to Confession and having all his sins washed away. I am so happy to be a part of your e-mail group. It is so informative. Thank you so much. Patricia

A:

“Possession: Assaulting a person from within, the devil takes control of the individual in some ways. Obsession: The devil attacks the individual from the outside. Whenever Catholics feel anxious that some form of evil is at work, they typically pray to St. Michael, because he’s the one who defeated Lucifer and cast him into hell for rebelling against God.”

If the situation involves demonic possession, only a priest can do an exorcism. “When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be solemn exorcism, called a major exorcism, can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop.”

In the lesser ‘obsession‘ situations, a mature Christian can pray a deliverance prayer and ask our Lord to remove the evil spirit(s) from the person or place. “And John, answering, said: Master, we saw a certain man casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said to him: Forbid him not; for he that is not against you, is for you.”

Jesus, when asked how we are to pray, taught us The Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen”

“A Christian can break this bondage (control by evil spirits) through the power of the name of Jesus. Satan trembles when Christians use the name of Jesus. Satan must obey the command of Christians when they use His (Jesus’) holy name.”

In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 disciples to do His work and they return. Keep in mind that you (reading this) and I are also His disciples. “And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying: Lord, the devils also are subject to us in thy name. But yet rejoice not in this, that spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven.”

There is one additional piece of information that is very important in performing successful exorcisms by a priest or deliverances by anyone – free will! All of us have the use of our free will. The person being prayed over must agree that they have a demonic problem and they must agree to want this evil spirit(s) removed. Further, they must desire to give up the sin that caused the spirit(s) to attack them. If you do not have the person’s cooperation, the deliverance will not work!

Fr. Machado is correct in that confession is like mini-deliverance. Priests have great power over evil spirits. Jesus teaches us, “And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee. And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth. And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk? But that you may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said He to the man sick of palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. And he arose, and went into his house.”

Remember, a priest in the confessional acts in the person of Christ – in persona Christi!

When I was doing deliverance prayer on a fairly regular basis, we taught the people delivered that they must fill the area of their life where they received deliverance with Jesus. We taught them that if they left this unfilled void in their being that it was quite possible for the evil spirit or other evil spirits to return. We would encourage these people to fill that void with prayer, scripture readings, helping the poor, Christian companionship, etc. “And when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith: I will return into my house from whence I came out. And coming he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of the man is made worse than the first.”

I hope that I have addressed your concerns about deliverance from evil spirits. If you have further questions, please ask.

This report prepared on February 3, 2005 by Ronald Smith, 11701 Maplewood Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024-8482, E-mail: hfministry@roadrunner.com. Readers may copy and distribute this report as desired, without restrictions in number, as long as the content is not altered and is copied in its entirety.

† Let us recover by penance what we have lost by sin †

The Prayer To St. Michael the Archangel given by Pope Leo XIII
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and  snares  of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of our souls. Amen.

PRAYER TO ST. MICHAEL
No adequate explanation of the Holy Angels is complete without reference to Saint Michael the Archangel. He joins Saints Gabriel and Raphael as the trio of Archangels specifically mentioned by name throughout the Church’s history, given their appearance in Sacred. The “Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel” offers a fitting summary of who this celestial being is and the significant role which he plays in the Almighty’s creation.
1. Saint Michael the Archangel
An angel is similar to God in that he is a spirit; however, he differs from the Creator in that it is a created spirit while only God is the Uncreated Spirit. This angel has from God a name, meaning “who is like unto God.” Saint Michael belongs to the choir of angels called the Archangels, usually listed eighth of the nine choirs.
2. Defend us in battle
We readily acknowledge that a fierce war is waging-a terrible conflict which has continued unabated since the fall of the angels. Good and evil constantly do battle. Saint Michael is fervently implored for his powerful, fearless assistance against the considerable forces of the underworld.
By asking for his help, the Christian faithful recognize his longstanding position as protector of God’s holy people.
3. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil
The devils are like the “good” angels: created spirits without bodies. But, the devils are the fallen angels who disobeyed God rather than submit to His commands. Not only are the devils evil but they also want us to become evil. They delight in setting pitfalls for us. Saint Michael vanquishes the demons; he assists us in negotiating the inevitable hurdles which can trip us.
4. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray

Already we know that God has defeated Satan. Jesus’ salvific Death and Resurrection was the death knell for Hades and its advocates. Yet, we still are to pray that the Lord will rebuke him. Why? Because we are summoned to state our intention, thereby aligning our wills with that of the Lord’s. We desire what God desires, namely, that Satan’s influence will cease over those who seek to become friends of the Master.
5. And do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host

The one who prays uses Saint Michael’s title. He has been granted special command among the angels. Furthermore, it is expected that he will do something. There is a tangible anticipation that this Archangel will act.
6. By the power of God
The Prince of the Heavenly Host must rely on the strength of the Lord. Saint Michael possesses tremendous power because the Creator believes it appropriate that he has it. Saint Michael, too, bows under God’s mighty hand.
7. Cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits
Why must Satan and his minions be thrown into Hell if they presently are there? We long for the day when Satan will be tightly bound, never again able to tempt anyone to sin. His dominion will be forever at an end.

The vast army of demons will no more roam earth to inflict their damage on souls.
8. Who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls
This phrase precisely describes what the devils seek: the everlasting ruination of immortal souls. They waste no time in enticing men and women, boys and girls to forsake Jesus and His call to authentic holiness. Saint Michael is the antidote to the pernicious activities carried on by “Satan and all the evil spirits.” This Archangel has the authority from God to stop them.
9. Amen

This often-used word signals belief and acceptance. It underscores what we have now affirmed. Saint Michael indeed serves God and His children in a notable, lasting manner. The Church professes that this Archangel has been chosen by the Lord Himself to help usher in the reign of abiding peace which Christ came, died and rose to establish.

Disciples of Christ may learn much from Saint Michael the Archangel. He is a true servant who surrenders to the divine directive. He is a warrior who willingly spars with the terrors of Hell. He is an example of sanctity who offers the faithful a model of love for God and zeal for souls.
With the scores of good angels, Saint Michael, the champion, protects and defends the Church Militant. The Church is blest by his presence. Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us!

A PRAYER TO TAKE AUTHORITY
In the name of Jesus, I take authority and I bind all powers and forces in the air, in the ground, in the water, in the underground, in the netherworld, in nature and in fire.
You are the Lord over the entire universe and I give you glory for your creation.

In your name I bind all demonic forces that have come against our families and us and I seal all of us in the protection by your precious blood that was shed on the cross.
Mary, our mother, we seek your protection and intercession with the Sacred Heart of Jesus for our families and us, and surround us with your mantle of love to discourage the enemy.
St. Michael and Guardian Angels, come defend our families and us against all the evil ones that roam the earth.
In the name of Jesus, I bind and command all the powers of evil to depart right now away from us, our homes and our lands, and we thank you Lord Jesus, for you are a faithful and compassionate God, Amen.

A PRAYER OF DELIVERANCE
In the name of Jesus the Son of the Living God, in the name of Jesus the Son of the Virgin Mary, I/we challenge every spell, spirit, power and work of darkness and command you to go to the feet of Jesus to be bound and never to return. Lord Jesus, cover us your children with your most Precious Blood and let us experience the fullness of your Redemption. We thank you and we praise you Jesus.

THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

#1673
When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing.

In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism.

The solemn exorcism, called “a major exorcism,” can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.

According to Canon 1172
of the
Code of Canon Law no one may licitly perform exorcisms on those who are possessed, unless he has obtained particular and express permission from the local ordinary, and it decrees that this permission is to be granted by the Ordinary only to priests who are outstanding in piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life. 

Belief in Satan is a tenet of Catholic faith – Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez

INFORMATION INCLUDED HEREAFTER IS MOSTLY IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Prefect for Divine Worship on the New Rite of Exorcism

http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/ZEXOR.HTM

VATICAN CITY January
26, 1999 (Zenit.org) ZE99012615

This morning, Cardinal Jorge Medina, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, presented the New Rite for Exorcisms of the Roman Ritual in the Vatican Press Hall.

“We know there are Catholics who have not received good formation and doubt the existence of the devil, but this is an article of faith and part of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whoever says the devil does not exist is no longer a believer.” This was the clear and categorical answer of Cardinal Medina, in response to the question of a reporter about the doubts of many Christians on the existence of the devil.

“The new text is an outgrowth of the old. There are no substantial changes or break with the previous text. There are changes in language: the new text has more sober language, with less adjectives. Moreover, it gives the priest who practices the rite of exorcism greater liberty — greater flexibility in the choice of prayers to use. In a word, there is a new style, in a language more adapted to our time, but the content is the same,” Cardinal Medina said.

The chapter with instructions and the liturgical text of the exorcisms in the Roman Ritual was written in 1614*; it was the last one needing revision after Vatican Council II. *Pope Paul V

“The current text, which has been approved by the Supreme Pontiff, is published today and placed at the disposition of the pastors and faithful of the Church; it is the fruit of ten years of work and can be used immediately in Latin. Individual Episcopal Conferences will have to translate it into the appropriate national languages. In keeping with Canon Law, however, the translations will have to be submitted for approval by the Congregation for Divine Worship.”

Cardinal Medina explained that “exorcism begins with the faith of the Church, according to which Satan and evil spirits exist. Their activity is to lure men away from the path of salvation. Catholic doctrine teaches that demons are fallen angels who sinned; spiritual beings of great intelligence and power. But Satan’s power is not infinite; he is only a creature, but powerful because a pure spirit. Nevertheless, he cannot impede the building of the Kingdom of God.”

Speaking of Satan, Cardinal Medina emphasized that “the nefarious influence of the devil and his followers is exercised habitually through deceit, lying and confusion. Just as Jesus is the Truth, the devil is the liar par excellence. From the beginning, lying has always been his favorite strategy. He deceives men by making them believe that happiness is to be found in wealth, power, and carnal concupiscence. He deceives men by persuading them they have no need of God and that they are self-sufficient, without the need of grace and of salvation. He also deceives them by minimizing — worse yet, by making the sense of sin disappear, substituting God’s law as the criterion of morality with the customs and conventions of the majority. He persuades children that lying is a good way to solve many problems, and thus, little by little, an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion is created among men. Because of the lies and deceits of the Great Liar, uncertainties and doubts are awakened in a world in which there is no longer any security, or Truth and where, instead, relativism reigns as well as the conviction that liberty consists in doing whatever one wants. There is no understanding that true liberty is found in doing God’s Will, the source of good and sole font of happiness.”

“For these reasons, the whole of human history is characterized by a tremendous struggle against darkness. Man must struggle without letup to remain united to the good. He cannot achieve interior unity without great effort and the help of God’s grace,” the Cardinal explained. “The Church is certain of the final victory of Christ and that is why she is not dragged down by fear and pessimism, but at the same time, she is very aware of the evil one who tries to discourage man and who sows confusion. It is within this framework that exorcisms must be understood, a very important chapter, but not the only one, in the struggle against the evil one.”

To the question if exorcism has changed because of the advent of psychoanalysis, Cardinal Medina answered: “exorcism is one thing, and psychoanalysis is another. If the exorcist has any doubt about the mental health of the possessed, he should consult an expert. It is not always necessary, but it is prudent to hear what the psychiatrist has to say. It often happens that simple people confuse somatic problems with diabolical influence, but not everything can be attributed to the devil.”

In regard to the spread of Satanic sects and occult circles, the Cardinal stated: “Satanism is a very old problem, difficult to uproot, because the people who practice it work under cover. The most tragic thing is that the devil is able to deceive man and make him seek happiness exactly where he will never find it.”

Vatican releases new rite for exorcism

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=9464

VATICAN (CWNews.com) January
26, 1999 The Devil exists. That unpopular reality is brought into sharp focus by the promulgation of a new rite of exorcism for the Catholic Church.

De Exorcismus et supplicationibus quibusdam, approved by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 1998, was formally released by the Vatican on January 26. The document sets out a new and precise liturgical form for the rite of exorcism. The 84-page form, introduced by the Congregation Divine Worship, was published entirely in Latin; the episcopal conferences of different nations may now prepare their own versions in the vernacular languages.

This new Vatican document clearly recognizes both the existence of the Devil and the reality of diabolical possession. In a short introduction, the document calls attention to the existence of both “angelic creatures” and others “called demons, who are opposed to God.” Since the influence of the demonic can become apparent in people, places, or things, the document continues, the Church “has prayed, and continues to pray, that men will be freed from the snares of the Devil.”

The new rite confirms “the victory of Christ and the power of the Church over the demons.” It points to the rites in the Christian tradition: the “minor exorcism” of catechumens prior to their baptism and the major exorcisms conducted according to this ritual. The latter are designed to “drive out demons, or bring freedom from demonic influence, through the spiritual authority which Jesus confided in his Church.”

The liturgical ritual itself is centered on supplicatory prayers, asking for God’s help, and “imperative” prayers addressed directly to the Devil, commanding him to depart. The prayers are to be said as the exorcist lays his hand on the individual, and are part of an overall ritual which includes specific blessings and sprinklings with holy water. The ritual also includes the litany of the saints, the reading of the Psalms and the Gospel, and a proclamation of faith which may be either the familiar Creed or a simple question-and-answer (“Do you renounce Satan? I do.”). The ritual concludes with the kissing of the Cross, and the final prayer, proclaiming the triumph of Christ and his Church.

The new ritual for exorcism replaces one which was promulgated as part of the Roman Ritual of 1614. The Second Vatican Council called for the revision of that Ritual, which has been accomplished in stages during the past 30 years; the rite of exorcism was the last of the new rituals to be introduced.

In introducing the new document to reporters in Rome, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, said that the rite has not been greatly changed from the earlier ritual. He added that while there are “very few cases” in which the rite is used, the rite of exorcism– which can only be used under the guidance of the local bishop, and with the consent of the person suffering diabolical possession– remains necessary because the Devil is a reality. He cautioned that while many Catholics today no longer profess belief in the Devil, that belief “is not a matter of opinion which one can accept or reject; it is an element of faith and Catholic doctrine.”

New Rite of Exorcism

http://www.trosch.org/chu/exorcism.htm#nccb

National Conference of Catholic Bishops – January – February 1999 Newsletter – Committee on the Liturgy Volume XXXV

On January 26, 1999, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced that on November 22, 1998, the Solemnity of Christ the King, he had signed a decree by which a revised editio typica latina of De Exorcismis (Rite of Exorcism) was to be published. In response to article 79 of Sacrosanctum Concilium, this rite was revised to replace Chapter XII of the former Latin Roman Ritual, and will eventually be published in vernacular editions for use by the Church throughout the world. This rite may be used by priests who have been given a specific faculty to do so by the diocesan bishop.

Creation, Fall and Christ’s Victory

The first chapter of this new rite reviews the scriptural record, which proclaims the victory of Christ and his Church over all. God not only creates all things visible and invisible, but governs and protects his creatures as well. Created good, the devil and his demons chose to be estranged from God. Likewise, man, created in the image of God, abused the gift of his liberty, having been persuaded to sin by the devil. Thus a terrible struggle against the powers of darkness has pervaded the whole of human history. The introduction recalls the Lord Jesus’ victories over Satan, the exorcisms he performed and his healing of those who were under the devil’s power. Sent by his merciful Father, Christ destroyed death by his own death and reconstituted human nature by rising triumphant from the grave. Finally, Christ gave this power to expel spirits to the Apostles so that in his name, the Church might carry on the work of her Lord.

Exorcism in the Church’s Ministry of Sanctification

Many forms of exorcism have, therefore, been practiced by the Church from her beginning. In preparation for baptism, catechumens receive minor exorcisms whereby the Church prays that they be freed from sin and the influence of the evil one. Likewise, the Liturgy of Baptism itself includes a renunciation of Satan and all his works and the Rite for the Baptism of Children includes a prayer of exorcism which asks God to set the children free from original sin and makes them temples of God’s glory, sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within them.

These rites recall that through the waters of Baptism all may participate in the victory of Christ over sin, the devil and his darkness.

Even those reborn in Christ, however, experience temptation and must be vigilant in prayer and sobriety of life, resisting the devil by the celebration of the sacraments and especially the Sacrament of Penance.

The occurrence of diabolic possession is very difficult to understand. The Church appropriately addresses such situations with a liturgical celebration called a “major exorcism”, whereby, united with the Holy Spirit, she implores God’s help to expel demons. In exorcizing evil spirits, the Church acts not in her own name but in the name of Christ the Lord, to whom even the devil and the demons must be obedient in all things.

Possession and Exorcism

The celebration of the Liturgy of Exorcism is regulated solely by the bishop of a diocese, who may appoint a priest-exorcist, a man of piety, knowledge, prudence and holiness of life. The exorcist must demonstrate maximum circumspection and prudence, initially approaching the possessed person as he would anyone who suffers from physical or psychological illness. The exorcist decides whether a person is possessed after a diligent investigation, including extensive consultation, with spiritual, medical and psychological experts.

Signs of diabolic possession include the speaking of unknown languages, the knowing of distant or hidden things and the manifestation of abnormal physical strength. Yet each of these may be attributable to other causes and are not necessarily signs of diabolic possession. Thus, spiritual signs, such as an aversion for the name of God, the Holy Name of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints, the Church, the Word of God, the Church’s rites or sacramentals and sacred images must be taken into consideration along with the relationship of all these factors to the life of faith.

If it is determined that a person is not truly possessed the Church nonetheless provides appropriate spiritual help without a major exorcism. All must be done to avoid the perception that an exorcism is magic or superstition. Exorcisms should never be broadcast in any media and should be treated with proper discretion.

The Rite of Exorcism

The rite itself is described in Chapter Six of the Introduction. The exorcist begins the rite with the sign of the cross and a sprinkling with blessed water by which the purification received in Baptism is recalled. A litany of the saints follows, asking for God’s mercy. Then, the exorcist may recite one or more of a selection of Psalms, which may be prayed responsorially. At the end of the Psalms, the exorcist may offer a Psalm-prayer.

The Gospel, which is a sign of the presence of Christ, is then read aloud, since Christ through his word proclaimed in Church relieves the sicknesses of all. An imposition of hands upon the possessed person follows with an invocation of the Holy Spirit and an optional insufflation (blowing on the face of the possessed person by the exorcist). The Creed is then recited, and a renewal of baptismal promises is made, including a renunciation of Satan. This portion of the rite concludes with the Lord’s Prayer (deliver us from evil.).

After these rites the exorcist shows the possessed person the cross of the Lord and traces the sign of the cross on the forehead of the possessed in order to indicate the power of Christ over the devil. A prayer to God follows, along with, if it seems appropriate, an imperative formula by which the exorcist commands the devil to leave the possessed person. This rite may be repeated, as deemed necessary by the authorized exorcist. The entire rite concludes with a canticle of thanksgiving, a prayer and a blessing.

The Introduction to the rite reminds the exorcist of the importance of prayer and fasting and the roles which the parents, friends, confessor and spiritual director of the possessed may take. An exorcism should be conducted in church whenever possible and in the presence of images of the crucified Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The exorcist is urged to note the importance of a constant knowledge of the physical and psychological state of the possessed person along with the necessity to patiently support the possessed person, never doubting the help of God or the office of the Church.

While a small group of the faithful may be present for the exorcism, they should pray only their assigned parts and refrain from pronouncing the formulas which belong only to the authorized exorcist. Finally, the Introduction offers guidance for the happy occasion when a possessed person has been delivered from demonic oppression.

Chapter Six describes adaptations which may be made by Episcopal Conferences, whose role it is to prepare a translation of the text in an absolutely faithful and integral way and to adapt the rite with the consent of the Holy See.

Cardinal Medina Says New Rite of Exorcism Similar To Old

http://www.phantasmpsiresearch.com/Demonic.htm

The Wanderer, February 4, 1999

VATICAN CITY (VIS) Jorge Arturo Cardinal Medina Estevez, prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on January 26th presented at the Holy See Press Office the new rite of exorcism of the Roman Book of Rites.

Cardinal Medina began by stating that the person’s capacity to welcome God is “blurred by sin, and at times evil occupies the place where God wishes to dwell. For this reason, Jesus Christ came to liberate the person from the dominion of evil and sin…. Jesus Christ drove out demons and liberated people who were possessed with evil spirits to make space for Him in that person.

“Exorcism is an old and particular form of prayer which the Church uses against the power of the Devil,” he continued. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1673) explains that exorcism is directed at “the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to His Church.”

According to the rite of exorcism, continued the cardinal prefect, there are various criteria to know if we are dealing with demonic possession: “Speaking with a great number of words from unknown languages, or understanding them, making known things either distant or hidden, showing strength beyond one’s situation, together with vehement aversion toward God, our Lady, the cross, and holy pictures.”

“To perform an exorcism,” he stressed, “authorization from the diocesan bishop is required, which can be given for a specific case, or rather in a general and permanent way to the priest who has the ministry of exorcist in the diocese.”

Cardinal Medina said that the Roman Book of Rites contained in the last chapter the indications and liturgical text of the exorcisms, but “it had not been revised since Vatican Council II.” After ten years of work, the current text was approved by the Pontiff. Once the translations of the ritual are completed in different languages, they will be submitted “for the recognition of the [Sacred] Congregation for Divine Worship.”

In the current book of rites there is “the rite of exorcism itself, and “the prayers which must be publicly recited . . . when it is prudently deemed that there is an influence of Satan over places, objects, or people, without having arrived at the phase of possession itself. In addition, there is a series of prayers which the faithful must pray privately when they believe that they are subject to demonic influences.”

“Exorcism has its departure point in the faith of the Church, according to which Satan and other evil spirits exist. . . . Catholic doctrine teaches us that demons are fallen angels as a result of their sin, and that they are spiritual beings with great intelligence and power.”

The prefect of the congregation, recalling with The Catechism of the Catholic Church that “the power of Satan is not infinite,” said however that God’s allowing us to be tempted “is a great mystery.”

In conclusion, he emphasized that “the harmful influence of the Devil and his evil spirits is normally exercised through deception, falsehoods, lies, and confusion. As Jesus is the Truth, the Devil is the liar par excellence. Lies have always been, right from the beginning, his preferred strategy.”

In answer to a question, Cardinal Medina explained that “there is great continuity between the old and the new rites, there are no radical changes. The language is more somber and fewer adjectives are used; however, the expression of faith in the power of God to expel the Devil is the same in both cases.

Exorcism

http://www.trosch.org/chu/exorcism.htm

By Father David C. Trosch

The Rite (Ritual) for expelling demons (devils) from people certified as being possessed by authorized Catholic priests.

WARNING: Only Catholic priests who are both legally and morally ordained and are faithful to the teachings of Sacred Scripture, as validly understood through the legitimate moral authority of the Church, and who remain spiritually sound should attempt an exorcism.  

Devils are powerful beings and can be extremely harmful to the unqualified.  Instead, praying the Exorcism Prayer is encouraged.

Preliminary actions for those recognizing satanic activity in relation to themselves:

Immediately reject any and all types of unnatural insights whether they occur in a dream or while in a waking state. Such insights commonly originate in the occult and are of satanic origin. Such insights may refer to a past, present of future event. They are intended to seem worthy with resultant enhancement of self-esteem. Eventually the evil spirits giving these insights, feelings, or seeing of auroras will seek full control over a captivated persons being. Such possessions or manifestations frequently occur to those who have used or participated in the following: Ouija boards, Séances, Magic 8 balls, Palm reading (even as a game), Tea leaf reading, Fortune-telling, Potions, Incantations, Yoga (even as exercise), Martial Arts (in most cases), Dungeons and Dragons, Harry Potter Books, Eastern Mysticism, Tarot Cards, etc.

When one begins honestly trying to live the Christian life, one MUST break with all Satanic influences that one has accepted in one’s life. This would include all organized occultic behavior. Many of these things are presented as games or midway attractions at a county fair, but they’re actually portals of access for the attack of one or devils. It may have been years since one was involved but until it is recognized as sin, confessed, and absolved with proper penance, the doors remain open for Satan’s entry.

Many people never know that the games they were involved with as children are mortal sins that will send them to hell without proper repentance.
It is not enough to say that you never did it yourself. To be aware that any of these things are being done and not to say something against it is to give tacit approval by your presence. Such failure jeopardizes your own soul.

Avoid other conditions and associations that breed satanic influence concerning one’s spiritual life:

Disassociate from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, illicit sex, pornography.

Terminate association with any of the following and similar organizations:

Freemasonry, Skull and Bones, Illuminati, B’ani B’rith, Cecil Rhodes Scholars, Satanism, Wicca, Eastern Star, Shriners, York Rite, Scottish Rite, Amaranth, DeMolay, Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Job’s Daughters and ALL other Secret Societies.

Eastern Religions, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Rotary International, Kiwanis International, Lions Club, and similar organizations most of which are at least indirectly associated with Freemasonry.

The Rituale Romanum (Roman Ritual)

Instructions and rules involving Exorcism

Possession is not lightly or be taken for granted. Each case is to be carefully examined and great caution is to be used in distinguishing genuine possession from certain psychological and physical disorders.
The priest who undertakes the office should be himself a holy man, of a blameless life, intelligent, courageous, humble, and he should prepare for the work by special acts of devotion and mortification, particularly by prayer and a fasting (Matthew 17:20).
He should avoid in the course of the rite everything that savors of superstition, and should leave the medical aspects of the case to qualified physicians.
He should admonish the possessed, in so far as the latter is capable, to dispose himself for the exorcism by prayer, fasting, confession, and communion, and while the rite is in progress to excite within himself a lively faith in God’s goodness, and a patient resignation to His holy will.
The exorcism should take place in the church or some other sacred place, if convenient; but if on account of sickness or for other legitimate reasons, it takes place in a private house, witnesses (preferably members of the family) should be present: this is specially enjoined, as a measure of precaution, in case the subject is a woman.
All idle and curious questioning of the demon should be avoided, and the prayers and aspirations should be read with great faith, humility, and fervor, and with a consciousness of power and authority.
The Blessed Sacrament is not to be brought near the body of the obsessed during exorcism for fear of possible irreverence; but the crucifix, holy water, and, where available, relics of the saints are to be employed.
If expulsion of the evil spirit is not obtained at once, the rite should be repeated, if need be, several times.
The exorcist should be vested in surplice, and violet stole.

[The above was written prior to 1952 and is entirely in Latin. In 1952, there was the last revision made by Pope Pius XII to the Roman Ritual, after which has come the new Rite,
De Exorcismus et Supplicationibus Quibusdam, in 1999, replacing the old Pope Paul V’s Roman Ritual of 1614.- Michael]

Exorcism Rite Reformed

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=2824

By Crista Kramer von Reisswitz, “Inside the Vatican”, March 1999, pages 30-33
“In a new Latin text of the exorcism ritual, the Church has reaffirmed that the devil exists and is at work in the world. But driving him away may require a modern approach.

“Get Thee Back, Satan!” The devil takes actual demonic “possession” of few souls—and the Vatican’s revised “Rite of Exorcism” stresses caution in distinguishing which these are before performing an exorcism.”

“Go back. Satan!” These are the key words in the reformed Catholic ritual for driving out demons, made public January 26 in Rome. In De Exorcismus et Supplicationibus Quibusdam (“Concerning Exorcisms and Certain Supplications”) — the Latin version is the only version currently available — priests who have been appointed as exorcists by their bishops are urged to be circumspect and prudent in performing their duties.

Rule number one, therefore, is discretion.
At a Vatican press conference January 26, 1999, to present the reformed ritual, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stressed that very few people are actually possessed by demons (Church officials say only one in every 5,000 reported cases is an actual demonic possession).
Thus, Medina said, exorcists must distinguish between the truly possessed and those who are suffering from hysteria or mental illness.
The revised rite of exorcism, which replaces Pope Leo XIII’s* version of 1614, has been 10 years in the making.

*Pope Paul V (1605-1621); Pope Leo XIII (1878 to 1903)- Michael

The 90-page Latin document will now be given to national bishops’ conferences for translation into local languages.
Because the document encourages pastors to use the insights of psychology to discern alleged cases of possession, the day after the Vatican issued its new ritual, international dailies flashed headlines such as “With Freud against the Devil.” However, the appeal to Church exorcists to consult with doctors and psychotherapists is not really new. Several Italian papers recalled Pope Pius XII’s 1952 handwritten amendment to the exorcism ritual recommending just such a close collaboration. In fact, the chief novelty in the new ritual is a traditional one: the addition of an appeal to the Virgin Mary.
The Vatican document stresses exorcisms must be performed with the permission — and the authority — of the local bishop. The text also stresses that Catholic priests appointed as exorcists must be exceptionally well educated, compassionate and pious.

SATAN’S SIGNS
At his January 26 presentation, Medina explained the origin and meaning of the ritual of exorcism.
What is an exorcism?

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: To understand what exorcism is, we must start with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to announce and inaugurate God’s reign over the world and human beings. He cast out devils so that man could freely respond to God, who wants to give him his Holy Spirit and to direct his steps towards peace and salvation.
The Church is called to follow Jesus Christ and has received from him the power to continue his mission. Therefore Christ’s action of freeing man from evil is exercised through the Church and her ordained ministers, appointed by the bishop to carry out the sacred rites intended to deliver men and women from possession by the devil. Exorcism is thus an ancient form of prayer, which the Church uses against the power of the devil.

How do evil spirits operate? Can they actually “possess” a person?

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Sacred Scripture teaches us that evil spirits operate in different ways: a particular form is diabolical “obsession.” also called diabolical “possession.” But diabolical obsession is not the most frequent way the spirit of darkness exerts his influence. Obsession has sensational features, in which the devil in a certain way takes over the physical powers of the possessed person. However, the devil cannot control the subject’s free will and thus cannot cause him to sin. Still, the physical violence the devil exerts over the obsessed person is an inducement to sin and this is what he seeks.

How can one discern a diabolical possession requiring exorcism?

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: The ritual of exorcism indicates signs, which allow us to reach the prudent conviction that we are dealing with diabolical possession and can perform the solemn rite of exorcism. These signs include: speaking many words in unknown languages or understanding them; revealing distant or hidden things; displaying strength beyond one’s condition, together with a vehement aversion to God, Our Lady, the saints, the cross and sacred images.

Who may perform an exorcism?
CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: We should stress that the diocesan bishop’s authorization is required to perform an exorcism. This authorization can be granted for a specific case or in a general, permanent way to the priest who exercises the ministry of exorcist in the diocese.

Why is the exorcism ritual being revised now?

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: The Roman Ritual contained the instructions and liturgical text for exorcisms in a special chapter, the final chapter, and this chapter was not revised after the Second Vatican Council. The revision has taken 10 years, resulting in the current text approved by the Supreme Pontiff. One more task still remains: the translation of this Ritual into the languages spoken in the various regions. These translations must be precise and faithful to the Latin original, and must be submitted, in accordance with canon law, for the recognitio of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

What is the content of the reformed exorcism ritual?

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: The Ritual we are presenting today contains, first of all, the rite of exorcism properly so-called, to be performed on a possessed person.
This is followed by the prayers to be publicly recited by a priest, with the bishop’s permission, when it has been carefully determined that there is a satanic influence over places, objects or persons, but which has not reached the point of a true and proper possession. Also, there is a collection of prayers to be recited privately by the faithful whenever they have reason to suspect they are undergoing diabolical influence.

There is much skepticism about exorcism because many doubt the existence of the devil and of demons…

CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Exorcism is based on the faith of the Church, which holds that Satan and the other evil spirits exist and that their activity consists in diverting human beings from the way of salvation. Catholic doctrine teaches us that the demons are angels who have fallen because of sin, that they are spiritual beings of great intelligence and power, but I would like to stress that the evil influence of the devil and his followers is usually exercised through deceit and confusion. Just as Jesus is the Truth (cf. John 8:44), so the devil is the liar par excellence. He deceives human beings by making them believe that happiness is found in money, power or carnal desire. He deceives them into thinking that they do not need God, that grace and salvation are unnecessary. He even deceives them by diminishing the sense of sin or even suppressing it altogether, replacing God’s law as the criterion of morality with the habits or conventions of the majority.

If the devil has such intelligence and power, how can human beings hope to stand against his wiles?
CARDINAL MEDINA ESTEVEZ: The Church is certain of Christ’s final victory and does not let Herself be swayed by fear or pessimism. Nevertheless, she is aware of the action of the Evil One, who seeks to discourage us and to sow confusion. “Be of good cheer,” the Lord says, “I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Exorcism, an important but not the only expression of the struggle against the devil, should be seen in this context. •
“Inside the Vatican”, March 1999, 30-33

Ten Golden Rules: A Key to the Revised Rite of Exorcism

1. First, the exorcist must be sure he is dealing with a possessed person, not someone with psychological problems.
   
2. To do this, he must distinguish possession from superstition. Sometimes people believe they have been affected by the “evil eye” or some other form of black magic. They should not be denied spiritual aid, but no exorcism should be carried out in such cases.
   
3. The following are signs of possession: a sudden capacity to speak unknown languages; abnormal physical strength; the disclosure of hidden occurrences or events; and a vehement aversion to God, the Virgin Mary, the saints, sacramental rites and religious images, especially the cross.
   
4. In difficult cases, while always respecting the secrecy of the confessional, the exorcist may consult with spiritual guides or Church-recommended physicians and psychiatrists before deciding to perform an exorcism.
   
5. In the case of non-Catholics or other unusual situations, the exorcist-priest can leave the final decision to his diocesan bishop, who may also consult outside experts.
   
6. The exorcism should, if possible, be carried out with the consent of the possessed person, and with awareness of that person’s individual physical and mental condition.
   
7. The exorcism must always be performed as an expression of Catholic faith, and should never give the impression that it is a superstitious or magical event.
   
8. At the same time, an exorcism should never turn into a “show” for the faithful. For that reason, media representatives and journalists must not be allowed to attend. The success or failure of an exorcism is not to be announced or published.
   

1. Relatives and friends may assist at an exorcism, if the exorcist deems it helpful, since they are able to help with their prayers. The possessed person should pray to God, particularly before the ritual, and strengthen his soul by receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Confession and Communion.”
   
2. If at all possible, the exorcism should take place in a church, or if not, in a closed-in place, with images of Christ Crucified and of the Mother of God. The exorcist makes the sign of the Cross over the victim’s head, and immediately afterwards speaks the phrase commanding the devil, in Christ’s name, to depart from the body of the possessed.
   

An Official Vatican Exorcist…

The priest chosen by the Holy See to drive out demons says the worst demons are often our own personalities.

The nuns on the Vatican telephone exchange must often calm down agitated callers who ask for “Pater Davide” (Father David). “No, we can’t connect you. Pater Davide doesn’t take any telephone calls. If you need to see him, please come and wait for him. And very early in the morning is best.”

Where is the Vatican’s official exorcist to be found? The Swiss Guards who patrol the Vatican entrance politely point to the tiny Santa Anna Church, just inside the main Sant ‘Anna Gate, as the headquarters for the “priest who casts out devils.”

Inside and outside the Vatican walls, and especially in the Borgo Pio neighborhood nearby, everyone recognizes the small, elderly priest with wise and sparkling eyes. In fact, the 85-year old Augustinian, Father Davide Falcioni, has been Rector of Santa Anna for more than 30 years and before that Vice-Rector of the church for 13 years. He has been an official exorcist for only six years.

By eight o’clock every morning, at least 30 persons are already waiting, crowded into Pater Davide’s small ante-chamber anxiously anticipating his curative powers. Some are saying the Rosary.

A woman named Pina has come from Naples; her husband has a tumor and she hopes that Pater Davide can “pray it away.” Mirella has brought a basket of food. She wants to present a “freshly-slaughtered ram” from her hometown in the Abruzzi Mountains to Pater Davide, who comes from the same area (Rendinara, near Aquila). “The Pater put my husband back on the right track,” explains Mirella. “He was always cheating on me, but now things are better.”

Pater Davide’s caretaker, Marta, has a hard time keeping back some of the more desperate “visitors,” insisting on immediate access to the priest-exorcist. Her cellular phone rings incessantly. About 40 people come to Pater Davide every day for his help and advice. Many show him photos of relatives with grave illnesses, and ask him to say healing prayers. Pater Davide’s followers trust him completely and say they would “walk through fire” for him.

Here within the Vatican walls, no one will hear screams or see the “possessed” rolling on the ground. Pater Davide makes house calls for realty serious cases.

What qualities are necessary for an official exorcist? Most of all, patience, says Pater Davide. Sometimes he merely gives a blessing and makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the allegedly possessed, who then calm down and leave peacefully for home. Most people are not truly possessed by demons, the priest explains, but rather merely “tempted by the devil.”

Many women who seek Pater Davide’s assistance are suffering from hysteria. Some run from one exorcist to another, or simply want to know their future. These days in Italy there is a big business in fortune telling and spiritist séances, and that, according to Pater Davide, is a serious danger.

The best cure for minor psychological disturbances is a good confession, he adds. For that reason, the impressive cross on Pater Davide’s desk, topped by a silver figure of Christ, is only seldom raised for driving out devils.

Pater Davide believes that others should not be held responsible for our own problems. The “evil eye” and malevolent envy usually exist only in the imagination of those who seek exorcisms. The Vatican exorcist has had excellent results with his motto: “Seek fault in yourself.” He also advises his “patients” to pray to their guardian angels and to take their religious duties, particularly Sunday Mass, very seriously.

Success speaks for itself. According to Marta, Pater Davide boasts a very high percentage of cures. Lately Pater Davide has needed some of his renowned spiritual strength for himself. He is recovering from a long and serious illness and since January has considerably limited the number of devotees he can receive in his little office beside the Sant’ Anna church.

…And an Unofficial One

Despite a ban by the Church hierarchy, this charismatic archbishop-exorcist draws thousands to his faith-healings.

He is a thorn in the side for the Rome Vicariate: the world-famous African faith-healer, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. Milingo frequently makes headlines for his “forbidden” Masses and faith-healings. Most recently, in early February 1999, he celebrated a controversial Mass attended by thousands of followers in Rome’s Franciscan church of S. Pietro in Montorio.

What explains the charisma of this 67-year old former Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia? The answer is simple: his healings. Maria Curti, 55, of Rome, told Inside the Vatican: “For years I could not move my left arm. Yet when Milingo gave his blessing, I felt a hot burning, and my arm was no longer stiff.” Anna Zucca, 56, a physiotherapist from Sardinia, showed us her hands. They looked healthy. “Just a few weeks ago I had a terrible skin rash which would not go away,” she said. “Thanks to Milingo, I can work again.”

Milingo offers faith and hope to the poor who cannot afford expensive medicines, operations abroad, and consultations with expert doctors. Perhaps that is why Pope John Paul II is fond of Milingo, often defending him in private, in spite of the vehement criticisms leveled against him by the Church hierarchy.

Milingo does love big audiences. He enjoys appearing on television, where he frequently sings and dances. He has recorded several money-making CD’s of religious songs and has made successful videos of his faith-healing Masses. To the horror of the Roman Curia, he was even hired by a shipping company one summer as a “facilitator-entertainer” for Mediterranean cruises. The Rome diocese has warned Milingo not to make his exorcisms into “shows.” Does he take the warning seriously?

“I am not a magician,” says the African Archbishop. “And I don’t do anything out of the ordinary. I believe that anyone can be made well. It is belief in God and a true desire for forgiveness which heals us.”

Milingo only laughs at African-type practices using cow dung, cockroaches and chicken feathers. He holds that illnesses are caused by evil and diabolical spirits, and that these can be conquered by prayer and the words of the Gospel.

One of Milingo’s favorite prayers goes: “Forgive me, heal me. I am naked and empty before Thee. I wish to begin a new life. Destroy the glance of evil. Free me from all sickness: depression, anxiety, obsession, asthma, cancer, tumors.” During Milingo’s Masses, many faithful enter ecstatic trances. They sob, touch their diseased parts, hold up photos of afflicted relatives, and beseech the archbishop’s healing power. When Mass ends, crowds ask Milingo to bless their oil and water containers; sometimes Milingo and his co-celebrants bless the faithful with holy oil or water. Some spectacular exorcisms have been reported during Milingo’s services. Recently, a young girl, screeching wildly and held back by her parents from beating herself, calmed down completely after Milingo’s prayed over her.

Archbishop Milingo lives in a Vatican-owned building on the Via Porta Angelica, directly across from the Vatican’s main entrance, Porta Sant’ Anna. His door is always besieged by both rich and poor, all suffering from various physical and mental illnesses. Milingo, however, has now been appointed “Special Representative” to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Pastoral Care of Immigrants, and must fulfill his Curial tasks before attending to the many afflicted who beseech his help.

Milingo has no intention of repatriating to Africa, although he constantly receives letters imploring his return. “I am needed here more than in Africa,” he insists. According to the Italian press, the Rome Vicariate, which in July 1966 forbade Milingo to celebrate public liturgies in Roman parishes, is now searching for a compromise with the charismatic Archbishop. It seems that the Vicariate is in touch with the Vatican Secretariat of State to locate an appropriate locale for Milingo to hold his liturgies and faith-healings.

When Inside the Vatican asked Milingo his views on the Vatican’s revised exorcism ritual, he responded with a “No Comment.” In fact, he has a guilty conscience. He has never paid much attention to the regulation that exorcisms must be carried out with the permission of the local bishop.

The Archbishop has since been excommunicated. See: http://ephesians-511.net/docs/FATIMA_CRUSADERS_TLRC_%20ARCHBISHOP_MILINGO_AND_THE_UNIFICATION_CHURCH_OF_REV_SUN_MYUNG_MOON.doc

A TRADITIONALIST ARTICLE INCLUDED HERE STRICTLY FOR ACADEMIC USE

The New Rite of Exorcism – The Influence of the Evil One

http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/articles/articles_2002_SU_Father_X.html

By Father X – Summer 2002, The Latin Mass magazine

In his famous discourse of June 30, 1972, Pope Paul VI said that he sensed “that from somewhere or other, the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.” Nowhere has this been more evident than in the disastrous revision of the blessings of the Church in De Benedictionibus, the so-called “Book of Blessings”,1 approved in 1984.

In the original Latin this defective book scandalously refuses to bless objects, but only persons.

The example of Christ our Lord in blessing things (e.g., Matthew 14:19; 26:26; Mark 6:41; 8:7; 14:22; Luke 9:16; 24:30) obviously carried no weight with the liturgists who wrote that book.

The official General Introduction to the Book of Blessings informs us: “At times the Church also blesses objects and places connected with human activity or liturgical life, or connected with piety and devotion – but always, however, with a view to the people who use those objects and are engaged in those places” (Praenotanda Generalia, 12). This explanation is dishonest, in that it gives only half a reason for blessing things, and because it conceals the fact that the book of blessings, with a few exceptions, systematically refuses to bless things. It is a book of non-blessings. To take but one example, the “blessing” of holy water outside of Mass contains no actual blessing of the water. The closest thing to it is a prayer to God asking for certain effects by the use of this water. The so-called “Prayer of blessing” (in Latin and English) refrains from using the word “bless” even once, and there is no Sign of the Cross made over the water. The Devil must have laughed when that “Book of Blessings” was issued. The traditional exorcism of water and salt, and all the other Roman Ritual’s traditional prayers against the devil and his influence were almost completely abolished. On three occasions only is a thing blessed. These three exceptions in Latin are for meals, church bells and cemeteries. In the American edition, the same things appear; also chalice and paten (found in Latin in the Pontifical); also two other places in which the alternative rite (not in the Latin) does bless an object.2 (The blessing of holy water within Mass does contain an actual blessing of the water.)

The treatment of blessings in the Catechism (#1671-2) speaks of blessings of persons, places and things. But this is belied, as I have said, by the Latin text of De Benedictionibus, the “Book of Blessings”, so called. When the definitive Latin text of the Catechism was issued in 1997, with the paragraph saying that the Church blesses things, a priest friend wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger pointing out that the lex orandi and the lex credendi were at odds, and asked a question: “Can we expect a revision of the Book of Blessings in the light of the definitive text of the Catechism?” Of course, this is a reversal of the traditional practice and view of things: one is meant to pass from the Church’s practice to a formulation of the Church’s faith. But, if it will do good, the reversal has become a necessity.

What lies behind this change to the rites of blessings? Clearly, a loss of sense of the power of the priesthood – a desire, even, to overthrow sacerdotal mediation, to reduce the priest from an instrument of Christ, clothed with the authority of Jesus Christ, to a mere prayer, on the same level as that of any lay person. The retention of the title “Blessings” means nothing: as we know, All Souls’ Day is No Souls’ Day, even in the original Latin, where the word for soul (anima) has been suppressed in the prayers of November 2.3

The New Rite of Exorcism
The same mentality has been at work in the revised Rite of Exorcism, promulgated in January 1999, De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam.4 This was intimated by the defective definition of exorcism in the 1992 Catechism at #1673, unchanged in the Latin text that came out five years later: “When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism.”

Let us read that definition again, with emphases added: “When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism.” Notice the use of the word asks, and the use of the passive voice. The text says that the Church asks for this person or object to be protected. Asks whom? For protection by whom? Obviously, God. So, according to this, an exorcism is: asking God to free someone from the devil. But, despite what this text implies, an exorcism is not a prayer to God; exorcism is a command issued to the Devil in the name of God. The very word exorcism tells you that – exorcizo, I adjure. To adjure, as the Oxford Dictionary defines it, is to charge or entreat someone solemnly, as if under oath, or under the penalty of a curse. No one can adjure God, but a minister of God can adjure a demon. The Ritual for Exorcism of 1614 (which until January 1999 was the only officially published text for Latin rite exorcists) does contain prefatory prayers to God to ask that a person be delivered – but then under the subheading of “Exorcism” itself, the exorcist orders the demon to depart. “Exorcizo te, immundissime spiritus … in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi” – “I exorcize you, unclean spirit…in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He uses other imperatives addressed to the demon, such as recede, da locum, exi, discede (withdraw, give way, exit, depart).

The new ritual scandalously gives the priest a choice of two forms of exorcism, which it calls “deprecatory” and “imperative.” “Deprecatory” means a prayer to God, in this case to ask Him to deliver the demoniac. “Imperative” means a command issued to the demon in the name of God to depart. The imperative formula is a real exorcism, but the deprecatory form is not an exorcism at all. A prayer is a request to God; an exorcism is a command to a demon. The so-called “deprecatory exorcism” is simply a petitionary prayer to God. It is not an exorcism. (If it is an exorcism, then the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “deliver us from evil”, would also be an exorcism!)

As with the so-called “exorcism” in the modern Rite of Baptism, simply placing the sub-heading Exorcism does not make what follows an exorcism. What is extremely worrying is that, according to the new rubrics, the deprecatory form must always be used, but the second form, the imperative, is an optional extra.

What lies behind this change? The same denigration of the priesthood described above. It is a true Protestantization: the reduction of the ordained priest to the level of the common priesthood. It is the fruit of embarrassment about the visible priesthood. It is the mentality that is at work when a priest says at the end of Mass: “May Almighty God bless us….” When a priest does that, he is losing his identity, and is uncomfortable about the fact that he is different, and that he can confer blessings.

Here is an extract from one of the new deprecatory formulas:

O God, creator and defender of the human race, look upon this Your servant, whom You did make in Your own image and call to share in Your glory…. Hear, holy Father, the cry of the Church suppliant: let not Your child be possessed by the father of lies; let not Your servant, whom Christ has redeemed by His blood, to be held in the captivity of the devil; let not a temple of Your Spirit be inhabited by the unclean spirit. Hear, O merciful God, the prayers of the blessed Virgin Mary, whose Son, dying upon the Cross, crushed the head of the serpent of old and entrusted all men to His mother as sons: let the light of truth shine upon this Your servant, let the joy of peace enter into him, let the Spirit of holiness possess him, and by inhabiting him render him serene and pure. Hear, O Lord, the supplication of blessed Michael the Archangel and of all the Angels ministering unto You: God of hosts, drive back the force of the devil; God of truth and favor, remove his deceitful wiles; God of freedom and grace, break the bonds of iniquity. Hear, O God, lover of man’s salvation…free this servant from every alien power…

As we can see, this is merely a petitionary prayer.

Here is an extract from one of the new imperative formulas:

I adjure you, Satan, enemy of man’s salvation, acknowledge the justice and goodness of God the Father, who by just judgment has damned your pride and envy: depart from this servant of God, whom the Lord has made in His own image, adorned with His gifts, and has mercifully adopted as His child. I adjure you, Satan, prince of this world, acknowledge the power and strength of Jesus Christ, who conquered you in the desert, overcame you in the garden, despoiled you on the Cross, and rising from the tomb, transferred your victims to the kingdom of light.… I adjure you, Satan, deceiver of the human race, acknowledge the Spirit of truth and grace, who repels your snares and confounds your lies: depart from this creature of God, whom He has signed by the heavenly seal; withdraw from this man whom God has made a holy temple by a spiritual unction. Leave, therefore, Satan, in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy + Spirit; leave through the faith and the prayer of the Church; leave through the sign of the holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

As one can see, this optional formula is an exorcism proper. In the former rite, there were prayers to God asking for deliverance, but they were always followed by exorcisms proper.

Changes to the Old Directives to the Exorcist
Other things are of great concern in this new ritual. The Ritual of 1614 contains 21 directives for the exorcist, a magnificent distillation of the accumulated wisdom and experience of the Church. The new preface never gets to the point about the manner of proceeding. The former directives 4-6, 8-9, 13-17, 19-20 have no equivalent in the new ritual’s preface. This means that most (12) of the 21 are deleted. The following former directives have no parallel in the new introduction:

4. In order to better test these signs [of possession], the priest should question the demoniac after one or other exorcism as to what he feels in his mind or body, so that in this way he can also learn which words more greatly disturb the demons, so as then to bear down on them and repeat them all the more.

5. The priest should stay alert for tricks and deceptions that demons use to mislead the exorcist. For they will give false answers as much as possible, and show themselves only with difficulty, in order that the exorcist at length become worn out and give up the exorcism; or the ill person might appear not to be harassed by the devil.

6. Occasionally, after they appear, the demons hide and leave the body almost free of all disturbance, so that the ill person might think he is completely freed. But the exorcist should not stop until he sees the signs of liberation.

8. Some demons point out an act of witchcraft which has been done [to cause possession], by whom it was done, and the way to undo it; but the demoniac should be careful not to have recourse to sorcerers, fortune-tellers, or other such persons, on this account, but should go to the ministers of the Church rather than use any superstitious or otherwise illicit means.

9. Sometimes the devil grants the sick person relief and permits him to receive the Holy Eucharist so that he might seem to have departed. In short, there are countless devices and tricks of the devil to deceive man, which the exorcist should beware, lest he be deceived.

13. …Also relics of Saints, where available, safely and properly fastened and covered, may be reverently applied to the chest or head of the possessed. Care must be taken that the sacred objects are not improperly handled or harmed in any way by the demon.

Because of danger of irreverence, the Holy Eucharist should not be placed upon the head of the possessed person or elsewhere on his body.

14. The exorcist should not engage in a great deal of talking or ask unnecessary or curious questions, especially concerning future or secret matters not pertaining to his task. But he should command the unclean spirit to be silent, except to answer his questions. Nor should he believe the demon if he pretends to be the soul of some Saint or deceased person or a good Angel.

15. However, there are necessary questions, for example, concerning the number and names of the possessing spirits, the time and reason they entered, and other things of this sort. The exorcist should restrain or spurn the rest of the devil’s nonsense, laughter and foolishness, and advise those present, who should be few, that they must not pay attention to these things nor question the possessed person, but rather humbly and earnestly pray to God for him.

16. The exorcist should read and carry out the exorcism with strength, authority, great faith, humility and fervor, and when he sees that the spirit is especially tormented, then he should persist and bear down all the more. And whenever he sees that the possessed person is being disturbed in some part of his body, or stung, or that a swelling appears somewhere, he should make the sign of the cross on that area and sprinkle it with holy water which should be on hand.

17. He is also to observe at which words the demons tremble more, and then he should repeat these words more often. When he reaches the threatening words, he should say them repeatedly, always increasing the punishment. If he sees that he is making progress, he should continue for two, three, or four hours, or even longer if he can, until he obtains the victory.

19. If he is exorcising a woman, he should always have persons of integrity with him to hold the possessed person while she is agitated by the demon. These people should be close relatives of the suffering woman if possible. Mindful of decency, the exorcist should be careful not to say or do anything which could be an occasion of an evil thought to himself or the others.

20. While he is exorcising, he should use the words of Sacred Scripture rather than his own or someone else’s. He should command the demon to tell him if he is held in that body because of some magic, or sorcerer’s signs or devices. If the possessed person has consumed things of this sort orally, he should vomit them up. If they are elsewhere outside his body, he should reveal where they are, and once found, they are to be burned. The possessed person should also be advised to make known all his temptations to the exorcist.

These crucial directives, followed by exorcists for 385 years, have no parallel in the new introduction.

The preface explicitly says that lay people may not say any of the prayers of exorcism, and repeats the old directive that exorcism is not to be conducted in public. It adds the rule (a welcome addition) that exorcism is not to be open to any communications media; and the exorcist and any assistants are not to speak publicly before or after the exorcism about what took place.

Other Changes
This article is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis of the new rite of exorcism. Many of the prayers and rites are perfectly acceptable in themselves: the new rite contains a prefatory prayer, blessing of holy water, Litany of the Saints, a Psalm, a Gospel reading (the Prologue of St. John, or a text in which Christ rejects the devil or expels demons), imposition of hands over the demoniac, Profession of Faith or renewal of Baptismal promises with renunciation of Satan; the Our Father, the Sign of the Cross on the possessed person; and, after deliverance, the Magnificat followed by other prayers and a blessing.

Laughable, however, are the references, in the prefatory decree, to Sacrosanctum Concilium of Vatican II – as if the Council had called for a revised, updated exorcism to allow full conscious participation by the laity! The only conceivable allusion to exorcism in the Vatican II decree on the liturgy is where it says the sacramentals will be revised – but the clear proof that the bishops never had exorcism in mind is seen from the reason given for revision. The one and only relevant sentence here says: “The sacramentals are to be revised, account being taken of the primary principle of the intelligent, actual and easy participation of the faithful” (art. 79). Since exorcism, new and old, must be conducted away from the faithful, the principle of intelligent, actual and easy participation is irrelevant. Once again, the liturgical decree is cited as the basis for something never intended.

Dishonest is the use of the word instauratum (restored) in the subheading of the title page: the new exorcism ritual is in no way a restoration. It is a fabrication. The Latin should have read fabricatum or innovatum or maybe concoctum!

The preface provides for translation of the rite into myriad languages – but what on earth for? If an exorcist does not know enough Latin to perform the prayers in Latin, he should not be appointed to the office. The preface at no. 13 quotes canon 1172 saying that an exorcist should be, inter alia, “outstanding in knowledge” – but how could that be said of a priest who cannot say or follow very simple texts and prayers in Latin? As well, given charismatics’ predilection for exorcisms and “deliverance”, it is highly imprudent to make the Church’s official exorcism prayers available to all and sundry in every language, when only a tiny proportion of priests need to use them.

With the promulgation of the new exorcism ritual, the Athanasian Creed has now officially disappeared from any Catholic ritual. In the 1960s, its frequency was reduced in the Breviary and finally it was abolished from it. The rite of exorcism was the last surviving ceremony in the Church where the Athanasian Creed was recited. Now it is gone. This is a serious loss, and there was no good reason why it was replaced by a choice between the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Another innovation, but a welcome one, in the new Ritual for Exorcism, is an exorcism to be used for a place or thing, something not specifically present in the former Ritual. (Herbert Thurston S.J.’s book Ghosts and Poltergeists5 has an appendix containing his English translation of an “Exorcism of a house troubled by an evil spirit,” which he found in the Appendix of an edition of the Roman Ritual printed in Madrid in 1631, published with the authorization of the Inquisition. Father Thurston evidently thought this was a worthwhile ceremony to have.) This new rite for a place or thing also requires permission from the bishop before being used. Again, however, in this ceremony, the imperative formula, the true exorcism, is to be added, only if the priest wishes.

Conclusion
Well-informed people may wonder how it is that such innovative and defective things can be promulgated by someone like Cardinal Medina Estevez. They wonder, too, how Cardinal Ratzinger can let certain things go on, and not reverse them by a new document, and so on. It is important to remember that the Sacred Congregations are composed of voting members, all of whom are Bishops. They have plenty of advisers and experts, but only Bishops are actual members. When the time comes for handing down a public decision, promulgating a document, and the like, these things are put to a vote of the members. Cardinal Ratzinger does not have single-handed and complete control over the Holy Office, which has 21 bishop members (cf. Annuario Pontificio). The same applies to the other Cardinal Prefects. Suppose Cardinal Medina Estevez wanted to abolish some banal Swiss eucharistic prayers, for example. He does not have the authority to draw up a decree abolishing them single-handedly. The 34 bishop members of the Congregation for Divine Worship would have to vote on it. Possibly, certain decisions require a two-thirds majority – who knows?

According to the president of the International Association of Exorcists, Father Gabriele Amorth (30 Days, no. 6, 2001), when the new rite was ready, Cardinals Ratzinger and Medina sought to add a provision in its introduction authorizing the use of the previous rite. This move of theirs was rejected, so Cardinal Medina issued a separate notification that an exorcist can use the old rite if his bishop asks the Congregation for Divine Worship, who will “gladly provide the requested permission” (Notitiae, vol. 35, 1999).

The new rite will one day itself be subject to a true restoration, which will restore to the obligatory texts of the exorcist the true nature of his office.

Notes
1 Editio typica, Vatican City 1985; Book of Blessings (American edition 1989).

2 Meals, church bells and cemeteries: pp.300-318, 400, 429. In the American edition, same things at pp. 439-458, 565, 609; also p.589 for chalice and paten (found in Latin in the Pontifical); also p.624 (article of devotion) and p.634 (rosary) where the alternative rite (not in the Latin) does bless an object.

3 The word anima is suppressed in all of the funerals and Masses for the dead, except one: two of the proper prayers in the Mass, “Pro defunctis fratribus, propinquis et benefactoribus,” Missale Romanum 1975, pp.909-10.

4 Full title page reads: RITUALE ROMANUM EX DECRETO SACROSANCTI ŒCUMENICI CONCILII VATICANI II INSTAURATUM AUCTORITATE IOANNIS PAULI PP. II PROMULGATUM DE EXORCISMIS ET SUPPLICATIONIBUS QUIBUSDAM EDITIO TYPICA, TYPIS VATICANIS, MIM. It has not yet appeared in English.

5 Edited after his death by Fr Crehan S.J. and reprinted in 1998 by Roman Catholic Books, USA.

Father X holds an STL in Dogmatic Theology. 

TRADITIONALISTS REJECT VATICAN COUNCIL II AND ALL MAGISTERIAL TEACHING THEREAFTER – MICHAEL

The Roman Ritual  

Source:
http://www.trosch.org/chu/exorcism.htm

INTRODUCTION

That there is a world of demons is a teaching of revealed religion which is perfectly clear to all who know Sacred Scripture and respect and accept its word as inspired of God. It is part of the whole Christian-Judaeo heritage. There are some who hold that even if revelation were not so absolute, an inference of the existence of evil spirits can be drawn from the magnitude of evil in the world. They say that human malice and depravity even at its worst is not sufficient to account for it, and it must be concluded that the devil is a real person and that his sway is tremendous. As Franqois Mauriac writes in his life of St. Margaret of Cortona: “Evil is Someone, Someone who is multiple and whose name is legion. . . . It is one thing to be in the realm of the demons, as we all are when we have lost the state of grace, and quite another to be held and surrounded, literally possessed by him.”

One gets the impression that the teaching about the devil’s existence is not a particularly popular one in our time. C. S. Lewis in his Screwtape Letters says something to the effect that if the little inexperienced novice devils, about to start out on their work of seducing men, can convince men that the devil does not exist, then half the battle is already won.

The first book of the Holy Bible recounts the seduction of Adam and Eve by the Prince of Darkness; but it is to the last book that we must go for his origin. “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels had to fight the dragon; the dragon fought, and so did his angels. But they were defeated, and a place was no longer found for them in heaven. That huge dragon, the ancient serpent, was hurled down, he who is called the devil and Satan, he who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled down to death, and his angels were hurled down with him.” (Apocalypse 12.7-9)

Christ our Lord overcame Satan on the cross, and ever since the latter’s empire is shaken. Man is delivered from the power of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of the Son. Yet the devil is not completely vanquished or trodden underfoot once for all, and the warfare against him is carried out by Christ and His Church until the end of time. Therefore, St. Paul is prompted to admonish us: “Put on all the armor that God has forged, that you may be able to make a stand against the devil’s cunning tricks. Our wrestling is not against weak human nature, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against those that rule the world of darkness, the wicked spirits that belong to an order higher than ours… With all this take up the shield of faith, with which you will be enabled to put out all the flaming arrows of the wicked enemy.” (Ephesians 6.12-16)

Against these unclean spirits the Church uses as her weapons prayers, blessings, holy water, and other sacramentals to combat the ordinary power that the former wield over men. But apart from this ordinary and general power that Providence allows Satan there is also a special and terrible satanic influence called possession — the domination by the demon over man’s bodily organs and his lower spiritual faculties. In later Christian times the term obsession is used instead of possession, the former connoting a lesser kind of demonic disturbance. That Christ reckoned with this satanic power in the same way that the Church has throughout her centuries is evident from the New Testament; see for example Matthew 9.32-34, Luke 8.2, Mark 9.13 ff.

To be possessed can mean that Satan has gained mastery over the will so devastatingly that sinfulness passes beyond ordinary depravity in the world, and its cause must be sought in a power above the order of nature. To be possessed can mean that Satan has beclouded the intellect, so that the light of faith cannot illuminate it. To be possessed can mean that Satan has befuddled a person’s reason; in fact, simple and superstitious folk have wrongly made lunacy synonymous with diabolical infestation. In some instances of possession recounted in the New Testament, molestation by the devil is manifested in various disturbances of the human body itself, where he has gained control over a man’s sight, hearing, speech, or the physical organism in general. (Mark 5:1 ff)

Christ handed down to the Church the power He once exercised over demons. The early Christians were deeply influenced by what they had learned of their Master’s dealing with evil spirits, and there was on their part frequent use of the charismatic gifts of healing the sick and driving out devils. But the prayers and forms used for exorcism in the first centuries have not come down to us, outside the ones used in baptism. Exorcism became part of the baptismal rite somewhere around 200 A.D. Thus the ancient liturgical records which date from the third century, those dealing with baptism, give us the early Christians’ belief about Satan and his intervention in the affairs of man. In the devil’s hatred for God he .turned on man, who is made in God’s image. In consequence of original sin men are no longer temples of the Holy Spirit but rather the habitations of the demon. Not too much distinction is made between the possessed and the unbaptized. Isidore of Seville puts both on the same level, and says that exorcism is the ceremony of banishing the most wicked influence of the devil from catechumens and possessed alike. (Dictionnaire D’ Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie, V, Pt. 1, 963 if.)

It is difficult to fix precisely the time of origin of a special rite for exorcism. The evidence would indicate that in the early Church acts of exorcism consisted mainly in the sign of the cross, invoking the name of Jesus, and renunciations of Satan and adjurations and threats uttered against him. But later on, especially in the Latin Church, the rites of exorcism become more and more numerous, until in the highly imaginative Middle Ages there is actually a profusion of them. To this period we must attribute beliefs and practices which are superstitious to an extreme. Devils are believed to exist in the guise of certain material bodies. Demonic possession is confounded with epilepsy and other mental or psychic disorders. Rituals of this time prescribe that the subject remain in the presence of the exorcist throughout the period of exorcism, that he observe a strict fast and limit his diet to blessed water, salt, and vegetables, that he wear new clothes, that he abstain from the marital act. No less complicated are the injunctions for the exorcist. And by the time we come to the fourteenth century magical practices have been introduced into the ceremonies.

No doubt the present rite for exorcism will undergo improvement and revision along with the general revision of the liturgical books recommended by Vatican Council II. But compared to former times the rite as given in the Roman Ritual today is characterized by great sobriety. Some minds might still discern traces of a certain naiveté, yet at any rate it has been purged of the unfortunate accretions of a period ruled much more by human credulity than by the unadulterated doctrine of the Church.

No longer, for example, does the official text afford any grounds for the erroneous notion that diabolical possession is necessarily a divine retribution visited upon a grievous sinner. God allows this terrible evil in His wisdom without the afflicted person being necessarily at fault. It is one thing to have fallen into the slavery of sin or to be afflicted with a bodily or mental infirmity, and quite another to have the devil enter into a man and take possession of him.

The general rules for exorcism that follow are a clear indication that we have come a long way from the superstitious notions that prevailed in the era of the Middle Ages. Noteworthy among these rules are the ones that direct that the parties concerned should have recourse to the holy sacraments, and that the sacred words of Holy Writ should be employed rather than any forms devised by the exorcist or someone else. The instructions given below indicate that the Church has carefully guarded the extraordinary power over Satan committed to her by Christ, and that Catholic exorcism is poles removed from any form of dabbling in the spirit world which springs from human chicanery or malice.

PART XIII EXORCISM

CHAPTER I

GENERAL RULES CONCERNING EXORCISM

1. A priest — one who is expressly and particularly authorized by the Ordinary — when he intends to perform an exorcism over persons tormented by the devil, must be properly distinguished for his piety, prudence, and integrity of life. He should fulfill this devout undertaking in all constancy and humility, being utterly immune to any striving for human aggrandizement, and relying, not on his own, but on the divine power. Moreover, he ought to be of mature years, and revered not alone for his office but for his moral qualities.
   
2. In order to exercise his ministry rightly, he should resort to a great deal more study of the matter (which has to be passed over here for the sake of brevity), by examining approved authors and cases from experience; on the other hand, let him carefully observe the few more important points enumerated here.
   
3. Especially, he should not believe too readily that a person is possessed by an evil spirit; but he ought to ascertain the signs by which a person possessed can be distinguished from one who is suffering from some illness, especially one of a psychological nature. (From the emended text of the 1952 edition.) Signs of possession may be the following: ability to speak with some facility in a strange tongue or to understand it when spoken by another; the faculty of divulging future and hidden events; display of powers which are beyond the subject’s age and natural condition; and various other indications which, when taken together as a whole, build up the evidence.
   
4. In order to understand these matters better, let him inquire of the person possessed, following one or the other act of exorcism, what the latter experienced in his body or soul while the exorcism was being performed, and to learn also what particular words in the form had a more intimidating effect upon the devil, so that hereafter these words may be employed with greater stress and frequency.
   
5. He will be on his guard against the arts and subterfuges which the evil spirits are wont to use in deceiving the exorcist. For oftentimes they give deceptive answers and make it difficult to understand them, so that the exorcist might tire and give up, or so it might appear that the afflicted one is in no wise possessed by the devil.
   
6. Once in a while, after they are already recognized, they conceal themselves and leave the body practically free from every molestation, so that the victim believes himself completely delivered. Yet the exorcist may not desist until he sees the signs of deliverance.
   
7. At times, moreover, the evil spirits place whatever obstacles they can in the way, so that the patient may not submit to exorcism, or they try to convince him that his affliction is a natural one. Meanwhile, during the exorcism they cause him to fall asleep, and dangle some illusion before him, while they seclude themselves, so that the afflicted one appears to be freed.
   
8. Some reveal a crime which has been committed and the perpetrators thereof, as well as the means of putting an end to it. Yet the afflicted person must beware of having recourse on this account to sorcerers or necromancers or to any parties except the ministers of the Church, or of making use of any superstitious or forbidden practice.
   

1. Sometimes the devil will leave the possessed person in peace `and even allow him to receive the holy Eucharist, to make it appear that he has departed. In fact, the arts and frauds of the evil one for deceiving a man are innumerable. For this reason the exorcist must be on his guard not to fall into this trap.
   
2. Therefore, he will be mindful of the words of our Lord (Mt 17.20), to the effect that there is a certain type of evil spirit who cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting. Therefore, let him avail himself of these two means above all for imploring the divine assistance in expelling demons, after the example of the holy fathers; and not only himself, but let him induce others, as far as possible, to do the same.
   
3. If it can be done conveniently the possessed person should be led to church or to some other sacred and worthy place, where the exorcism will be held, away from the crowd. But if the person is ill, or for any valid reason, the exorcism may take place in a private home.
   
4. The subject, if in good mental and physical health, should be exhorted to implore God’s help, to fast, and to fortify himself by frequent reception of penance and Holy Communion, at the discretion of the priest. And in the course of the exorcism he should be fully recollected, with his intention fixed on God, whom he should entreat with firm faith and in all humility. And if he is all the more grievously tormented, he ought to bear this patiently, never doubting the divine assistance.
   
5. He ought to have a crucifix at hand or somewhere in sight. If relics of the saints are available, they are to be applied in a reverent way to the breast or the head of the person possessed (the relics must be properly and securely encased and covered). One will see to it that these sacred objects are not treated improperly or that no injury is done them by the evil spirit. However, one should not hold the holy Eucharist over the head of the person or in any way apply it to his body, owing to the danger of desecration.
   
6. The exorcist must not digress into senseless prattle nor ask superfluous questions or such as are prompted by curiosity, particularly if they pertain to future and hidden matters, all of which have nothing to do with his office. Instead, he will bid the unclean spirit keep silence and answer only when asked. Neither ought he to give any credence to the devil if the latter maintains that he is the spirit of some saint or of a deceased party, or even claims to be a good angel.
   
7. But necessary questions are, for example: the number and name of the spirits inhabiting the patient, the time when they entered into him, the cause thereof, and the like. As for all jesting, laughing, and nonsense on the part of the evil spirit — the exorcist should prevent it or contemn it, and he will exhort the bystanders (whose number must be very limited) to pay no attention to such goings on; neither are they to put any question to the subject. Rather they should intercede for him to God in all humility and urgency.
   
8. Let the priest pronounce the exorcism in a commanding and authoritative voice and at the same time with great confidence, humility, and fervor; and when he sees that the spirit is sorely vexed, and then he oppresses and threatens all the more. If he notices that the person afflicted is experiencing a disturbance in some part of his body or an acute pain or a swelling appears in some part, he traces the sign of the cross over that place and sprinkles it with holy water, which he must have at hand for this purpose.
   
9. He will pay attention as to what words in particular cause the evil spirits to tremble, repeating them the more frequently. And when he comes to a threatening expression, he recurs to it again and again, always increasing the punishment. If he perceives that he is making progress, let him persist for two, three, four hours, and longer if he can, until victory is attained.
   
10. The exorcist should guard against giving or recommending any medicine to the patient, but should leave this care to physicians.
    
11. While performing the exorcism over a woman, he ought always to have assisting him several women of good repute, who will hold on to the person when she is harassed by the evil spirit. These assistants ought if possible to be close relatives of the subject, and for the sake of decency the exorcist will avoid saying or doing anything which might prove an occasion of evil thoughts to himself or to the others.
    

1. During the exorcism he shall preferably employ words from Holy Writ, rather than forms of his own or of someone else. He shall, moreover, command the devil to tell whether he is detained in that body by necromancy, by evil signs or amulets; and if the one possessed has taken the latter by mouth, he should be made to vomit them; if he has them concealed on his person, he should expose them; and when discovered they must be burned. Moreover, the person should be exhorted to reveal all his temptations to the exorcist.
   
2. Finally, after the possessed one has been freed, let him be admonished to guard himself carefully against falling into sin, so as to afford no opportunity to the evil spirit of returning, lest the last state of that man become worse than the former.
   

CHAPTER II

RITE FOR EXORCISM

1. The priest delegated by the Ordinary to perform this office should first go to confession or at least elicit an act of contrition, and, if convenient, offer the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and implore God’s help in other fervent prayers. He vests in surplice and purple stole. Having before him the person possessed (who should be bound if there is any danger), he traces the sign of the cross over him, over himself, and the bystanders, and then sprinkles all of them with holy water. After this he kneels and says the Litany of the Saints (see p. 330), exclusive of the prayers which follow it. All present are to make the responses.
   

   LITANY OF THE SAINTS
   

   The Litany of the Saints is used in ordination, Forty Hours’, processions, and other occasions. Both the Roman Ritual and the Roman Pontifical direct that the first three invocations be repeated. The music for this litany is given in the music supplement. The invocations are sung (or recited) by the chanters or the priest; the responses by all.
   

   P: Lord, have mercy.
   All: Lord, have mercy.
   

   P: Christ, have mercy.
   All: Christ, have mercy.
   

   P: Lord, have mercy.
   All: Lord, have mercy.
   

   P: Christ, hear us.
   All: Christ, graciously hear us.
   

   P: God, the Father in heaven.
   All: Have mercy on us.
   

   P: God, the Son, Redeemer of the world.
   All: Have mercy on us.
   

   P: God, the Holy Spirit.
   All: Have mercy on us.
   

   P: Holy Trinity, one God.
   All: Have mercy on us.
   

   Holy Mary, pray for us,*
   *After each invocation: “Pray for us.”
   

   Holy Mother of God,
   Holy Virgin of virgins,
   St. Michael,
   St. Gabriel,
   

   
   St. Raphael,
   All holy angels and archangels,
   All holy orders of blessed spirits,
   St. John the Baptist,
   St. Joseph,
   All holy patriarchs and prophets,
   St. Peter,
   St. Paul,
   St. Andrew,
   St. James,
   St. John,
   St. Thomas,
   St. James,
   St. Philip,
   St. Bartholomew,
   St. Matthew,
   St. Simon,
   St. Thaddeus,
   St. Matthias,
   St. Barnabas,
   St. Luke,
   St. Mark,
   All holy apostles and evangelists,
   All holy disciples of the Lord,
   All holy Innocents,
   St. Stephen,
   St. Lawrence,
   St. Vincent,
   SS. Fabian and Sebastian,
   SS. John and Paul,
   SS. Cosmas and Damian,
   SS. Gervase and Protase,
   All holy martyrs,
   St. Sylvester,
   St. Gregory,
   St. Ambrose,
   St. Augustine,
   St. Jerome,
   St. Martin,
   St. Nicholas,
   All holy bishops and confessors,
   All holy doctors,
   St. Anthony,
   St. Benedict,
   St. Bernard,
   St. Dominic,
   St. Francis,
   All holy priests and levites,
   All holy monks and hermits,
   St. Mary Magdalen,
   St. Agatha,
   St. Lucy,
   St. Agnes,
   St. Cecilia,
   St. Catherine,
   St. Anastasia,
   All holy virgins and widows,
   

   P: All holy saints of God,
   All: Intercede for us.
   

    

   P: Be merciful,
   All: Spare us, 0 Lord.
   

   P: Be merciful,
   All: Graciously hear us, 0 Lord.
   

   From all evil, deliver us, 0 Lord.*
   

   *After each invocation: “Deliver us, 0 Lord.”
   

   From all sin,
   From your wrath,
   From sudden and unprovided death,
   From the snares of the devil,
   From anger, hatred, and all ill will,
   From all lewdness,
   From lightning and tempest,
   From the scourge of earthquakes,
   From plague, famine, and war,
   From everlasting death,
   By the mystery of your holy incarnation,
   By your coming,
   By your birth,
   By your baptism and holy fasting,
   By your cross and passion,
   By your death and burial,
   By your holy resurrection,
   By your wondrous ascension,
   By the coming of the Holy,
   Spirit, the Advocate,
   On the day of judgment,
   

   P: We sinners,
   All: We beg you to hear us.*
   

   *After each invocation: “We beg you to hear us.”
   

   That you spare us,
   That you pardon us,
   That you bring us to true penance,
   That you govern and preserve your holy Church,
   That you preserve our Holy Father and all ranks in the Church in holy religion,
   

   That you humble the enemies of holy Church,
   That you give peace and true concord to all Christian rulers.
   That you give peace and unity to the whole Christian world,
   That you restore to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth, and lead all unbelievers to the light of the Gospel,
   

   That you confirm and preserve us in your holy service,
   That you lift up our minds to heavenly desires,
   That you grant everlasting blessings to all our benefactors,
   That you deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relatives, and benefactors from everlasting damnation,
   

   That you give and preserve the fruits of the earth,
   That you grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,
   That you graciously hear us, Son of God,
   

   At the end of the litany he (the priest) adds the following:
   

    

   P: Antiphon:  Do not keep in mind, 0 Lord, our offenses or those of our parents, nor take vengeance on our sins.
   

   P: Our Father the rest inaudibly until
   

   P: And lead us not into temptation.
   All: But deliver us from evil.
   

   Psalm 53
   

   P: God, by your name save me, * and by your might defend my cause.
   All: God, hear my prayer; * hearken to the words of my mouth.
   

   P: For haughty men have risen up against me, and fierce men seek my life; * they set not God before their eyes.
   

   All: See, God is my helper; * the Lord sustains my life.
   

   P: Turn back the evil upon my foes; * in your faithfulness destroy them.
   All: Freely will I offer you sacrifice; * I will praise your name, Lord, for its goodness,
   

   P: Because from all distress you have rescued me, * and my eyes look down upon my enemies.
   All: Glory be to the Father.
   

   P: As it was in the beginning.
   

   After the psalm the priest continues:
   

   P: Save your servant.
   All: Who trusts in you, my God.
   

   P: Let him (her) find in you, Lord, a fortified tower.
   All: In the face of the enemy.
   

   P: Let the enemy have no power over him (her).
   All: And the son of iniquity be powerless to harm him (her).
   

   P: Lord, send him (her) aid from your holy place.
   All: And watch over him (her) from Sion.
   

   P: Lord, heed my prayer.
   All: And let my cry be heard by you.
   

   P: The Lord be with you.
   All: May He also be with you.
   

   Let us pray.
   God, whose nature is ever merciful and forgiving, accept our prayer that this servant of yours, bound by the fetters of sin, may be pardoned by your loving kindness.
   

   Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who once and for all consigned that fallen and apostate tyrant to the flames of hell, who sent your only-begotten Son into the world to crush that roaring lion; hasten to our call for help and snatch from ruination and from the clutches of the noonday devil this human being made in your image and likeness. Strike terror, Lord, into the beast now laying waste your vineyard. Fill your servants with courage to fight manfully against that reprobate dragon, lest he despise those who put their trust in you, and say with Pharaoh of old: “I know not God, nor will I set Israel free.” Let your mighty hand cast him out of your servant, N., +
   so he may no longer hold captive this person whom it pleased you to make in your image, and to redeem through your Son; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
   All: Amen.
   

2. Then he commands the demon as follows:
   

I command you, unclean spirit, whoever you are, along with all your minions now attacking this servant of God, by the mysteries of the incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the descent of the Holy Spirit, by the coming of our Lord for judgment, that you tell me by some sign your name, and the day and hour of your departure. I command you, moreover, to obey me to the letter, I who am a minister of God despite my unworthiness; nor shall you be emboldened to harm in any way this creature of God, or the bystanders, or any of their possessions.

The priest lays his hand on the head of the sick person, saying:

They shall lay their hands upon the sick and all will be well with them. May Jesus, Son of Mary, Lord and Savior of the world, through the merits and intercession of His holy apostles Peter and Paul and all His saints, show you favor and mercy.
All: Amen.

1. Next he reads over the possessed person these selections from the Gospel, or at least one of them.
   

   P: The Lord be with you.
   All: May He also be with you.
   

   P: The beginning of the holy Gospel according to St. John.
   All: Glory be to you, 0 Lord.
   

   A Lesson from the holy Gospel according to St. John
   

   John 1.1-14
   

As he says these opening words he signs himself and the possessed on the brow, lips, and breast.

When time began, the Word was there, and the Word was face to face with God, and the Word was God. This Word, when time began, was face to face with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him there came to be not one thing that has come to be. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not lay hold of it. There came upon the scene a man, a messenger from God, whose name was John. This man came to give testimony to testify in behalf of the light that all might believe through him. He was not himself the light; he only was to testify in behalf of the light. Meanwhile the true light, which illumines every man, was making its entrance into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, and the world did not acknowledge Him. He came into His home, and His own people did not welcome Him. But to as many as welcomed Him He gave the power to become children of God those who believe in His name; who were born not of blood, or of carnal desire, or of man’s will; no, they were born of God. (Genuflect here.) And the Word became man and lived among us; and we have looked upon His glory such a glory as befits the Father’s only-begotten Son full of grace and truth!
All: Thanks be to God.

25. Lastly he blesses the sick person, saying:

May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you forever.
All: Amen.

Then he sprinkles the person with holy water.

A Lesson from the holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Mark 16.15-18

At that time Jesus said to His disciples: “Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He that believes and is baptized will be saved; he that does not believe will be condemned. And in the way of proofs of their claims, the following will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will take up serpents in their hands, and if they drink something deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and these will recover.”

A Lesson from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 10.17-20

At that time the seventy-two returned in high spirits. “Master,” they said, “even the demons are subject to us because we use your name!” “Yes,” He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall like lightning that flashes from heaven. But mind: it is I that have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and break the dominion of the enemy everywhere; nothing at all can injure you. Just the same, do not rejoice in the fact that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice in the fact that your names are engraved in heaven.”

A Lesson from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 11.14-22

At that time Jesus was driving out a demon, and this particular demon was dumb. The demon was driven out, the dumb man spoke, and the crowds were enraptured. But some among the people remarked: “He is a tool of Beelzebul, and that is how he drives out demons!” Another group, intending to test Him, demanded of Him a proof of His claims, to be shown in the sky. He knew their inmost thoughts. “Any kingdom torn by civil strife,” He said to them, “is laid in ruins; and house tumbles upon house. So, too, if Satan is in revolt against himself, how can his kingdom last, since you say that I drive out demons as a tool of Beelzebul. And furthermore: if I drive out demons as a tool of Beelzebul, whose tools are your pupils when they do the driving out? Therefore, judged by them, you must stand condemned. But, if, on the contrary, I drive out demons by the finger of God, then, evidently the kingdom of God has by this time made its way to you. As long as a mighty lord in full armor guards his premises, he is in peaceful possession of his property; but should one mightier than he attack and overcome him, he will strip him of his armor, on which he had relied, and distribute the spoils taken from him.”

P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.

P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
Almighty Lord, Word of God the Father, Jesus Christ, God and Lord of all creation; who gave to your holy apostles the power to tramp underfoot serpents and scorpions; who along with the other mandates to work miracles was pleased to grant them the authority to say: “Depart, you devils!” and by whose might Satan was made to fall from heaven like lightning; I humbly call on your holy name in fear and trembling, asking that you grant me, your unworthy servant, pardon for all my sins, steadfast faith, and the power — supported by your mighty arm — to confront with confidence and resolution this cruel demon. I ask this through you, Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, who are coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.
All: Amen.

1. Next he makes the sign of the cross over himself and the one possessed, places the end of the stole on the latter’s neck, and, putting his right hand on the latter’s head, he says the following in accents filled with confidence and faith:
   

   P: See the cross of the Lord; begone, you hostile powers!
   All: The stem of David, the lion of Juda’s tribe has conquered.
   

   P: Lord, heed my prayer.
   All: And let my cry be heard by you.
   

   P: The Lord be with you.
   All: May He also be with you.
   

   Let us pray. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I appeal to your holy name, humbly begging your kindness, that you graciously grant me help against this and every unclean spirit now tormenting this creature of yours; through Christ our Lord.
   All: Amen.
   

   Exorcism
   

   I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy, every spectre from hell, and all your fell companions; in the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ. Begone and stay far from this creature of God. + For it is He who commands you, He who flung you headlong from the heights of heaven into the depths of hell. It is He who commands you, He who once stilled the sea and the wind and the storm. Hearken, therefore, and tremble in fear, Satan, you enemy of the faith, you foe of the human race, you begetter of death, you robber of life, you corrupter of justice, you root of all evil and vice; seducer of men, betrayer of the nations, instigator of envy, font of avarice, fomentor of discord, author of pain and sorrow. Why, then, do you stand and resist, knowing as you must that Christ the Lord brings your plans to nothing? Fear Him, who in Isaac was offered in sacrifice, in Joseph sold into bondage, slain as the paschal lamb, crucified as man, yet triumphed over the powers of hell. (The three signs of the cross which follow are traced on the brow of the possessed person). Begone, then, in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Spirit. Give place to the Holy Spirit by this sign of the holy + cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
   All: Amen.
   

   P: Lord, heed my prayer.
   All: And let my cry be heard by you.
   

   P: The Lord be with you.
   All: May He also be with you.
   

   Let us pray.
   God, Creator and defender of the human race, who made man in your own image, look down in pity on this your servant, N., now in the toils of the unclean spirit, now caught up in the fearsome threats of man’s ancient enemy, sworn foe of our race, who befuddles and stupefies the human mind, throws it into terror, overwhelms it with fear and panic. Repel, 0 Lord, the devil’s power, break asunder his snares and traps, put the unholy tempter to flight. By the sign + (on the brow) of your name, let your servant be protected in mind and body. (The three crosses which follow are traced on the breast of the possessed person). Keep watch over the inmost recesses of his (her) + heart; rule over his (her) + emotions; strengthen his (her) + will. Let vanish from his (her) soul the temptings of the mighty adversary. Graciously grant, 0 Lord, as we call on your holy name, that the evil spirit, who hitherto terrorized over us, may himself retreat in terror and defeat, so that this servant of yours may sincerely and steadfastly render you the service which is your due; through Christ our Lord.
   All: Amen.
   

   Exorcism
   

   I adjure you, ancient serpent, by the judge of the living and the dead, by your Creator, by the Creator of the whole universe, by Him who has the power to consign you to hell, to depart forthwith in fear, along with your savage minions, from this servant of God, N., who seeks refuge in the fold of the Church. I adjure you again, + (on the brow) not by my weakness but by the might of the Holy Spirit, to depart from this servant of God, N.
   , whom almighty God has made in His image. Yield, therefore, yield not to my own person but to the minister of Christ. For it is the power of Christ that compels you, who brought you low by His cross. Tremble before that mighty arm that broke asunder the dark prison walls and led souls forth to light. May the trembling that afflicts this human frame, + (on the breast) the fear that afflicts this image + (on the brow) of God, descend on you. Make no resistance nor delay in departing from this man, for it has pleased Christ to dwell in man. Do not think of despising my command because you know me to be a great sinner. It is God + Himself who commands you; the majestic Christ + who commands you. God the Father + commands you; God the Son + commands you; God the Holy + Spirit commands you. The mystery of the cross commands + you. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and of all the saints commands + you. The blood of the martyrs commands + you. The continence of the confessors commands + you. The devout prayers of all holy men and women command + you. The saving mysteries of our Christian faith command + you.
   

   Depart, then, transgressor. Depart, seducer, full of lies and cunning, foe of virtue, persecutor of the innocent. Give place, abominable creature, give way, you monster, give way to Christ, in whom you found none of your works. For He has already stripped you of your powers and laid waste your kingdom, bound you prisoner and plundered your weapons. He has cast you forth into the outer darkness, where everlasting ruin awaits you and your abettors.
   

    

   To what purpose do you insolently resist? To what purpose do you brazenly refuse? For you are guilty before almighty God, whose laws you have transgressed. You are guilty before His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom you presumed to tempt, whom you dared to nail to the cross. You are guilty before the whole human race, to whom you proffered by your enticements the poisoned cup of death.
   

   Therefore, I adjure you, profligate dragon, in the name of the spotless + Lamb, who has trodden down the asp and the basilisk, and overcome the lion and the dragon, to depart from this man (woman) + (on the brow), to depart from the Church of God + (signing the bystanders). Tremble and flee, as we call on the name of the Lord, before whom the denizens of hell cower, to whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominations are subject, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending cries as they sing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. The Word made flesh + commands you; the Virgin’s Son + commands you; Jesus + of Nazareth commands you, who once, when you despised His disciples, forced you to flee in shameful defeat from a man; and when He had cast you out you did not even dare, except by His leave, to enter into a herd of swine. And now as I adjure you in His + name, begone from this man (woman) who is His creature. It is futile to resist His + will. It is hard for you to kick against the + goad. The longer you delay, the heavier your punishment shall be; for it is not men you are condemning, but rather Him who rules the living and the dead, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.
   All: Amen.
   

   P: Lord, heed my prayer.
   All: And let my cry be heard by you.
   

   P: The Lord be with you.
   All: May He also be with you.
   

   Let us pray.
   God of heaven and earth, God of the angels and archangels, God of the prophets and apostles, God of the martyrs and virgins, God who have power to bestow life after death and rest after toil; for there is no other God than you, nor can there be another true God beside you, the Creator of heaven and earth, who are truly a King, whose kingdom is without end; I humbly entreat your glorious majesty to deliver this servant of yours from the unclean spirits; through Christ our Lord.
   All: Amen.
   

   Exorcism
   

   Therefore, I adjure you every unclean spirit, every spectre from hell, every satanic power, in the name of Jesus + Christ of Nazareth, who was led into the desert after His baptism by John to vanquish you in your citadel, to cease your assaults against the creature whom He has, formed from the slime of the earth for His own honor and glory; to quail before wretched man, seeing in him the image of almighty God, rather than his state of human frailty. Yield then to God, + who by His servant, Moses, cast you and your malice, in the person of Pharaoh and his army, into the depths of the sea. Yield to God, + who, by the singing of holy canticles on the part of David, His faithful servant, banished you from the heart of King Saul. Yield to God, + who condemned you in the person of Judas Iscariot, the traitor. For He now flails you with His divine scourges, + He in whose sight you and your legions once cried out: “What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Have you come to torture us before the time?” Now He is driving you back into the everlasting fire, He who at the end of time will say to the wicked: “Depart from me, you accursed, into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” For you, 0 evil one, and for your followers there will be worms that never die. An unquenchable fire stands ready for you and for your minions, you prince of accursed murderers, father of lechery, instigator of sacrileges, model of vileness, promoter of heresies, inventor of every obscenity.
   

   Depart, then, + impious one, depart, + accursed one, depart with all your deceits, for God has willed that man should be His temple. Why do you still linger here? Give honor to God the Father + almighty, before whom every knee must bow. Give place to the Lord Jesus + Christ, who shed His most precious blood for man. Give place to the Holy + Spirit, who by His blessed apostle Peter openly struck you down in the person of Simon Magus; who cursed your lies in Annas and Saphira; who smote you in King Herod because he had not given honor to God; who by His apostle Paul afflicted you with the night of blindness in the magician Elyma, and by the mouth of the same apostle bade you to go out of Pythonissa, the soothsayer. Begone, + now! Begone, + seducer!
   

   Your place is in solitude; your abode is in the nest of serpents; get down and crawl with them. This matter brooks no delay; for see, the Lord, the ruler comes quickly, kindling fire before Him, and it will run on ahead of Him and encompass His enemies in flames. You might delude man, but God you cannot mock. It is He who casts you out, from whose sight nothing is hidden. It is He who repels you, to whose might all things are subject. It is He who expels you, He who has prepared everlasting hellfire for you and your angels, from whose mouth shall come a sharp sword, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.
   All: Amen.
   

2. All the above may be repeated as long as necessary, until the one possessed has been fully freed.
   
3. It will also help to say devoutly and often over the afflicted person the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Creed, as well as any of the prayers given below.
   
4. The Canticle of our Lady, with the doxology; the Canticle of Zachary, with the doxology.
   

   P: Antiphon:   Magi from the East came to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasure chests they presented Him with precious gifts: Gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.  Alleluia.
   

Canticle of Our Lady (The Magnificat)
Luke 1:46 – 55

P: “My soul * extols the Lord;
All: And my spirit leaps for joy in God my Savior.

P: How graciously He looked upon His lowly maid! * Oh, see, from this hour onward age after age will call me blessed!

All: How sublime is what He has done for me, * the Mighty One, whose name is ‘Holy’!

P: From age to age He visits those * who worship Him in reverence.
All: His arm achieves the mastery: * He routs the haughty and proud of heart.

P: He puts down princes from their thrones, * and exalts the lowly;
All: He fills the hungry with blessings, * and sends away the rich with empty hands.

P: He has taken by the hand His servant Israel, * and mercifully kept His faith,
All: As He had promised our fathers * with Abraham and his posterity forever and evermore.”

P: Glory be to the Father.
All: As it was in the beginning.

Antiphon: Magi from the East came to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasure chests they presented Him with precious gifts: Gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.  Alleluia.

Meanwhile the home is sprinkled with holy water and incensed. Then the priest says:

P: Our Father the rest inaudibly until:

P: And lead us not into temptation.
All: But deliver us from evil.

P: Many shall come from Saba.
All: Bearing gold and incense.

P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.

P: The Lord be with you.
All: May he also be with you.

Let us pray.
God, who on this day revealed your only-begotten Son to all nations by the guidance of a star, grant that we who now know you by faith may finally behold you in your heavenly majesty; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Responsory: Be enlightened and shine forth, 0 Jerusalem, for your light is come; and upon you is risen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.

P: Nations shall walk in your light, and kings in the splendor of your birth.
All: And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

Let us pray. Lord God almighty, bless + this home, and under its shelter let there be health, chastity, self-conquest, humility, goodness, mildness, obedience to your commandments, and thanksgiving to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May your blessing remain always in this home and on those who live here; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

P: Antiphon for Canticle of Zachary:
Today the Church is espoused to her heavenly bridegroom, for Christ washes her sins in the Jordan; the Magi hasten with gifts to the regal nuptials; and the guests are gladdened with water made wine, alleluia.

Canticle of Zachary
Luke 1:68 – 79

P: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! * He has visited His people and brought about its redemption.

All: He has raised for us a stronghold of salvation * in the house of David His servant,

P: And redeemed the promise He had made * through the mouth of His holy prophets of old

All: To grant salvation from our foes * and from the hand of all that hate us;

P: To deal in mercy with our fathers * and be mindful of His holy covenant,
All: Of the oath he had sworn to our father Abraham, * that He would enable us

P: Rescued from the clutches of our foes * to worship Him without fear,
All: In holiness and observance of the Law, * in His presence, all our days.

P: And you, my little one, will be hailed `Prophet of the Most High’; * for the Lord’s precursor you will be to prepare His ways;

All: You are to impart to His people knowledge of salvation * through forgiveness of their sins.

P: Thanks be to the merciful heart of our God! * a dawning Light from on high will visit us

All: To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadowland of death, * and guide our feet into the path of peace.”

P: Glory be to the Father.
All: As it was in the beginning.

Antiphon:
Today the Church is espoused to her heavenly bridegroom, for Christ washes her sins in the Jordan; the Magi hasten with gifts to the regal nuptials; and the guests are gladdened with water made wine, alleluia.

Then the celebrant sings:
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
God, who on this day revealed your only-begotten Son to all nations by the guidance of a star, grant that we who now know you by faith may finally behold you in your heavenly majesty; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Athanasian Creed

P: Whoever wills to be saved * must before all else hold fast to the Catholic faith.
All: Unless one keeps this faith whole and untarnished, * without doubt he will perish forever.

P: Now this is the Catholic faith: * that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
All: Neither confusing the Persons one with the other, * nor making a distinction in their nature.

P: For the Father is a distinct Person; and so is the Son; * and so is the Holy Spirit.
All: Yet the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit possess one Godhead, * co-equal glory, co-eternal majesty.

P: As the Father is, so is the Son, * so also is the Holy Spirit.
All: The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, * the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

P: The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, * the Holy Spirit is infinite.
All: The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, * the Holy Spirit is eternal.

P: Yet they are not three eternals, * but one eternal God.
All: Even as they are not three uncreated, or three infinites, * but one uncreated and one infinite God.

P: So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, * the Holy Spirit is almighty.
All: Yet they are not three almighties, * but they are the one Almighty.

P: Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, * the Holy Spirit is God.
All: Yet they are not three gods, * but one God.

P: Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, * the Holy Spirit is Lord.
All: Yet there are not three lords, * but one Lord.

P: For just as Christian truth compels us to profess that each Person is individually God and Lord, * so does the Catholic religion forbid us to hold that there are three gods or lords.
All: The Father was not made by any power; * He was neither created nor begotten.

P: The Son is from the Father alone, * neither created nor made, but begotten.
All: The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, * neither made nor created nor begotten, but He proceeds.

P: So there is one Father, not three; one Son, not three; * one Holy Spirit, not three.
All: And in this Trinity one Person is not earlier or later, nor is one greater or less; * but all three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal.

P: In every way, then, as already affirmed, * unity in Trinity and Trinity in unity is to be worshiped.
All: Whoever, then, wills to be saved * must assent to this doctrine of the Blessed Trinity.

P: But it is necessary for everlasting salvation * that one also firmly believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All: True faith, then, requires us to believe and profess * that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.

P: He is God, begotten of the substance of the Father from eternity; * He is man, born in time of the substance of His Mother.
All: He is perfect God and perfect man * subsisting in a rational soul and a human body.

P: He is equal to the Father in His divine nature, * but less than the Father in His human nature as such.
All: And though He is God and man, * yet He is the one Christ, not two;

P: One, however, not by any change of divinity into flesh, * but by the act of God assuming a human nature.
All: He is one only, not by a mixture of substance, * but by the oneness of His Person.

P: For, somewhat as the rational soul and the body compose one man, * so Christ is one Person who is both God and man;
All: Who suffered for our salvation, who descended into hell, * who rose again the third day from the dead;

P: Who ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, * from there He shall come to judge both the living and the dead.
All: At His coming all men shall rise again in their bodies, * and shall give an account of their works.

P: And those who have done good shall enter into everlasting life, * but those who have done evil into everlasting fire.
All: All this is Catholic faith, * and unless one believes it truly and firmly one cannot be saved.

P: Glory be to the Father
All: As it was in the beginning.

Here follow a large number of psalms which may be used at the exorcist’s discretion but are not a necessary part of the rite. Some of them occur in other parts of the Ritual and are so indicated; the others may be taken from the Psalter. Psalm 90 (see p. 227); psalm 67; psalm 69; psalm 53 (see p. 559); psalm 117 (see p. 248); psalm 34; psalm 30; psalm 21; psalm 3; psalm 10; psalm 12.

Prayer Following Deliverance

P: Almighty God, we beg you to keep the evil spirit from further molesting this servant of yours, and to keep him far away, never to return. At your command, 0 Lord, may the goodness and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, take possession of this man (woman). May we no longer fear any evil since the Lord is with us; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
All: Amen.

CHAPTER III

EXORCISM OF SATAN AND THE FALLEN ANGELS

Whereas the preceding rite of exorcism is designated for a particular person, the present one is for general use — to combat the power of the evil spirits over a community or locality.
The following exorcism can be used by bishops, as well as by priests who have this authorization from their Ordinary.

P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army, defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness and the spirit of wickedness in high places.

Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own image and likeness, and purchased from Satan’s tyranny at so great a price. Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian. The Lord has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls of the redeemed to heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast Satan down under our feet, so as to keep him from further holding man captive and doing harm to the Church. Carry our prayers up to God’s throne, that the mercy of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast, the serpent of old, Satan and his demons, casting him in chains into the abyss, so that he can no longer seduce the nations.

Exorcism

P: In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, by the intercession of Mary, spotless Virgin and Mother of God, of St. Michael the Archangel, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, and by the authority residing in our holy ministry, we steadfastly proceed to combat the onslaught of the wily enemy.

Psalm 67(8)

P: God arises; His enemies are scattered, * and those who hate Him flee before Him.
All: As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; * as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish before God.

P: See the cross of the Lord; begone, you hostile powers!
All: The stem of David, the lion of Juda’s tribe has conquered.

P:  May your mercy, Lord, remain with us always.
All: For we put our whole trust in you.

We cast you out, every unclean spirit, every satanic power, every onslaught of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect, in the name and by the power of our Lord Jesus + Christ. We command you, begone and fly far from the Church of God, from the souls made by God in His image and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine Lamb.+ No longer dare, cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute God’s Church, to strike God’s elect and to sift them as wheat. + For the Most High God commands you, + He to whom you once proudly presumed yourself equal; He who wills all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father + commands you. God the Son + commands you. God the Holy + Spirit commands you. Christ, the eternal Word of God made flesh, commands + you, who humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, to save our race from the perdition wrought by your envy; who founded His Church upon a firm rock, declaring that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world. The sacred mystery of the cross + commands you, along with the power of all mysteries of Christian faith. + The exalted Virgin Mary, Mother of God, + commands you, who in her lowliness crushed your proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles + commands you. The blood of martyrs and the devout prayers of all holy men and women command + you.

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by God, who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life; to cease deluding human creatures and filling them with the poison of everlasting damnation; to desist from harming the Church and hampering her freedom. Begone, Satan, father and master of lies, enemy of man’s welfare. Give place to Christ, in whom you found none of your works. Give way to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, which Christ Himself purchased with His blood. Bow down before God’s mighty hand, tremble and flee as we call on the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before whom the denizens of hell cower, to whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominations are subject, whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending cries as they sing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.

P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.

P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
God of heaven and earth, God of the angels and archangels, God of the patriarchs and prophets, God of the apostles and martyrs, God of the confessors and virgins, God who have power to bestow life after death and rest after toil; for there is no other God than you, nor can there be another true God beside you, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, whose kingdom is without end; we humbly entreat your glorious majesty to deliver us by your might from every influence of the accursed spirits, from their every evil snare and deception, and to keep us from all harm; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

P: From the snares of the devil.
All: Lord, deliver us.

P: That you help your Church to serve you in security and freedom.
All: We beg you to hear us.

P: That you humble the enemies of holy Church.
All: We beg you to hear us.

The surroundings are sprinkled with holy water.

Exorcism [The Catholic Encyclopedia]

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05709a.htm

Exorcism is (1) the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the means employed for this purpose, especially the solemn and authoritative adjuration of the demon, in the name of God, or any of the higher power in which he is subject.

The word, which is not itself biblical, is derived from exorkizo, which is used in the Septuagint (Genesis 24:3 = cause to swear; III (I) Kings 22:16 = adjure), and in Matthew 26:63, by the high priest to Christ, “I adjure thee by the living God. . .” The non-intensive horkizo and the noun exorkistes (exorcist) occur in Acts 19:13, where the latter (in the plural) is applied to certain strolling Jews who professed to be able to cast out demons. Expulsion by adjuration is, therefore, the primary meaning of exorcism, and when, as in Christian usage, this adjuration is in the name of God or of Christ, exorcism is a strictly religious act or rite. But in ethnic religions, and even among the Jews from the time when there is evidence of its being vogue, exorcism as an act of religion is largely replaced by the use of mere magical and superstitious means, to which non-Catholic writers at the present day sometimes quite unfairly assimilate Christian exorcism. Superstition ought not to be confounded with religion, however much their history may be interwoven, nor magic, however white it may be, with a legitimate religious rite.

In ethnic religions

The use of protective means against the real, or supposed, molestations of evil spirits naturally follows from the belief in their existence, and is, and has been always, a feature of ethnic religions, savage and civilized. In this connection only two of the religions of antiquity, the Egyptian and Babylonian call for notice; but it is no easy task, even in the case of these two, to isolate what bears strictly on our subject, from the mass of mere magic in which it is embedded. The Egyptians ascribed certain diseases and various other evils to demons, and believed in the efficacy of magical charms and incantations for banishing or dispelling them. The dead more particularly needed to be well fortified with magic in order to be able to accomplish in safely their perilous journey to the underworld. But of exorcism, in the strict sense, there is hardly any trace in the Egyptian records.

In the famous case where a demon was expelled from the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten, human ministry was unavailing, and the god Khonsu himself had to be sent the whole way from Thebes for the purpose. The demon gracefully retired when confronted with the god, and was allowed by the latter to be treated at a grand banquet before departing “to his own place” (op. cit. p. 206 sq.).

Babylonian magic was largely bound up with medicine, certain diseases being attributed to some kind of demoniacal possession, and exorcism being considered easiest, if not the only, way of curing them (Sayce, Hibbert Lect. 1887, 310).

For this purpose certain formulæ of adjuration were employed, in which some god or goddess, or some group of deities, was invoked to conjure away the evil one and repair the mischief he had caused. The following example (from Sayce, op. cit., 441 seq.) may be quoted: “The (possessing) demon which seizes a man, the demon (ekimmu) which seizes a man; The (seizing) demon which works mischief, the evil demon, Conjure, O spirit of heaven; conjure, O spirit of earth.” For further examples see King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery (London, 1896).

Among the Jews

There is no instance in the Old Testament of demons being expelled by men. In Tobias 8:3, is the angel who “took the devil and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt”; and the instruction previously given to young Tobias (6:18-19), to roast the fish’s heart in the bridal chamber, would seem to have been merely part of the angel’s plan for concealing his own identity. But in extra-canonical Jewish literature there are incantations for exorcising demons, examples of which may be seen in Talmud (Schabbath, xiv, 3; Aboda Zara, xii, 2; Sanhedrin, x, 1). These were sometimes inscribed on the interior surface of earthen bowls, a collection of which (estimated to be from the seventh century A.D) is preserved in the Royal Museum in Berlin; and inscriptions from the collection have been published, translated by Wohlstein in the “Zeitschrift für Assyriologie” (December, 1893; April, 1894).

The chief characteristics of these Jewish exorcisms is their naming of names believed to be efficacious, i.e., names of good angels, which are used either alone or in combination with El (=God); indeed reliance on mere names had long before become a superstition with the Jews, and it was considered most important that the appropriate names, which varied for different times and occasions, should be used. It was this superstitious belief, no doubt, that prompted the sons of Sceva, who had witnessed St. Paul’s successful exorcisms in the name of Jesus, to try on their own account the formula, “I conjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth”, with results disastrous to their credit (Acts 19:13). It was a popular Jewish belief, accepted even by a learned cosmopolitan like Josephus, that Solomon had received the power of expelling demons and that he had composed and transmitted certain formulæ that were efficacious for that purpose. The Jewish historian records how a certain Eleazar, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and his officers, succeeded, by means of a magical ring applied to the nose of a possessed person, in drawing out the demon through the nostrils — the virtue of the ring being due to the fact that it enclosed a certain rare root indicated in the formulæ of Solomon, and which it was exceedingly difficult to obtain (Ant. Jud, VIII, ii, 5; cf. Bell. Jud. VII, vi, 3).

But superstition and magic apart, it is implied in Christ’s answers to the Pharisees, who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, that some Jews in His time successfully exorcised demons in God’s name: “and if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?” (Matthew 12:27). It does not seem reasonable to understand this reply as mere irony, or as a mere argumentum ad hominem implying no admission of the fact; all the more so, as elsewhere (Mark 9:37-38) we have an account of a person who was not a disciple casting out demons in Christ’s name, and whose action Christ refused to reprehend or forbid.

Exorcism in the New Testament

Assuming the reality of demoniac possession, for which the authority of Christ is pledged, it is to be observed that Jesus appealed to His power over demons as one of the recognised signs of Messiahship (Matthew 12:23, 28; Luke 11:20). He cast out demons, He declared, by the finger or spirit of God, not, as His adversaries alleged, by collusion with the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 19); and that He exercised no mere delegated power, but a personal authority that was properly His own, is clear from the direct and imperative way in which He commands the demon to depart (Mark 9:24; cf. 1:25 etc.): “He cast out the spirits with his word, and he healed all that were sick” (Matthew 8:16). Sometimes, as with the daughter of the Canaanean woman, the exorcism took place from a distance (Matthew 15:22 sqq.; Mark 7:25). Sometimes again the spirits expelled were allowed to express their recognition of Jesus as “the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24) and to complain that He had come to torment them “before the time”, i.e. the time of their punishment (Matthew 8:29 sqq; Luke 8:28 sqq.). If demoniac possession was generally accompanied by some disease, yet the two were not confounded by Christ, or the Evangelists. In Luke 13:32, for example, the Master Himself expressly distinguishes between the expulsion of evil spirits and the curing of disease.

Christ also empowered the Apostles and Disciples to cast out demons in His name while He Himself was still on earth (Matthew 10:1 and 8; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1; 10:17), and to believers generally He promised the same power (Mark 16:17). But the efficacy of this delegated power was conditional, as we see from the fact that the Apostles themselves were not always successful in their exorcisms: certain kinds of spirits, as Christ explained, could only be cast out by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:15, 20; Mark 9:27-28; Luke 9:40). In other words the success of exorcism by Christians, in Christ’s name, is subject to the same general conditions on which both the efficacy of prayer and the use of charismatic power depend.

Yet conspicuous success was promised (Mark 16:17). St. Paul (Acts 16:18; 19:12), and, no doubt, the other Apostles and Disciples, made use of regularly, as occasion arose, of their exorcising power, and the Church has continued to do so uninterruptedly to the present day.

Ecclesiastical exorcisms

Besides exorcism in the strictest sense — i.e. for driving out demons from the possessed — Catholic ritual, following early traditions, has retained various other exorcisms, and these also call for notice here.

Exorcism of the possessed

We have it on the authority of all early writers who refer to the subject at all that in the first centuries not only the clergy, but lay Christians also were able by the power of Christ to deliver demoniacs or energumens, and their success was appealed to by the early Apologists as a strong argument for the Divinity of the Christian religion (Justin Martyr, First Apology 6; Dialogue with Trypho 30 and 85; Minutius Felix, Octavius 27; Origen, Against Celsus I.25; VII.4; VII.67; Tertullian, Apology 22, 23; etc.). As is clear from testimonies referred to, no magical or superstitious means were employed, but in those early centuries, as in later times, a simple and authoritative adjuration addressed to the demon in the name of God, and more especially in the name of Christ crucified, was the usual form of exorcism.

But sometimes in addition to words some symbolic action was employed, such as breathing (insufflatio), or laying of hands on the subject, or making the sign of cross. St. Justin speaks of demons flying from “the touch and breathing of Christians” (Second Apology 6) as from a flame that burns them, adds St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures 20.3). Origen mentions the laying of hands, and St. Ambrose (Paulinus, Vit. Ambr., n. 28, 43, P.L, XIV, 36, 42), St. Ephraem Syrus (Gregory of Nyssa, De Vit. Ephr., P.G., XLVI, 848) and others used this ceremony in exorcising. The sign of the cross, that briefest and simplest way of expressing one’s faith in the Crucified and invoking His Divine power, is extolled by many Fathers for its efficacy against all kinds of demoniac molestation (Lactantius, Divine Institutes IV.27; Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word 47; Basil, In Isai., XI, 249, P.G., XXX, 557, Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 13.3; Gregory Nazianzen, Carm. Adv. iram, v, 415 sq.; P.G., XXXVII, 842). The Fathers further recommend that the adjuration and accompanying prayers should be couched in the words of Holy Writ (Cyril of Jerusalem, Procatechesis 9; Athanasius, Ad Marcell., n. 33, P.G., XXVII, 45). The present rite of exorcism as given in the Roman Ritual fully agrees with patristic teaching and is a proof of the continuity of Catholic tradition in this matter.

Baptismal exorcism

At an early age the practice was introduced into the Church of exorcising catechumens as a preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism. This did not imply that they were considered to be obsessed, like demoniacs, but merely that they were, in consequence of original sin (and of personal sins in case of adults), subject more or less to the power of the devil, whose “works” or “pomps” they were called upon to renounce, and from whose dominion the grace of baptism was about to deliver them.

Exorcism in this connection is a symbolical anticipation of one of the chief effects of the sacrament of regeneration; and since it was used in the case of children who had no personal sins, St. Augustine could appeal to it against the Pelagians as implying clearly the doctrine of original sin (Ep. cxciv, n. 46. P.L., XXXIII, 890; C. Jul. III, 8; P.L., XXXIV, 705, and elsewhere). St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Procatechesis 14) gives a detailed description of baptismal exorcism, from which it appears that anointing with exorcised oil formed a part of this exorcism in the East. The only early Western witness which treats unction as part of the baptismal exorcism is that of the Arabic Canons of Hippolytus (n. 19, 29). The Exsufflatio, or out-breathing of the demon by the candidate, which was sometimes part of the ceremony, symbolized the renunciation of his works and pomps, while the Insufflatio, or in-breathing of the Holy Ghost, by ministers and assistants, symbolised the infusion of sanctifying grace by the sacrament. Most of these ancient ceremonies have been retained by the Church to this day in her rite for solemn baptism.

Other exorcisms

According to Catholic belief demons or fallen angels retain their natural power, as intelligent beings, of acting on the material universe, and using material objects and directing material forces for their own wicked ends; and this power, which is in itself limited, and is subject, of course, to the control of Divine providence, is believed to have been allowed a wider scope for its activity in the consequence of the sin of mankind. Hence places and things as well as persons are naturally liable to diabolical infestation, within limits permitted by God, and exorcism in regard to them is nothing more that a prayer to God, in the name of His Church, to restrain this diabolical power supernaturally, and a profession of faith in His willingness to do so on behalf of His servants on earth.

The chief things formally exorcised in blessing are water, salt, oil, and these in turn are used in personal exorcisms, and in blessing or consecrating places (e.g. churches) and objects (e.g. altars, sacred vessels, church bells) connected with public worship, or intended for private devotion. Holy water, the sacramental with which the ordinary faithful are most familiar, is a mixture of exorcised water and exorcised salt; and in the prayer of blessing, God is besought to endow these material elements with a supernatural power of protecting those who use them with faith against all the attacks of the devil. This kind of indirect exorcism by means of exorcised objects is an extension of the original idea; but it introduces no new principle, and it has been used in the Church from the earliest ages.

Ecclesiastical approbation.

Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Exorcist [The Catholic Encyclopedia]

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05711a.htm

(1) In general, any one who exorcises or professes to exorcise demons (cf. Acts 19:13);

(2) in particular, one ordained by a bishop for this office, ordination to which is the second of the four minor orders of the Western Church.

The practice of exorcism was not confined to clerics in the early ages, as is clear from Tertullian (Apology
23; cf. On Idolatry 11) and Origen (Against Celsus VII.4). The latter expressly states that even the simplest and rudest of the faithful sometimes cast out demons, by a mere prayer or adjuration (Mark 15:17), and urges the fact as a proof of the power of Christ’s grace, and the inability of demons to resist it. In the Eastern Church, a specially ordained order of exorcists (or of acolytes, or door-keepers) has never been established but in the Western Church, these three minor orders with that of lectors as a fourth) were instituted shortly before the middle of the third century. Pope Cornelius (261-252) mentions in his letter to Fabius that there were then in the Roman Church forty-two acolytes, and fifty-two exorcists, readers, and door-keepers (Eusebius, Church History VI.43), and the institution of these orders, and the organization of their functions, seems to have been the work of Cornelius’ predecessor, Pope Fabian (236-251).

The fourth Council of Carthage (398), in its seventh canon, prescribes the rite of ordination for exorcist; the bishop is to give him the book containing the formulae of exorcism, saying, “Receive, and commit to memory, and possess the power of imposing hands on energumens, whether baptized or catechumens”; and the same rite has been retained, without change, in the Roman Pontifical down to the present day, except that instead of the ancient Book of Exorcisms, the Pontifical, or Missal, is put into the hands of the ordained. From this form it is clear that one of the chief duties of exorcists was to take part in baptismal exorcism. That catechumens were exorcised every day, for some time before baptism, may be inferred from canon of the same council, which prescribed the daily imposition of hands by the exorcists. A further duty is prescribed in canon 92, viz: to supply food to, and in a general way to care for, energumens who habitually frequented the Church. There is no mention of pagan energumens, for the obvious reason that the official ministrations of the Church were not intended for them. But even after the institution of this order, exorcism was not forbidden to the laity, much less to the higher clergy, nor did those who exorcised always use the forms contained in the Book of Exorcisms. Thus the Apostolic Constitutions (VIII.26) say expressly that “the exorcist is not ordained”, i.e. for the special office of exorcist, but that if anyone possess the charismatic power, he is to be recognized, and if need be, ordained deacon or subdeacon. This is the practice which has survived in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

As an example of the discretion allowed in the West, in the use of the means of exorcising, we may refer to what Sulpitius Severus relates of St. Martin of Tours (Dial., III (II), 6; P.L., XX, 215), that he was in the habit of casting out demons by prayer alone without having recourse to the imposition of hands or the formulae usually employed by the clergy. After a time, as conditions changed in the Church, the office of exorcist, as an independent office, ceased altogether, and was taken over by clerics in major orders, just as the original functions of deacons and subdeacons have with the lapse of time passed to a great extent into the hands of priests; and according to the present discipline of the Catholic Church, it is only priests who are authorized to use the exorcising power conferred by ordination. The change is due to the facts that the catechumenate, with which the office of exorcist was chiefly connected, has ceased, that infant baptism has become the rule, and that with the spread of Christianity and the disappearance of paganism, demonic power has been curtailed, and cases of obsession have become much rarer. It is only Catholic missionaries labouring in pagan lands, where Christianity is not yet dominant, who are likely to meet with fairly frequent cases of possession.

In Christian countries authentic cases of possession sometimes occur and every priest, especially if he be a parish priest, or pastor, is liable to be called upon to perform his duty as exorcist. In doing so, he is to be mindful of the prescriptions of the Roman Ritual and of the laws of provincial or diocesan synods, which for most part require that the bishop should be consulted and his authorization obtained before exorcism is attempted. The chief points of importance in the instructions of the Roman Ritual, prefixed to the rite itself, are as follows: [Ditto as in The Rituale Romanum (Roman Ritual) on page 8]

Ecclesiastical approbation.

Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Also read

Demonical Possession
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12315a.htm

Demonology
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04713a.htm

Demoniacs
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04711a.htm

Increase in Cases of Demonic Possession
Statements by
Exorcist
Fr. Raul Salvucci

http://www.ewtn.com/library/theology/zpossess.htm

ROME, August 4, 1999 (Zenit.org) ZE99080403
We live in a rational and technological society that believes it can do without faith; however, the rejection of God has been accompanied by an unheard of demand for magic and the esoteric. This was confirmed by Italian Fr. Raul Salvucci, an exorcist since 1975, who has just published a book on his experiences. The work is entitled, “What to Do with These Demons?” (Ancora, pp. 230, available only in Italian). In simple and humorous language, the author reveals the tremendous need modern man has for authentic spirituality.
Fr. Salvucci’s purpose is to make known the “uncomfortable” figure of the exorcist. Exorcists make people nervous, not just in society in general, but even in the Christian community itself. “It seems that the Church’s attitude today toward Satan’s work in the world is embarrassment: she is ashamed to admit its reality,” stated Fr. Salvucci.
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, another well-known exorcist, has made the same claim on numerous occasions. Fr. Amorth makes a direct connection between the decreasing number of exorcists in the Church and the increase in magic, esoteric and Satanic practices.
“Up until a few years ago, I would always hear the same names of wizards and witches, but now I hear a new one every day,” Salvucci wrote in his book. The author gave some figures relating to the situation in Italy. Eight years ago, a University Congress held in Perugia discovered that in Italy the esoteric has a following of some 12 million. There were about 170,000 wizards, with income amounting to $600 million. Today, however, the income from these practices has risen to close to $3 billion.
Fr. Salvucci says people of all kinds come to him: housewives, university professors, carpenters and businessmen. “More than one business giant travel in a private plane and take full-time witches with them. In the entertainment world, the same is true. When a wizard appears quite often, one can deduce that the director consults him and gets spiritualist help to guarantee the transmission’s efficacy.”
The Italian exorcist does not see demons everywhere. He admits that the most difficult part of his ministry is to identify the cases of Satanic possession, and to distinguish it from other kinds of physical or psychological ailments. “This is, without a doubt, the most difficult problem to resolve: it is clearly expressed in the introduction to the Exorcism Ritual extant since 1600. Often, the priests who are charged with this responsibility have the charism of discernment. But, after 25 years of experience and, above all, after endless hours of discussion with someone who for years has followed case after case, I have come to the personal conclusion that there is a determined series of tests, similar to those used by psychologists, which allows for certainty in the diagnosis.”
Speaking of those who seek the service of exorcists, Fr. Salvucci went on to say, “Above all, they want someone to discern whether or not there is a demonic presence. Then they ask for ‘immediate liberation’ through exorcism. It is a habitual pattern. When they live through things they cannot understand, they first go to the wizard, who reads the cards (and charges between $150 and $200). If the wizard perceives signs and movements of an ill omen effected by wizards, but does not succeed in altering the situation, then they move to the second stage: they go to a more powerful wizard, advertised on radio or television. In this case, some $4,000 is required. But if this does not work, then they hear about the existence of a priest who conducts exorcisms. And, although society has turned its back on God, in the collective imagination there
continues an ancestral idea that the priest is a trustworthy person, so they go to the exorcist.”
Yet, the trip to the exorcist is different, notes the priest. “They go to the priest with three precise mental conditions: that he receive them outside of working hours, so as not to lose time or money; that he not ask for money, in contrast to wizards; and that the effect against all hidden evil be immediate and total in efficacy. However, this last condition cannot be guaranteed by the priest, so that the endless ‘via crucis’ with wizards might well begin all over again.”
This is, precisely, the great difficulty an exorcist faces today. “People are in a hurry, they are poorly informed on these realities and, therefore, they are also afraid. All they are looking for is a big shot who will free them immediately of everything. This mad frenzy to try every possible means is what ends up by leaving them permanently in Satan’s claws,” Fr. Salvucci concluded.

The devil, that prowde sprite, cannot endure to be mocked – St. Thomas More

Lenten Advice: 10 Ways to Withstand Satan

http://www.zenit.org/article-817?l=english

ROME, March 8, 2001 (Zenit.org) Satan is indeed real, and he is out there waiting to make us fall, a Church leader warns his flock. To help the faithful of his archdiocese live Lent more intensely, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Genoa, Italy, has published a message about man’s “great Tempter.” With the document, the cardinal offers 10 proposals to withstand the devil. The first is: “not to forget that the devil exists.” The cardinal notes: “The first lie, of which we are often victims, is to make us believe he does not exist.”
Second, the cardinal proposes that the faithful “not forget that the devil is a tempter.”

Third, he reminds readers that the devil is “very intelligent and astute.”

Fourth, the cardinal advises his flock to “be vigilant,” since the devil goes about, in the words of St. Peter’s First Letter, like “a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”
Fifth advice: “Believe firmly in Christ’s victory over the tempter.”

Sixth: “Christ makes us participate in his victory.”
The seventh counsel is to “listen to the Word of God,” resisting the enemy “firmly in the faith.”

The eighth is to “be humble in mortification,” as temptation is always “a call to follow the path of egoism.”
Suggestion No. 9: “Pray without ceasing.”

Finally, Cardinal Tettamanzi asks that the faithful to “adore the Lord our God and worship him only.”

Satanism on the Rise, Say Italian Bishops
Often Combined With Superstitious Use of Religion

http://www.zenit.org/article-1436?l=english

ROME, May 17, 2001 (Zenit.org)
Italian bishops have expressed their concern over what they see as a resurgence of Satanism, fortunetelling, witchcraft and black magic. The Italian bishops’ conference, meeting in plenary assembly in the Vatican, explained in an official statement that this new phenomenon is promoted because of its “resonance” in the media, and the “unhealthy interest” it awakens.

Their comments came as they reviewed the Italian translation of the new “Ritual of Exorcism,” published in Latin by the Vatican in 1998.

The document updates the text that was approved in 1614 and then enlarged in 1954.
According to the Italian bishops, phenomena such as Satanism and black magic are often combined with a superstitious use of religion, which results in offending the individual’s dignity and liberty.
“We are witnessing a rebirth of divinations, fortunetelling, witchcraft and black magic, often combined with a superstitious use of religion,” the bishops’ statement said. “In certain environments, superstition and magic can coexist with scientific and technological progress, inasmuch as science and technology cannot give answers to the ultimate problems of life.” The bishops, who are preparing the pastoral orientation of the Italian Church over the next 10 years, also said they are especially worried about the “resurgence of an unhealthy interest in the sphere of the demonic.”
The bishops’ conference believes that the spread of these ideas leads people to lose confidence in God, to have no faith in providence, and to instrumentalize God according to man’s immediate interests.
“All this offends the dignity and liberty of the person, as man becomes subject to dark, impersonal forces, psychological dependencies and moral degradation,” the bishops stressed.

An Interview with Fr Gabriele Amorth – The Church’s leading Exorcist
http://www.catholic-exorcism.org/pages/suntelegraph/suntelegraph.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/1260364/posts

By Gyles Brandreth August 2001

On the bumpy flight to Rome I read The Bible all the way. The passenger on my left – a wiry businesswoman from Wisconsin – found this disconcerting. As the turbulence worsened and I moved from Jude to Revelation, she hissed at me, “Do you have to?” “It’s only background reading,” I murmured. She grimaced. “What for?” I turned to her and whispered: “I’m going to meet the exorcist.” “Oh Christ,” she gasped, as the plane lurched and hot coffee spilled over us.

Father Gabriele Amorth is indeed the exorcist, the most senior and respected member of his calling. A priest for 50 years, he is the undisputed leader of the city’s six exorcists (appointed by the cardinal to whom the Pope delegates the office of Vicar of Rome) and honorary president-for-life of the
International Association of Exorcists. He is 75, small, spry, humorous, and wonderfully direct.
“I speak with the Devil every day,” he says, grinning like a benevolent gargoyle. “I talk to him in Latin. He answers in Italian. I have been wrestling with him, day in day out, for 14 years.”
On cue (God is not worried by clichés) a shaft of October sunlight falls across Father Amorth’s pale, round face. We are sitting at a table by the window in a small high-ceilinged meeting room at his Rome headquarters, the offices of the Society of St Paul. Father Amorth has come to exorcism late in life, but with impressive credentials. Born in 1925 in Modena, northern Italy, the son and grandson of lawyers (his brother is a judge), Gabriele Amorth, in his late teens, joined the Italian resistance.
Immediately after the war, he became a member of the fledgling Christian Democratic Party. Giulo Andreotti was president of the Young Christian Democrats, Amorth was his deputy. Andreotti went into politics and was seven times prime minister. Amorth, having studied law at university, went into the Church.
“From the age of 15,” be says, “I knew it was my true vocation. My speciality was the Madonna. For many years I edited the magazine Madre di Deo (Mother of God). When I hear people say, ‘You Catholics honour Mary too much,’ I reply, ‘We are never able to honour her enough.’
“I knew nothing of exorcism – I had given it no thought – until June 6, 1986 when Cardinal Poletti, the then Vicar of Rome, asked to see me. There was a famous exorcist in Rome then, the only one, Father Candido, but he was not well, and Cardinal Poletti told me I was to be his assistant. I learnt everything from Father Candido. He was my great master. Quickly I realised how much work there was to be done and how few exorcists there were to do it. From that day, I dropped everything and dedicated myself entirely to exorcism.”
Father Amorth smiles continually as he tells his story. His enthusiasm for his subject is infectious and engaging. “Jesus performed exorcisms. He cast out demons. He freed souls from demonic possession and from Him the Church has received the power and office of exorcism. A simple exorcism is performed at every baptism, but major exorcism can be performed only by a priest licensed by the bishop. I have performed over 50,000 exorcisms. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, sometimes many hours. It is hard work multo duro.”
How does he recognise someone possessed by evil spirits? “It is not easy. There are many grades of possession. The Devil does not like to be seen, so there are people who are possessed who manage to conceal it. There are other cases where the person possessed is in acute physical pain, such agony that they cannot move. It is essential not to confuse demonic possession with ordinary illness. The symptoms of possession often include violent headaches and stomach cramps, but you must always go to the doctor before you go to the exorcist. I have people come to me who are not possessed at all. They are suffering from epilepsy or schizophrenia or other mental problems. Of the thousands of patients I have seen, only a hundred or so have been truly possessed.”
“How can you tell?”
“By their aversion to the sacrament and all things sacred. If blessed they become furious. If confronted with the crucifix, they are subdued.” “But couldn’t a hysteric imitate the symptoms?”
“We can sort out the phoney ones. We look into their eyes. As part of the exorcism, at specific times during the prayers, holding two fingers on the patient’s eyes we raise the eyelids. Almost always, in cases of evil presence, the eyes look completely white. Even with the help of both hands, we can barely discern whether the pupils are towards the top or the bottom of the eye. If the pupils are looking up, the demons in possession are scorpions. If looking down, they are serpents.”
As I report this now, it sounds absurd. As Father Amorth told it to me, it felt entirely credible.
I had gone to Rome expecting – hoping, even – for a chilling encounter, but instead of a sinister bug-eyed obsessive lurking in the shadows of a Hammer Horror film set, here I was sitting in an airy room facing a kindly old man with an uncanny knack for making the truly bizarre seem wholly rational. He has God on his side and customers at his door. The demand for exorcism is growing as never before. Fifteen years ago there were 20 church-appointed exorcists in Italy. Now there are 300.
I ask Father Amorth to describe the ritual of exorcism.
“Ideally, the exorcist needs another priest to help him and a group nearby who will assist through prayer. The ritual does not specify the stance of the exorcist. Some stand, some sit. The ritual says only that, beginning with the words Ecce crucem Domini (‘Behold the Cross of the Lord’) the priest should touch the neck of the possessed one with the hem of his stole and hold his hand on his head. The demons will want to hide. Our task is to expose them, and then expel them. There are many ways to goad them into showing themselves. Although the ritual does not mention this, experience has taught us that using oil and holy water and salt can be very effective.
“Demons are wary of talking and must be forced to speak. When demons are voluntarily chatty it’s a trick to distract the exorcist. We must never ask useless questions out of curiosity. We but must interrogate with care.

We always begin by asking for the demon’s name.”
“And does he answer?” I ask. Father Amorth nods. “Yes, through the patient, but in a strange, unnatural voice. If it is the Devil himself, he says ‘I am Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub. We ask if he is alone or if there are others with him. Usually there are two or five, 20 or 30. We must quantify the number. We ask when and how they entered that particular body. We find out whether their presence is due to a spell and the specifics of that spell.
“During the exorcism the evil may emerge in slow stages or with sudden explosions. He does not want show himself. He will be angry and he is strong. During one exorcism I saw a child of 11 held down by four strong men. The child threw the men aside with ease. I was there when a boy of 10 lifted a huge, heavy table.
“Afterwards I felt the muscles in the boy’s arms. He could not have done it on his own. He had the strength of the Devil inside him.
“No two cases are the same. Some patients have to be tied down on a bed. They spit. They vomit. At first the demon will try to demoralise the exorcist, then he will try to terrify him, saying, ‘Tonight I’m going to put a serpent between your sheets. Tomorrow I’m going to eat your heart’.”
I lean towards Father Amorth. “And are you sometimes frightened?” I ask. He looks incredulous. “Never. I have faith. I laugh at the demon and say to him, ‘I’ve got the Madonna on my side. I am called Gabriel. Go fight the Archangel Gabriel if you will.’ That usually shuts them up.“
Now he leans towards me and taps my hand confidentially. “The secret is to find your demon’s weak spot. Some demons cannot bear to have the Sign of the Cross traced with a stole on an aching part of the body; some cannot stand a puff of breath on the face; others resist with all their strength against blessing with holy water.
“Relief for the patient is always possible, but to completely rid a person of his demons can take many exorcisms over many years. For a demon to leave a body and go back to hell means to die forever and to lose any ability to molest people in the future. He expresses his desperation saying: ‘I am dying, I am dying. You are killing me; you have won. All priests are murderers’.”
How do people come to be possessed by demons in the first place? “I believe God sometimes singles out certain souls for a special test of spiritual endurance, but more often people lay themselves open to possession by dabbling with black magic. Some are entrapped by a satanic cult. Others are the victims of a curse.”
I interrupt. “You mean like Yasser Arafat saying to Ehud Barak, ‘Go to Hell’ and meaning it?”
“No.” Father Amorth gives me a withering look. “That is merely a sudden imprecation. It is very difficult to perform a curse. You need to be a priest of Satan to do it properly. Of course, just as you can hire a killer if you need one, you can hire a male witch to utter a curse on your behalf. Most witches are frauds, but I am afraid some authentic ones do exist.“
Father Amorth shakes his head and sighs at the wickedness of the world. At the outset be has told me he is confident he will have an answer to all my questions, but he has a difficulty with the next one. “Why do many more women seem to become possessed than men?”
“Ah, that we do not know. They may be more vulnerable because, as a rule, more women than men are interested in the occult. Or it may be the Devil’s way of getting at men, just as he got to Adam through Eve. What we do know is that the problem is getting worse. The Devil is gaining ground. We are living in an age when faith is diminishing. If you abandon God, the Devil will take his place.
“All faiths, all cultures, have exorcists, but only Christianity has the true force to exorcise through Christ’s example and authority. We need many more exorcists, but the bishops won’t appoint them. In many countries – Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain there are no Catholic exorcists. It is a scandal. In England there are more Anglican exorcists than Catholic ones.”
Although the post of exorcist is an official diocesan appointment (there are about 300 attached to the various bishops throughout Italy) and Father Amorth is indisputably the best known in his field, there is some tension between Amorth and the modernising tendencies in the Church hierarchy.
Devil-hunting is not fashionable in senior church circles. The Catholic establishment is happier talking about “the spirit of evil” than evil spirits. The Vatican recently issued a new rite of exorcism which has not met with Father Amorth’s approval. “They say we cannot perform an exorcism unless we know for certain that the Evil One is present. That is ridiculous. It is only through exorcism that the demons reveal themselves. An unnecessary exorcism never hurt anybody.”
What does the Pope make of all this? “The Holy Father knows that the Devil is still alive and active in the world. He has performed exorcism. In 1982, he performed a solemn exorcism on a girl from Spoletto. She screamed and rolled on the floor. Those who saw it were very frightened. The Pope brought her temporary freedom.
“The other day, on September 6, at his weekly audience at St Peter’s, a young woman from a village near Monza started to shriek as the Pope was about to bless her. She shouted obscenities at him in a strange voice. The Pope blessed her and brought her relief, but the Devil is still in her. She is exorcised each week in Milan and she is now coming to me once a month. It may take a long time to help her, but we must try. The work of the exorcists is to relieve suffering, to free souls from torment, to bring us closer to God.”

Father Amorth has laughed and smiled a good deal during our three-hour discussion. He has pulled sundry rude faces to indicate his contempt for the pusillanimous bishops who have a monopoly on exorcism and refuse to license more practitioners. In his mouth it does not seem like mumbo-jumbo or hocus-pocus. He produces detailed case histories. He quotes scriptural chapter and verse to justify his actions. And he has a large following. His book, An Exorcist Tells his Story, has been reprinted in Italy 17 times.
Given his shining faith and scholarly approach, I hardly dare ask him whether he has seen the notorious 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. It turns out to be his favourite film. “Of course, the special effects are exaggerated. But it is a good film, and substantially exact, based on a respectable novel which mirrored a true story.”
The film is held to be so disturbing it has never been shown [until recently] on British terrestrial television and until last year could not even be rented from video shops. None the less, Father Amorth recommends it. “People need to know what we do.”
And what about Hallowe’en? The American tradition has made no inroads in Italy. “Here it is on Christmas Eve that the Satanists have their orgies. Nothing happens on October 31. But if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that.”
It is time to go to the chapel where our photographer is waiting. Father Amorth, used to the ways of the press, raises an eyebrow at us indulgently as he realises the photograph is designed to heighten the drama of his calling. Pictures taken, he potters off to find me of one of his books.
“What do make of him?” asks the photographer. “Is he mad?”
“I don’t think so,” I say. The award-winning Daily and Sunday Telegraph Rome correspondent, who has acted as interpreter for the interview, and is both a lapsed Catholic and a hardened hack, is more empathic: “There’s not a trace of the charlatan about him. He is quite sane and utterly convincing.” Surprised at myself I add: “He seems to me to be a power for good in the world.” With a smirk, the photographer loads his gear into the back of the taxi. ”So he’s Peter Cushing then, not Christopher Lee,” he says.
Father Amorth reappears with his book and smiles. “Remember, when we jeer at the Devil and tell ourselves that he does not exist, that is when he is happiest.”

Mother Teresa Was Not Exorcised, Archbishop Says
Priest Simply Told to Pray Over Her

http://www.zenit.org/article-2291?l=english

CALCUTTA, India, September 7, 2001 (Zenit.org) Mother Teresa of Calcutta did not undergo the rite of exorcism, says Archbishop Henry D’Souza of Calcutta, denying statements attributed to him by the international press. Rather, a priest was simply asked to pray over her during a trouble period in 1996, the archbishop said.
Speaking to the Catholic agency UCA News, the archbishop said that the faulty news of the exorcism was due to a conversation he had with reporters, who asked if holy people can experience abandonment by God.
He told the story of Mother Teresa, while she was in the Woodlands Hospital in 1996. She was found to be very perturbed, suffering from doubts and profound fears. She was hospitalized because of heart problems, and was unable to sleep.
Archbishop D’Souza thought that perhaps an evil spirit was trying to steal her interior peace and confidence in God. So he asked Father Rosario Stroscio, 79, a Salesian priest of Sicilian origin, to pray over her, with a prayer used for exorcisms. However, it was not an exorcism as such.
This story led news agencies to report Wednesday that Archbishop Souza told the Salesian: “You command the devil to go if he’s there. In the name of the Church, as archbishop, I command you to go and do it.”
On Thursday, however, the archbishop clarified: “I did not think she was possessed by an evil spirit.”
Father Stroscio said that the archbishop requested him to pray for Mother Teresa, but he clarified that the religious was not possessed by an evil spirit but only perturbed.
The priest continued: “She did not say the prayer with me, as she seemed to be laboring under some distress, but the nuns around her were aware of what was going on.”
The priest said he left the hospital room after reciting “the prayer of exorcism to drive out evil spirits.” The next day, the nuns who took care of Mother Teresa told him that she slept peacefully the rest of the night.
The archbishop explained that the incident does not call into question the holiness of the religious. In fact, episodes like this are common in the lives of saints and mystics — for instance, Don Bosco or John Vianney — who were also “troubled by evil spirits during their lifetime,” he said.
The incident simply reflects the “human dimension in a saint, which is quite normal,” the archbishop added.
The diocesan phase of Mother Teresa’s process of beatification, entrusted to Archbishop D’Souza, concluded August 15. The investigation has passed to the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Mother Teresa, who was born in Macedonia, arrived in India in 1937. Fifty-two years ago she founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity. She died September 5, 1997.

When Young People Fool with Satanism
Interview with Carlo Climati, Author of Best Seller

http://www.zenit.org/article-2332?l=english

ROME, September 11, 2001 (Zenit.org) “Youth and Esotericism,” a best-selling work about Satanism and its impact on young people, is one journalist’s attempt to tear down walls of misunderstanding. The work, the biggest seller in Italian Catholic bookstores for the past four months, is published by the Daughters of St. Paul.
This week it was published in Portuguese. It will soon appear in Spanish, published in Mexico by Alba and, in a few months time, will be available in Polish.
The attention the book is getting is evidence of the concerns proper to youth, who are often misunderstood by adults. It is, precisely, this wall that Italian writer and journalist Carlo Climati has tried to demolish.
Esotericism among youth is a worldwide phenomenon, according to an Aug. 28 article in The Times newspaper of London, highlighting the problem of the proliferation of Satanic sites on Internet. In Great Britain alone there are more than 1,000 Satanic sects or cults or spiritualist movements, the paper said.
Here, Climati explains how youths are trapped by occultism.
Q: What is “Youth and Esotericism” about?
Climati: It is an investigation on the esoteric tendencies of the new generations. It begins with four interviews with youths who have succeeded in extricating themselves from the trap of occultism, spiritualism, magic and Satanism. I then analyze a series of current issues: Satanic rock, discotheques, esoteric secrets of tattoos and piercing, New Age, the Internet world, comics, the film “The Blair Witch Project,” the problem of television magicians, telefilms of esoteric content, games, Japanese cartoons, video games, role-playing. At the end there is a small dictionary of esoteric terms and an extensive bibliography.
Q: Do you think that boys’ and girls’ interest in esotericism has grown in recent years?
Climati: I think so. Last year, in Chiavenna, Italy, three young girls killed a nun by stabbing her 19 times as a kind of “sacrifice” to the devil. Demonic symbols and phrases taken from Satanic rock were found in their diaries. Youth’s interest in esotericism, Satanism and spiritualism has grown impressively. Today, horoscopes, amulets, Tarot cards and spiritualist séances are road companions of the new generations, victims of a real esoteric bombardment, carried out through very varied means: from music, television, video games, and comics, to the cinema and the discotheque.
Q: How does this “bombardment” take place?
Climati: It is a bombardment that finds fertile ground in the lives of many youths, often characterized by profound loneliness, difficult family situations, and uncertainty about the future. Interest in esotericism, proposed as an immediate solution to daily problems, can cause enormous damage to boys’ and girls’ minds. It can contribute to create a generation of “new slaves,” locked in their own behavior.
Horoscopes, magic, spiritualist séances and Satanic rock records turn over millions of dollars. Hence, there are some who have decided to enrich themselves at the expense of youth, attracting them with real “traps.”
Q: How does the virus of esotericism spread? What are the causes of the esoteric epidemic that traps the new generations?
Climati: Everything stems from a great mistake. Youth think that esotericism is something fascinating, pleasing. They think they can find an ally in occultism to resolve their own problems. Therefore, they confidently engage in magic practices, spiritualism, Satanism, without realizing that they are playing with fire. In recent years, youths have experienced a kind of brainwashing, which has led them to be fearless of the occult world. Involvement in esoteric ambiences can be a real risk. To participate in a spiritualist séance or a Satanic rite means to open wide the doors to really dangerous realms. One begins by playing, without knowing where it will end.
Q: How can an adolescent get in touch with the world of Satanism, spiritualism and esotericism?
Climati: There are bridges that facilitate this itinerary. Undoubtedly, the most effective is a certain type of rock music, inspired in occultism; in recent years it has become a very good record business. Beginning with the simple interest in a “Satanic rock” singer, one can get in touch with the world of Satanism. It is a gradual, step by step process.
Q: What are these “steps”?
Climati: First of all, the youth is entranced by a “Satanic” singer. Then he feels the need to know more. The second step is to become familiar with the texts of the songs, and the consequent contact with a philosophy of transgression. The third step is the youth’s purchase of music magazines that talk about their favorite singer. Lately, in some rock publications, not only is there talk of music, but also of Satanism and esotericism. Sometimes the address of Satanic sects is given, or Internet Web pages of singers connected with occultism.

Therefore, in order to know more, the fourth step is taken: the search on Internet. Curiosity becomes interest for the pages or “newsgroups” (forums) of the sects.
The last step is the youth’s direct contact, through e-mail, with a sect.

Trial in Satanic-Style Murder Reopens Debate in Germany
Sects Linked to Neo-Nazism

http://www.zenit.org/article-3428?l=english

BERLIN, January 17, 2002 (Zenit.org) The murder trial in Bochum, Germany, of a young couple involved in Satanic practices has reopened the debate on the criminal activities of these sects and their close links to neo-Nazi groups. Identified as Daniel and Manuela R., ages 26 and 23, respectively, the public prosecutor of Bochum accused them Wednesday of “treacherously” murdering Franck Hackert on July 6, 2001, in the nearby town of Witten. Hackert was stabbed him 66 times with a triple blade, the kind used in diabolic cults.
The court will probably order the couple to be admitted to an institution for long-term psychiatric care. According to a medical report submitted at the beginning of the trial, both suffer from “narcissistic mental disorders,” so their “responsibility is very reduced.”
Experts estimate that 7,000 people, the majority adolescents, engage in Satanic rituals in Germany. Authorities believe that in general there are no serious ultimate consequences from these practices, since their “sacrifices” are simulated.
Daniel and Manuela would probably not have committed the murder if they did not suffer from mental disorders, some doctors believe. German police have singled out Daniel because of his links to Germany’s National Democratic Party, a neo-Nazi organization. Sympathy for National Socialism is the common denominator of many Germans participating in Satanic cults.
One of the initiates’ idols is Hendrik Moebus, who in 1993, when he was 17, strangled a classmate because he was “bothering” Moebus’ group, the Children of Satan. Sentenced to eight years of juvenile detention, Moebus was granted conditional liberty in 1998, after completing two-thirds of his sentence. He then joined ultrarightist groups.

Devil More Dangerous When Least Perceived, Pope Says
Highlights Christian’s Weapons against Temptations

http://www.zenit.org/article-3699?l=english

VATICAN CITY, February 17, 2002 (Zenit.org) The devil is more effective when he goes undetected, John Paul II reminded the faithful today as he pointed out the weapons a Christian has for combating temptations.
“Every man, in addition to his own concupiscence and the evil example of others, is also tempted by the devil, especially when least aware of it,” the Holy Father said from the window of his study before praying the midday Angelus. Addressing the thousands of pilgrims who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square below, the Pope said: “How many times [man] easily gives in to the false enticements of the flesh and the evil one, and then experiences bitter disappointments.”
On this First Sunday of Lent, when Mass-goers heard the Gospel passage on the temptations of Jesus, the Pope called for vigilance “to react promptly to every onslaught of temptation.”
The Holy Father pointed out the weapons a Christian has “for the daily combat against evil suggestions”: “prayer, the sacraments, penance, careful attention to the Word of God, vigilance and fasting.”
These ascetic means, inspired by the very example of Christ, are still indispensable because “the devil, ruler of this world, continues his deceitful action even today,” the Holy Father said.
The Pope encouraged Christians “to undertake the penitential Lenten journey with greater determination, to be prompt in defeating every seduction of Satan and arrive at Easter in the joy of the spirit.”
Before bidding the faithful farewell, John Paul II asked the Catholics of the world to pray for him and his collaborators, who this week are doing their annual retreat, the Spiritual Exercises.
The prayer of the faithful can help to make these days “fruitful,” not “only for those who participate, but for the whole Church,” the Pontiff said.
John Paul II began the retreat at 6 p.m. The preacher is Franciscan Cardinal Claudio Hummes, archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The theme of the retreat is “Always Christ’s Disciples.” It ends Saturday morning.

Pope John Paul II …
Focuses on a Christian’s Weapons to Combat Evil

http://www.zenit.org/article-3708?l=english

VATICAN CITY, February 17, 2002 (Zenit.org)
EXTRACT
Today, the First Sunday of Lent, the liturgy offers us the impressive Gospel page of the temptations of Jesus: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The Redeemer’s mission begins, precisely, with his victory over the triple deception of the prince of evil.
“Begone, Satan!” (Ibid. 4:10). The Messiah’s resolute attitude is an example and an invitation for us to follow him with courageous determination.

The devil, “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), continues his deceitful action even today. Every man, in addition to his own concupiscence and the evil example of others, is also tempted by the devil, especially when least aware of it. How many times he easily gives in to the false enticements of the flesh and the evil one, and then experiences bitter disappointments. One must remain vigilant to react promptly to every attack of temptation.

The Church, expert teacher of humanity and holiness, shows us ancient and ever new instruments for the daily combat against evil suggestions: They are prayer, the sacraments, penance, careful attention to the Word of God, vigilance and fasting.

Satanic Services on Hold in Kentucky Prisons

http://www.zenit.org/article-5243?l=english

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, September 3, 2002 (Zenit.org) The Kentucky Department of Corrections has halted formal Satanic worship services at a prison while authorities work to produce a statewide policy on the practice, the Associated Press reported.
Prisoners at the Green River Correctional Complex, in Central City, had been allowed to hold weekly Satanic services this summer as part of the official religious services calendar.
“We honestly didn’t know it was on the religious calendar,” Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Carnahan said after the news media asked about the practice.
Under federal law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions, correctional institutions may not prohibit the exercise of inmates’ religious freedom, as long as the practice of the religion does not endanger the other inmates or the staff, said Joe Weedon, manager of government affairs for the American Correctional Association.
Carnahan said the state has not suspended Wiccan services, which also are held at Green River and three other prisons. Wicca, a form of witchcraft, includes pagan nature worship. Policies in other states vary. Prison officials in Texas prohibit Satanist services.

The Devil‘s Work, According to a Demonologist
Theologian Corrado Balducci Makes a Distinction

http://www.zenit.org/article-8283?l=english

SEVILLE, Spain, September 28, 2003 (Zenit.org) The demonologist of the Diocese of Rome says it is important to distinguish between the devil and evil.
Last week theologian Monsignor Corrado Balducci opened the academic year of the ABC Cultural Hall of Seville, with an address entitled “The Devil: Who He Is, His Existence, His Activity, Diagnostic Criteria and Therapy.” The monsignor referred to an “erroneous concept” of the devil’s nature, where he is confused with evil. “Evil is an abstract concept,” but the devil exists as “an autonomous being, and he cannot be considered as Evil, but as an evil,” said the monsignor, as reported by the newspaper ABC.
Monsignor Balducci described devils as “angels who have freely become evil … spiritual beings who have nothing material about them.” The theologian explained that the evil angels “were aware of their situation and of their possibilities to know. While the majority praised the Creator, others focused on their own nature, self-sufficient, with no need for God.” Their worship of self led them to “renounce the Supreme Being and become immersed in hatred of God,” he said.
To emphasize the existence of the devil, Monsignor Balducci said that Satan is mentioned about 300 times in the New Testament — “much more than the Holy Spirit.”
Regarding cases of seeming demonic possession, the monsignor said: “There are very few who are possessed.”
“If the devil takes possession of the body, the soul cannot carry out its activities. In the case of possession, the devil acts, not the individual,” he added.
The theologian criticized the images of possession given by the movies. In “The Exorcist,” he said, “the girl seemed catatonic — something that has nothing to do” with being possessed.

Church not taking devil seriously, exorcist warns

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=13947

Rome, June 11, 2004 (CWNews.com) The chief exorcist of Rome has warned that the Church is not sufficiently conscious of the devil. “The devil is extremely satisfied, because he is at liberty to do his work,” said Father Gabriel Amorth. Speaking to the Italian daily L’Espresso, Father Amorth took note of an alarming rise in Satanic practices throughout Italy, and offered some sharp criticism of Church leaders for failing to warn against the devil’s influence.
The Church has gone from one excess to another,” he said. “To compensate for the madness of witch-hunting– in which people were burned when they should have been exorcised– we have completely eliminated the devil and exorcism.” He noted with regret that “entire Catholic regions do not have a single exorcist,” naming Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In Italy, on the other hand, there are 160 priests formally charged to act as exorcists, he reported.
Father Amorth, who has become the world’s most famous exorcist by writing about the practice and the devil’s influence, spoke to L’Espresso about a scandal that has emerged in Italy recently, with the discovery of the bodies of two adolescents who were apparently tortured and killed some time ago. The two young people were both members of a Satanic group, the “Beasts of Satan;” they had been reported missing in January 1998.

Father Amorth, who has been the official exorcist of the Rome diocese since 1986 and is now 80, reminded L’Espresso that, as he has reported in the past, Pope John Paul II has personally performed at least three exorcisms during his pontificate, of which two were completely successful.
(The Pope, like any bishop, has the power to perform exorcisms. He has used that power, in a fashion known to the public, at least three times: in 1978, at the request of a Roman exorcist at St. John Lateran basilica; in 1982, for a woman brought to him by the Bishop of Spoleto, Italy; and in 2002, after a teenage girl exploded in a furious display of unnatural rage during a public audience.)
However he charged that despite the Pope’s clear belief in the reality of demonic possession, the Roman Curia has been slow to respond to that reality. “It’s been a long time since anyone studied these subjects in the seminary: angels, devils, exorcisms, or even sins against the First Commandment.” These sins, he said, would include the use of “magic, spiritualism, and Satanism.” In 1999, the Vatican released a new approved ritual for exorcism, De Exorcismus et Supplicationibus Quibusdam. Father Amorth said that the revised ritual is “a disaster for us exorcists.” The new ritual, he continued, prevents the priest from proceeding with an exorcism “unless he is certain about the condition of a diabolical possession, which is something that you can only ascertain in the process” of an exorcism.
He explained that once an exorcism is begun, the devil often manifests his presence by a “visceral and extremely violent aversion to all that is sacred.” That reaction can be shown, he added, through “talking in unknown languages, the explosion of a superhuman force, levitation, revealed during the exorcisms.” Fortunately, he said, the old ritual of exorcism remains valid, and can be used rather than the more limited new form.
Father Amorth cautioned that diabolical possession is by no means the only evidence of the devil’s existence. “Satan is always at work, in an ordinary way, doing all he can to make man sin,” he said. But he added that there are some special cases in which the devil uses his power in a special way, known as possession.
Demonic possession is actually quite rare, the Italian priest said. In most cases, an individual who is brought to consult with an exorcist suffers from psychological rather than spiritual difficulties.
However, he noted that some people appear to become possessed after entering a Satanic cult.
Father Amorth noted that only individuals who regret their involvement with Satanic cults ever consult an exorcist. Thus there is no way to know how many active members of the cults might also be possessed. The
exorcist offered a chilling reminder: “While it is easy to enter into these Satanic cults, it is extremely difficult to get out.” He warned that those who enter the cults are quite literally risking their lives.
There are two types of Satanism, Father Amorth said. In the “high” cult, members adore the devil, perform Black Masses, and follow a hierarchy of cultic leaders. The “low” form of Satanism might appeal to people who do not believe in the existence of a devil, but can be persuaded to engage in obscene and unnatural acts. Father Amorth argues that this second form is more dangerous, because it is far more widespread; he said that the “low” cult has penetrated into the drug culture, heavy-metal music, the “gothic” cult, and the internet.

5 Phases of an Adolescent’s Slide into Satanism
Interview with Journalist Carlo Climati

http://www.zenit.org/article-10460?l=english

ROME, June 25, 2004 (Zenit.org) What do certain rock music and Internet groups, adolescent curiosity, and moral relativism have in common?
They are all doors of access to Satanism for young people, warns Italian journalist and writer Carlo Climati.
Italy is still shaken by the discovery, in early June, of the bodies of Chiara Marino, 16, and Fabio Tollis, 19, in the woods northwest of Milan. They were last seen in January 1998 with other members of their rock band, the Beasts of Satan. Investigators say they were victims of “ritual” killings.
In this interview with ZENIT, Climati describes how adolescents get involved in Satanism and proposes ways to detect and prevent it.
Q: How widespread is the phenomenon of Satanism among young people?
Climati:
It is certainly a phenomenon that is
growing rapidly and is difficult to control. I would describe it especially as a do-it-yourself Satanism, which young people practice by listening to rock music and surfing the Internet.

Naturally, one must not fall into the error of generalizing and condemning all rock music. But at the same time, one must be realistic and realize that Satanic rock already turns over a volume of business worth billions. Too many singers spread the non-culture of violence, drugs and hatred.
Q: How can an adolescent enter into contact with the world of Satanism?
Climati: It is a process that takes place in “phases” and that can be easily explained because of young people’s great familiarity with the new technologies and means of communication.
The first phase generally consists of the simple and banal interest in a Satanic singer. First, a young person buys his CDs and is passionate about his music. But then he feels the need to know more about the singer.
The second step is knowledge of the texts of the songs and the consequent exposure to a transgressive philosophy of life.

The third phase is the young person’s purchase of music magazines that talk about his favorite singer. Lately, in certain rock periodicals, there is not just talk of music, but also of Satanism and esotericism. Sometimes even addresses are given of Satanic sects or Internet sites of singers linked to the world of the occult.
So, in order to know more, the fourth phase is entered: the search on Internet. Starting from simple curiosity for the sites of Satanic rock singers, there is the risk of going to the pages of authentic sects, or discussion groups frequented by Satanists.
The fifth and last phase is the young person’s direct contact, through e-mail, with a sect or a practitioner of black magic.
Q: What is the philosophy of young people’s Satanism?
Climati: In analyzing this phenomenon it is very important to examine it in depth. One must not stop at incidents of violence or macabre rites that are carried out in forests.
I want to stress especially the “Do what you feel like” idea, an invitation to moral relativism and a life without rules. It is man with his presumption who wants to usurp God’s place and live under the standard of his own egotistical pleasure.
Moreover, at the base of Satanism is the death of hope. The invitation to withdraw into oneself and believe in nothing — in the fact that life is only a jungle in which the powerful triumph over the weak.
Unfortunately, many young people seem to be fascinated by certain terrible philosophies. It is not difficult to identify them at night, outside premises that offer this kind of music. In general, they are dressed in black. Often their arms are marked by small, self-inflicted wounds.
These cuts are a sign of rendition, of pessimism. They symbolize, perhaps, other deeper wounds, which are those of everyday life. A life often marked by inability to communicate, lack of conversation in the family, difficulties in school or at work.
Q: How can the phenomenon of Satanic rock be combated?
Climati: The solution lies in accustoming young people to have a greater critical sense. Young people should not “imbibe” passively everything that certain rock stars say. We must help them to reflect, to understand, to reject those who promote the non-culture of death. One must not allow oneself to be ensnared by terrible philosophies. If a singer promotes violence, we must not buy his records. Let’s applaud those artists who communicate a positive message in favor of life. There is no lack of good examples. Suffice it to look for them.
This is the way that must be chosen to change the balance of the record market, a market that is often merciless and bent on making money at the cost of youth. Before purchasing a CD, we must learn to ask ourselves what kind of ideology is behind it and what messages it is trying to impart. Otherwise, Satanic rock singers, imperturbable, will continue to hold the top spots in the charts.

Why New Age Is a Challenge for Christianity Father Alessandro Olivieri Pennesi Responds

http://www.zenit.org/article-10501?l=english
EXTRACT

VATICAN CITY, June 30, 2004 (Zenit.org) The spread of New Age and its use and abuse of Christian elements make of the movement a challenge for the baptized, says a specialist at the Lateran University.
Father Alessandro Olivieri Pennesi, a professor at the Mater Ecclesiae Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of the Lateran, gave that warning in an interview with ZENIT…

Fr. Pennesi: Douglas R. Groothuis, an American author, has identified six characteristics of New Age thought:

…Six, the traditional way of seeing the personification of evil as the devil or Satan is clearly absent from New Age literature. In regard to history and Lucifer’s task, Benjamin Creme, a known speaker of the movement, states that “Lucifer came from the planet Venus 18.5 million years ago. He is the director of the evolution of our planet; he is the sacrificial lamb and the prodigal son. Lucifer made an incredible sacrifice, a supreme sacrifice for our planet.”

Taking Satan Seriously
Interview with Cardinal Georges Cottier

http://www.zenit.org/article-10750?l=english

VATICAN CITY, July 29, 2004 (Zenit.org) We should take the devil “very seriously,” but without losing confidence in the love of God, says the theologian of the Pontifical Household.
Cardinal Georges Cottier gave this interview in the wake of last Saturday’s murder of a priest in the cathedral of Santiago, Chile. The killing was linked to Satanism.
Q: In the great mystery of evil, how much does the action of the devil count and how much responsibility does man bear?
Cardinal Cottier: The devil is without a doubt the great seducer because he tries to lead man to sin by presenting evil as good. But the fall is our responsibility, because the conscience has the ability to distinguish what is good and what is evil.
Q: Why does the devil want to induce man to sin?
Cardinal Cottier: Out of envy and jealousy. The devil wants to drag man with him because he himself is a fallen angel. The fall of the first man was preceded by the fall of the angels.

Q: Is it a heresy to affirm that the devil also forms part of God’s plan?
Cardinal Cottier: Satan was created by God as a good angel, because God does not create evil. Everything that comes from the creative hand of God is good. If the devil has become evil, it is by his own culpability. It was he who, by using his freedom badly, made himself evil.
Q: Will there ever be redemption for the devil, as some theologians affirm?
Cardinal Cottier: Let’s articulate a premise: Man has fallen into sin because the first sinner, namely the devil, dragged him into his abyss of evil. What does this mean in substance?
The rejection of God is, above all, opposition to the Kingdom of God as Providence’s plan for the world. This rejection that stems from the freedom of an altogether spiritual creature as the devil is a total rejection, irremediable and radical, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church also says.
Q: There is no hope, then, that in the end the mercy of God will be able to conquer the devil’s hatred?
Cardinal Cottier: The perfect character of the fallen angel’s freedom makes his choice definitive. This does not mean putting a limit to God’s mercy, which is infinite. The limit is constituted by the use that the devil made of freedom. It is he who impedes God from canceling his sin.
Q: Why did the devil, who is a most intelligent spirit, use his freedom in this way which in any case is always a gift of God?
Cardinal Cottier: Here we are before the mystery. The mystery of evil is first of all the mystery of sin.
We are stricken, justly, with physical evils. But there is a much more radical and sad evil which is the evil of sin. The devil is fixed in his rejection. Moreover, the angel’s sin is always more grave than man’s.
Man has so many weaknesses in himself that in some way his responsibility may be veiled; the angel, being a most pure spirit, has no excuse when he chooses evil. The angel’s sin is a tremendous choice.
Q: It seems impossible that an angel created in God’s light could have chosen evil.
Cardinal Cottier:
When we speak of a fallen angel due to sin we address a very serious argument and we must therefore treat it with great seriousness.
In man’s temptation we have almost a reflection of what was the very sin of the angel. Here is the supreme seduction: to put oneself in God’s place. Satan also did not recognize his condition of creature.
Q: Why is the devil called the prince of this world?
Cardinal Cottier: It is an expression of John’s Gospel. It means that, when the world forgets God, it is dominated by sin. The devil’s action is guided by hatred for God and when we follow his temptations he can cause grave damage. The devil’s principal evil is spiritual evil, that of sin. This action touches both the individual and society.
Q: Could not God have impeded all this?
Cardinal Cottier: Yes, but he permitted both the devil and man to have the freedom to act and, at times, to sin. It is a tremendous mystery.
St. Paul says: “Everything contributes to the good of those who love God.”* That is, when we are with God, even evil contributes to our good. *Romans 8:28
Q: Isn’t this difficult to accept?
Cardinal Cottier: Let us think of the martyrs, of the extraordinary spiritual good that, in the light of faith, derives from a tragedy such as a martyrdom.
Commenting on Paul, St. Augustine said: “God would not have permitted evil if he had not willed to make of this evil a greater good.” There are goods that humanity would not have known if it was not for the presence of sin and evil. It is difficult to affirm this, but it is the truth.
Q: How does the devil act in everyday reality?
Cardinal Cottier: We can understand it from some expressions of John’s Gospel, when he says that the devil has been a murderer from the beginning. That is, he is a destroyer and causes death, either in the proper sense or spiritually. This is why he is called the great tempter.
Q: Are we referring to the devil when we say in the Our Father “lead us not into temptation”?
Cardinal Cottier: Yes, we pray to God to resist temptation. It is mistaken to think that every temptation comes from the devil, but the strongest and most subtle, the most spiritual, certainly have his mark.

And they are both individual and collective temptations. The devil acts on human history. His influence is negative. Death, sin and deceit are signs of his presence in the world.
Q: You say that not all temptations come from the devil. On what else must we be on guard?
Cardinal Cottier: Christian Tradition tells us that there are three sources of temptation.
The most terrible, of course, is that of the devil. Then there is the world, society, “others” in John’s sense. And finally there is the “flesh,” that is, we ourselves.
St. John of the Cross says that of these three temptations the most dangerous is the last, that is, we ourselves. The worst enemy for each one of us is ourself.
Before attributing the temptations to the devil and the world, let us think of ourselves. Here we also find the importance of humility and discernment. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of discernment and preserves us from the arrogance of placing too much confidence in ourselves.

Q: What is the most correct attitude that the Christian must have before the mystery of the Evil One?
Cardinal Cottier: Not ever to forget that the passion and death of Jesus have triumphed forever over the devil. This is a certainty. St. Paul’s says it. Faith is the victory over the father of sin and lies.
This means that the devil, being a creature, does not have infinite power. Despite all his efforts, the devil will never be able to impede the building of the Kingdom of God, which grows despite all the persecutions. The Christian, thanks to fidelity in the faith, conquers evil.
Q: In conclusion…
Cardinal Cottier: We must take the devil very seriously, but we must not think that he is omnipotent. There are people who have an irrational fear of the devil.
Christian confidence, which is nourished with prayer, humility and penance, must be above all confidence in the love of the Father. And this love is stronger than all. We must have the consciousness that the mercy of God is so great as to surmount all obstacles.

Satan‘s Strategy of Confusion Interview with Father Mendoza Pantoja of Archdiocese of Mexico

http://www.zenit.org/article-11041?l=english

(Part 1) MEXICO CITY, September 16, 2004 (Zenit.org) Satan exists and his strategy is to confuse, says the exorcist of the Archdiocese of Mexico. Father Pedro Mendoza Pantoja was one of the organizers of Mexico’s first National Meeting of Exorcists and Auxiliaries of Liberation, held August 31-September 2 at the headquarters of the bishops’ conference. The meeting drew 500 participants.
Father Mendoza Pantoja coordinates the work of eight exorcists, one for each of the territorial vicariates of that diocese. He spoke of his work with ZENIT. Part of this interview appears Friday.
Q: Who is an exorcist?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: He can be a bishop or a priest designated by him, who by the mandate of Jesus Christ and in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit recites a prayer in which, in an imperative way, in the case of diabolic possession, orders Satan to depart from the one possessed and leave him in total freedom, or in a deprecating form, that is, of intercession or supplication, asking that, by the precious blood of Christ and the intercession of the Virgin Mary, a person, place, house or object be liberated from every demonic influence, be it infestation, obsession or oppression.
Q: Can anyone be an exorcist?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: No. According to the Gospel, Christ enriched his apostles with charismatic gifts when he sent them to evangelize. In Matthew 10:1 it says: “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.” See also Matthew 16:17-18. With that authority, it corresponds to bishops, successors of the apostles, to exercise this ministry of expelling demons. But, according to Canon 1172, they can designate, to exercise this ministry in a stable manner or for a special case, a “pious, learned, prudent priest with integrity of life.” This is true for diabolic possessions and, therefore, for exorcism itself, also called solemn exorcism.
But every priest through his ordination participates in the priesthood of Christ and, with him, has the mission to liberate the faithful from all obsessions, oppressions or demonic influences, with deprecating prayers of intercession and supplication, with evangelization and administration of the sacraments, primarily penance and the Eucharist. Similarly, all priests are exorcists in regard to the pastoral endeavor of liberation within their mission to evangelize, and this is true, by the command of Christ; he does not need to be designated to carry out so-called minor exorcism. Lay people cannot be exorcists.
Q: The meeting you organized also gathered “Auxiliaries of Liberation.” Who are these persons and what do they do?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: Auxiliaries of Liberation are: priests who do not have the character of official exorcists; doctors; psychiatrists; religious; and lay people who help the exorcist priest in discernment or in the exercise of his ministry, either with prayer of intercession or in different eventualities.

Priests help with prayer of liberation and the laity with prayer of intercession. A priest who is not an official exorcist can carry out a minor exorcism, also called prayer of liberation, helped in turn by all the laity who support him in discernment and with prayers of intercession. The laity cannot recite prayers of liberation.
Q: If I am not mistaken, this was Mexico’s first meeting of exorcists and one of the first of these characteristics in the world. It seems that in the last 40 years the figure of the exorcist was disappearing. Is this an impression that corresponds with reality?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: Indeed, it is. The causes are varied, but we could say that they are included in the great challenge that the second half of the last century presented to the Church in her task of evangelization.
In the first half, Satan attacked humanity in the field of ideas and thought: rationalism, materialism, Gnosticism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, sectarianism, Socialism, Marxism-Leninism, etc., which separate man from God.

On one hand, the negation of a personal God and also the negation of the existence of Satan as a personal being, exchanging the true God for an impersonal god that identifies itself with this material world and reducing Satan to a mere symbol.
Such an influence also infected our theologians, who in recent times no longer spoke of the devil or the angels.
But as a counterbalance, man felt nostalgia for God. His search for the supernatural, as a solution to the problems afflicting him because of his separation from God, made him fall into the clutches of the New Age, which with its deceitful spiritualities and fictitious magical and esoteric solutions has opened the doors to the manifestations of the devil in many persons who have fallen into New Age esoteric and magical practices.
For this reason, in the permanent mission of the New Evangelization the Church has found it necessary to revive something that she felt was of the past, but which is urgent in our times: to proclaim to those who have fallen away the redemption of Christ who came to liberate us from Satan’s threats.
Q: It is said that in some countries the progress of Satanic sects has not been addressed adequately by the Church for lack of exorcists. Do you think there is some truth in this?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: The answer to this question is related to the previous one.
Indeed, our faithful and priests themselves have been engulfed in the sea of confusions to which the New Age leads us with its mixture of ideas, deceits and lies, manipulating Eastern spiritualities mixed with pantheism, as well as traditional medicines*, which in themselves are a gift from God and have nothing diabolical, but
whose efficacy is used by promoters of the New Age to give themselves credit and make one believe that everything they say is true. *For example, Ayurveda- Michael
It also took us bishops and priests by surprise, without knowing what to do or how to act in this sea of confusions. And some were filled with fear by the phenomenology presented in those affected by the devil. Or it led them to protect themselves in a crass skepticism in the face of these realities, attributing them to psychological problems or illnesses that are difficult to cure and so did not attend to them. Moreover, seminaries have not given preparation to address these problems. For all these reasons, through meetings and congresses both at the national as well as the international level, we are seeking formation both for ourselves, the official exorcists, as well as for all priests and for the laity involved in the pastoral endeavor of liberation.

http://www.zenit.org/article-11052?l=english

(Part 2) MEXICO CITY, September 17, 2004 (Zenit.org) Evaluating what are real cases of Satanic possession take serious discernment, says the exorcist of the Archdiocese of Mexico.
Q: Many, perhaps even believers, deny that there can be people who are possessed by the devil. They think, rather, that it is a question of psychological or psychiatric problems. How does an exorcist distinguish between cases of possession and disturbances of another nature?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: Canon law and the new exorcisms ritual itself, as well as the Catechism of the universal Church, establish that, before carrying out a major exorcism, there must be discernment: whether it is a question of a real possession or a simple diabolical obsession or oppression, making use also of the previous advice of doctors and psychiatrists so that they can give their diagnosis, the priest always being the one who must ultimately decide because, in addition, the ritual of exorcisms indicates which are the signs that can tell us or lead us to suspect a real diabolical possession: to speak or understand unknown languages as if they were one’s own; to reveal hidden or distant things; to manifest strength beyond one’s age or physical condition, to vehemently separate oneself from God, aversion to the most holy name of Jesus, of the Virgin Mary, and of the saints, to sacred images, places and objects.
Q: For many people, however, these cases of diabolical possession seem rather like Hollywood film stories. It seems that the devil’s strategy is to make one believe he does not exist. As an exorcist, do you think this is true?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: In fact, as I see it, Satan uses several strategies to separate us from God.
What the devil is interested in is to confuse us, either by making us believe that he does not exist and that, as he doesn’t exist, neither do hell and heaven and so we need not be afraid of being far from God.

Moreover, he manifests himself instead with oppressions and obsessions to torment terribly those who have opened the doors to him, so that they will be afraid of him and not try to close the doors to him and trust him.
This is how we can explain Satanic worship and holy death to obtain power, his favor and protection. Satan is the father of lies and deceit.
Q: All ministries in the Church are a grace of God and a service to brothers. Do you yourself perceive the ministry of exorcist as a grace for your life?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: My whole life is a grace from God: my baptism the gift that makes me a child of God, member of the Church, and co-heir with Christ of his glory; the priestly ministry, the gift that enables me to participate in his redemption and his work of salvation and service to my brothers.

The ministry of exorcist is also a gift of his grace and mercy, which in my littleness, insignificance and limitations, enables me to experience, as his instrument, his liberating and salvific power in the service of my brothers, which encourages me and impels me to adhere to him ever more to participate in his victory and, with it, in his glory.
Q: What is the service of the exorcist to the Church and to your brothers like? In other words, is there a case you can tell us about in which your ministry of exorcist enabled you to experience in fullness your vocation as man and priest?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: There are many cases in which, practicing the prayer of liberation — over the past 24 years, also when I was not yet an exorcist — I have seen the power in which God makes us priests participants in the service of our suffering brothers. The therapy of faith with the prayer of healing, liberation, and forgiveness, with which one succeeds in something that is impossible and not within the reach of medical and psychological science.
Now, as an exorcist for the past six years, I have attended several cases of diabolical oppressions and obsessions. Tormented and already despairing people, who after having gone to all kinds of specialists, quacks and medicine men, have worsened their situation. They think they are diabolically possessed and ask anxiously for exorcism. In some cases, there have been signs that have led me to suspect a diabolical presence or possession and, even without being certain, to carry out the so-called diagnostic exorcism, that is, imperative prayer, to succeed in making them enter a peace and tranquility without going so far as to have a full solemn exorcism, it being enough to continue with the prayer of liberation.
It has been a great satisfaction to succeed in the liberation of my brothers, through the service of my humble ministry, by the power of the prayer of intercession and to see the growth of their faith, thanks to an evangelization and catechesis that leads to their conversion, the renewal of their faith, and their fuller adherence to the Lord, and to see them continue their lives full of love and confidence in God.
Q: What should a person do who thinks he is a victim of diabolical possession or who knows someone who might be in that situation?
Father Mendoza Pantoja: He must go to his parish priest and make a good confession so that, in the first instance, that priest can take care of him. If his parish priest discovers that there is a demonic influence but no signs of diabolical possession, he must pray with him supported by a liberation team and insert him in a group of evangelization or growth in the faith or in some parish ministry.
If the parish priest perceives signs that make him suspect a diabolical possession or does not feel able to address the problem, he must then be directed to the exorcist of his diocese or the nearest exorcist. He must never go to medicine men or make use of magical cures.

Anti-Satanism Panel Set Up

http://www.zenit.org/article-11409?l=english

CATANZARO, Italy, October 29, 2004 (Zenit.org) Wary of the rise of Satanism, the bishop of San Marco Argentano-Scalea has established a commission to study and prevent the phenomenon.
Bishop Domenico Crusco said the commission will study Satanic occultism and has “the subsequent and urgent duty to plan an adequate prevention and catechesis, beginning with the schools with the direct involvement of teachers of the Catholic religion.”
“Black Masses” and “Satanic rites in general” are “an ever more widespread and worrying phenomenon; we are all invited to a concrete commitment against the expansion of initiatives that refer to the world of the occult,” the bishop said in a statement sent to the whole country.
Mention is made of the Upper-Tyrrhenian area, where consecrated hosts were stolen from a church next to the Belvedere Marittimo railroad station, according to the Italian bishops’ SIR information agency.
The new diocesan commission is made up of the episcopal vicar, the local Caritas director, and a parish priest-professor. It has the support of an information technology specialist.
The bishop invited the members of the commission “to carry out an appropriate sensitization in parishes through the parish priests, avoiding counterproductive fears and psychosis and useless alarmism.”

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Consequences of De-Christianization

http://www.zenit.org/article-17535?l=english

LONDON, November 13, 2004 (Zenit.org) Britain’s Royal Navy stirred the waves last month when, for the first time, it gave official recognition to the practice of Satanism. According to an October 24 report in the Telegraph, Chris Cranmer, a naval technician serving on the frigate Cumberland, is now allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board ship. He would also be able to have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan if he were to be killed in action.
Cranmer is now petitioning the Ministry of Defense so that Satanism can be a registered religion in the armed forces. According to the Telegraph, the Church of Satan was founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey, author of “The Satanic Bible.”

The article quoted a Royal Navy spokesman as saying that Cranmer’s unconventional beliefs would not cause problems on board ship. “We are an equal-opportunities employer and we don’t stop anybody from having their own religious values,” he said.
In an October 26 commentary in the Scotsman newspaper, Bruce Anderson said that naval authorities gave the go-ahead to Cranmer because they feared a lengthy legal action that could have ended up before the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, costing millions of pounds. The government, he said, is at fault for “nervously allowing a rights-based legal culture to intrude upon the armed forces.”
Sophie Masson, in a commentary published October 27 in the Sydney Morning Herald, considered the religious implications. The Church of Satan, she noted, says that “we are our own gods.” Moreover, they hold that all traditional sins are virtues, that altruism is a myth and that the Christian virtues are just hypocrisy.
“The most frightening thing is that our society has seemingly become so disconnected from meaning that it no longer takes seriously the very building blocks of its culture,” she added. “To worship the principle of evil itself is to invite it into your life and the lives of those around you, sometimes in unpredictable and horrifying ways.”
The navy’s recognition of Satanism is just one in a series of news items detailing the decline in Christianity in Britain.

On August 18 the newspaper Independent published details of a report by the UK Home Office showing that while most white Britons still call themselves Christian, in practice religion plays little part in their lives.
The survey, based on 15,500 interviews, showed 74% called themselves Christian. But among those who professed their Christianity, when asked what they considered important to their identity, religion was cited by only 17% of white Christians, after other factors such as family, work, age, education, gender, income and social class. By contrast, among black people, 70% of whom say they are Christian, religion was third on the list, and Asians placed it second, behind family. The survey also showed a weak Christianity among youth. Just 18% of Christians aged 16 to 24 considered their religion as important. Religion was more important for young people in other groups: 74% of Muslims; 63% of Sikhs; and 62% of Hindus.
Then, on November 4, the Times published details of another study pointing to a severe decline in traditional religion, and a rise of mysticism. The study, carried out by two specialists in religion from Lancaster University, Linda Woodhead and Paul Heelas, looked at Kendal, a town of 28,000 in Cumbria.
In their book containing the results of the study, “The Spiritual Revolution,” the academics observed that only 7.9% of the town’s population now attends church, down from 11% two decades ago.
The practice of what the authors term “holistic activity,” while still limited, is fast-growing. Currently, 1.6% of the population of the town and environs engage in some kind of holistic activity. During the 1990s, the growth of this number was rapid, and if current trends continue, within 30 years the holistic activities will be the dominant form of religious worship.
Some of the comments cited by the study revealed dissatisfaction with being “preached at” and a preference for describing their religious needs in psychological language. But the Times article also cited the Reverend Brian Maiden, of Parr Street Evangelical Church in Kendal, who declared that he believes that the liberalism of Christianity has turned people off it. “The people of Britain have been inoculated with a dead, mild form of Christianity, which has given them resistance to the real thing,” he said. “It has been diluted with human philosophy. People want to be told what to do and how to do it.”
Britain is not alone in the trend toward the occult and alternative spiritualities. In the United States, for instance, Halloween continues to grow in popularity, the Los Angeles Times reported October 11.
Although many celebrate Halloween on a merely superficial level, the article noted that sales of Halloween goods this year are projected to grow faster, at 5.4%, than those of Christmas, 4.5%. According to the Los Angeles Times the National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will have spent more than $3 billion this season on Halloween products.
On a more serious level, news of Druidic influence in the Episcopalian Church has drawn attention. According to the Washington Times of November 1, a Druidic “women’s eucharist” and a “divorce rite,” posted on the Episcopal Church’s official Web site, outraged a number of Episcopalians. The rites were removed from the Web site after church headquarters began receiving complaints. Shortly afterward, the Philadelphia Inquirer, on November 5, reported that two Episcopal priests, a married couple, the Reverend Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk and the Reverend William Melnyk, had resigned from the leadership of a local Druid society. They may face disciplinary action from the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. During almost four years, while they led parishes in Malvern and Downingtown, the couple were also spiritual guides to local Druids, according to the Inquirer.
Another sign of the growing influence of non-Christian groups is the spread of Wicca. The term can cover a multitude of practices, but it is part of a neo-paganism involving the worship of diverse gods and sometimes the practice of witchcraft. According to an article by Christine Wicker titled “Teen Pagans,” posted on the Web site of Belief Net, Wicca is increasingly popular among adolescents. Its spread is fostered by the contemporary interest in the occult, as well as the ease with which information about these groups can be disseminated via the Internet.

Attempts to put a number on followers of Wicca have not met with much success, according to data posted on the Web site of the multi-faith Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Estimates of their numbers in the United States range from a low 2,000 to a high of 5 million.
Leaving aside what the decline of Christianity means from a religious viewpoint, attention on the social consequences was the focus of a book published earlier this year, “The Strange Death of Moral Britain,” by Christie Davies. His book charts what he terms the decline of “respectable Britain” — the increase in crime, drug use, illegitimacy, abortion, homosexuality, etc. — and links it to the declining influence of Christian morality. Over the last few decades, notably since the 1950s, moral values once instilled by such institutions as Sunday schools have been replaced by a secularized attitude of minimizing harm, regardless of moral considerations.
Recognizing one person’s right to practice Satanism may be dismissed as a trivial incident. But it can also be seen as symptomatic of a society that is rapidly becoming de-Christianized, a process that brings with it many unpleasant surprises.

Critiquing New Age, Occultism and Satanism
Interview With a Specialist in New Religious Phenomena

http://www.zenit.org/article-11577?l=english

MADRID, Spain, November 18, 2004 (Zenit.org) Christianity must be centered on Jesus Christ and have no truck with astrology or superstitions, warns a scholar of religions. José Luis Vázquez Borau, author of “The New Religious Phenomena: New Age, Occultism and Satanism,” holds a doctorate in philosophy and a licentiate in moral theology. He has spent much of the last 20 years dedicated to the study and teaching of the religious phenomenon.
Q: There is a somewhat chaotic resurgence of religion: spiritualisms, esotericisms. Is this phenomenon leading to something more?
Vázquez: It is difficult to predict if this phenomenon is leading to something more. What can be affirmed is that to the degree that the human being wishes to deny, cover or dissimulate, as if it did not exist, the “religious sentiment which is innate,” the latter will seek a thousand ways to make itself present and to manifest itself.
We have a recent example in civil baptisms. The human being has imprinted in him a divine presence which we can go so far as to say that it does not exist. But not because of this will it cease to exist and to manifest itself.
Therefore, three things are necessary: Christian communities that give joyful testimony of the faith and at the same time are involved in the problems of people’s lives, especially the poorest; witness of the Absolute; and an adequate religious formation, without which any charismatic sectarian leader, in the pejorative sense of the word, can take over people’s uninformed consciences.
Q: If Christianity were better known, would there be fewer religious phenomena?
Vázquez: In this book “The New Religious Phenomena: New Age, Occultism and Satanism,” I have tried to widen our view to make us realize that all religions, in the course of time, have had followers who have deformed the religions that they postulated in their own benefit, as at the bottom of all religious manipulation there is a quest for money and power.

Thus, after analyzing New Age as an answer to the generalized crisis of institutional religion and the obsession for everything Eastern as paths of wisdom, some of the diverse groups are indicated that arise from different matrixes, such as the Afro-animist, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucianist, Judaic, Christian, Islamic, scientistic, occultist and Satanist.
Undoubtedly, if Jesus was known — the Way, Truth and Life — we would be talking about something else.
Q: The new religious phenomena arise within the religious traditions. In what way does this fact address religions?
Vázquez: The new religious phenomena are linked to postmodernity which gives much value to sensibility, which might contribute to us also placing more value on the way of experience and feeling in our access to God. There is no faith without an initial experience that we call conversion and without the daily experience that we call prayer. It is very important to reassess religious experience. … The danger lies in giving up criticism and allowing oneself to be led by feeling.

Q: According to you, horoscopes, reincarnation and pan-sexuality are “clearly anti-Christian” practices. Yet, they have their followers. How must this subject be addressed so that Christians will understand it?
Vázquez: By being more centered on God and living as children who trust in their Father, knowing that nothing evil can come from him, and if it is for us to experience dark moments, to know that it is all for our good even if we cannot understand it today, but we will one day.
If we appeal to astrology to know about our future, where is our faith? We must not be worried about the future. We must live in God’s present with the soul of a child. Our future is decided here and now by loving and giving our life for others. Reincarnation dilutes human responsibility and sex is not an absolute.

Exorcism Course to Analyze Young People’s Crisis of Values
Carlo Climati on Why They Turn to Satanism

http://www.zenit.org/article-11950?l=english

ROME, January 11, 2005 (Zenit.org) Recent incidents of cult deaths in Europe are pointing to a problem hitherto underestimated: the growing interest in Satanism and occultism, especially among adolescents.

That is why the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University and GRIS**, an Italian group that monitors destructive sects, organized a course on “Exorcism and Prayer of Liberation.” The course, which is open only to priests and seminarians, will be offered in February, March and April. ZENIT interviewed journalist Carlo Climati, one of the instructors of the course, who specializes in the problems of youth, a topic to which he has dedicated several books.
Q: How did the ideas arise to offer a course on Satanism and exorcism?
Climati: It resulted from contact with many priests, who expressed the need to offer more information on these topics. In their pastoral activities, priests increasingly receive requests for help from parents, or are obliged to address delicate cases of youths involved in Satanic sects or occultism.
This grave problem is represented especially by nihilism, which characterizes certain phenomena. Young people are disoriented and pushed to confuse good with evil and to reject any moral boundaries.
Q: Why is there so much interest in the world of the occult?
Climati: The starting point is a certain tendency to neo-paganism, often dressed up in fashions that are apparently innocuous. Let us think of what has been happening for some years, on the date of the celebration of Halloween. Celebrations with esoteric topics are multiplied in discothèques.
In addition to dancing, young people find fortunetellers on the premises, who offer to read them their horoscope or Tarot cards. And, as if this were not enough, kiosks are filled with magazines for adolescents, with superstitious ideas such as the use of
magic herbs, the supposed power of stones, the production of amulets, and even the adoration of the planet Earth, as if it were a sort of divinity.
Q: Why do many young people take recourse to magic or Satanic rites?
Climati: Because today much thought is given to the body and little to the soul. Magic and Satanism represent the search for an egotistic power to be exercised over others in order to obtain material satisfactions and follow the false models proposed by some of the media.
We are in the era of the appearance, in which aesthetic surgery, advertised in television programs, seems to solve all problems. Whoever does not look like certain actors or models, runs the risk of feeling inferior, limited. He begins to look in the mirror and to experience feelings of insecurity.
The television programs seem to compete in their offer of testimonies of families in crisis, parents who fight with their children, husbands who betray their wives and vice versa, who insult one another and lack respect for each other publicly. This mechanism produces great fear of the other. It prevents young people from believing in the promise of eternal love. **Group of Research and Information on the Sects
Q: Do young people today need to rediscover a relationship with God?
Climati: Of course. But, sadly, they are faced with many obstacles. Today there is a tendency to create an atheist society, dominated by moral relativism. Young people run the risk of finding themselves alone in an ever more materialistic world, deprived of that relationship of divine filiation to which they can take recourse in times of difficulty. Whoever is conscious that he is a child of God can never feel abandoned in face of problems; thus, he will not seek quick solutions such as Satanism or neo-pagan forms of religiosity.
Q: How can young people of today be properly educated?
Climati: A culture of commitment must be promoted, which values the little efforts of daily life.
If we want to win over a girl, we must no take recourse to a magic or Satanic rite. Let’s give her a beautiful bunch of flowers, let’s talk, let’s try to be kind and sincere, let’s open our heart to her. In a word, let’s make the effort. Moreover, it is important to promote a healthy culture of the limit, to educate youngsters so that they will understand that one cannot have everything in life. One must be able to accept one’s own limitations. It is not necessary to look like the models of the photos in order to be happy.
One must not imitate the perfect, but unreal, protagonists of advertisements. Nor is it necessary to always have in one’s pocket the latest model of mobile phone. It is enough to be oneself. This will educate young people to have a better view on life and also so to accept eventual moments of difficulty and suffering.

Why a Course on Satanism and Exorcism
Interview With Secretary of Research Group on Sects

http://www.zenit.org/article-12292?l=english

ROME, February 18, 2005 (Zenit.org) A new course on “Satanism, Exorcism and the Prayer of Liberation” is offering the clergy formation on guiding souls in contact with the occult or magic.

In this interview with ZENIT, Giuseppe Ferrari, secretary of the Group of Research and Information on the Sects (GRIS) of Italy, commented on the objects of the course, which began this week at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.

Q: You are one of the initiators of this course. How was it conceived and what are its objectives?
Ferrari: In my capacity as national secretary of GRIS, I had the opportunity a year ago to talk with a priest of the Diocese of Imola here in Italy, who told me about the difficulties priests have when dealing with the problems of people who have somehow entered into contact with the realm of the occult and magic and want to get out, or those who feel in some way that they are the object of demonic action.
My interview with that priest made me reflect, and I thought that the problem could only be addressed effectively with a profound and interdisciplinary formation of priests, at the university level, thus filling a pastoral gap that is increasingly evident.
The main objective of the course is to form and inform an appropriate number of priests, even if afterward they do not become exorcists, in how to analyze requests for help, how to respond, and how to determine when the intervention of an exorcist is necessary.
To this first objective, we can add the formation of doctors, psychologists and jurists, bringing them up-to-date on topics that concern their profession.
Q: What are the issues the course will address?
Ferrari: The course is divided into seven thematic areas distributed over seven days, with a total of 28 hours. If the final exam is passed, one obtains two university credits.
Anthropological, phenomenological and sociological aspects are addressed; biblical, historical and spiritual aspects; liturgical aspects; scientific aspects — medical, psychological and natural; juridical and legal aspects; exorcists’ testimonies.
Without going into details of the program, it is possible to say that the course will study exorcism in depth, not only its theoretical foundations, but also the rite and testimonies of some exorcists with regards to specific cases.
Q: What, in particular, can be the contribution of priests?
Ferrari: The first aspect to consider is that of vocation. A priest who does not have a profound and genuine vocation will never be able to be an authentic and authoritative spiritual guide for the community entrusted to him.
A second aspect is that of formation. This task, by which priests learn to distinguish and reject philosophical, doctrinal, theological and historical errors and those of biblical misinterpretation, constitutes a duty that cannot be deferred, as the sects are spreading in the Catholic realm, taking advantage not only of people’s needs and aspirations, but also falsifying history, manipulating and erroneously interpreting sacred Scripture, introducing unacceptable theological theses, debatable doctrines, and rash philosophical theses.
The new apologetics must not cause clashes but be open to profound, lucid and flexible dialogue. It must be able to relate to the different disciplines: theological, philosophical, historical, scientific, economic, artistic, etc., and project the truth to illuminate the different human problems and offer the man of today solid reasons for Christian hope.
To offer future priests a balanced and profound theological, moral and spiritual formation will serve to avoid, or at least reduce considerably, the risk of having presbyters who are seduced by risky theological speculations, or liturgical and pastoral experimentations with undeniably syncretistic connotations.
Therefore, it is good to recall that the Church is in ever greater need of holy priests, not of priests who preach ambiguous theological theses and strange liturgical and pastoral practices, because only holy priests are able to renew the Church, giving her new sap and new vigor, and the capacity to indicate the necessary impulses to initiate the correct responses to the different challenges of contemporary society.
Lastly, [in this] situation, which the spread of magic and superstitious religiosity has contributed to generate, is the ever more urgent need for priests to impart blessings, to cancel the negative effects of alleged curses, or to exercise the ministry of exorcism on those allegedly possessed by the devil.
The requests are increasingly numerous and create notable problems for the clergy and dioceses, as in these areas priestly formation has been very lacking or nonexistent lately. It is also opportune to fill this gap.
One of the best ways to proceed is not only to appoint an exorcist — who would then be overwhelmed by requests to which he could not respond — or a diocesan commission made up of experts in some fields — for example, in addition to the theological-pastoral, the medical and psychological — but above all to form in this specific area a great number of priests. As I said at the beginning, this is the main objective of the course.

Exorcist on Satan Not Having Last Word
Interview with Father José Antonio Fortea

http://www.zenit.org/article-12990?l=english

MADRID, Spain, May 11, 2005 (Zenit.org) God is greater than “Satan’s vehement irruption,” said Benedict XVI in his general audience, something of which exorcists are well aware.
In the following interview with Father José Antonio Fortea, priest of the Diocese of Alcala de Henares in Madrid, an experienced exorcist comments on the reality of the devil in modern life. Father Fortea recently wrote a book entitled “Summa Daemoniaca.”

Q: What is Satan’s greatest triumph?
Father Fortea: To make us believe that he doesn’t exist. Indeed, after the 60s, many theologians said he was a symbol, and this has been a great success because, of course, all the ministry of exorcism disappeared from Europe almost totally. Only in Rome did it remain in a continuous, and even daily, manner.
Q: What has this attitude caused?
Father Fortea: It has done us much harm. People no longer trust in the Word of God as perfect authority in which there is no room for error. They are saying: “We don’t know what is symbol and what is reality.” But the topic of the devil, who was the first to be swept away by the most modernist theology, is one of the ones recovering the most because the reality prevails.
Q: Does the tempter always tempt?
Father Fortea: The devil tempts, but not always, only sometimes. He is not always by our side, although he can tempt to very evil and demonic things. For example, in the flesh. In it we see symbolized many sins that come from our own person. Above all, what are most striking are the sins of lust, as they are the one’s the human being falls into most easily and are the ones with the least malice; they are, rather, of weakness. This type of sin opens the door to worse sins, and so we go descending step by step if we don’t change our ways.
Q: Do the faithful of your parish know about exorcisms?
Father Fortea: It is one of my greatest joys. I think it is the only parish in the world in which very many of the faithful, from 18 to 70 years old, take part weekly in exorcisms. It is perhaps the only one in the world in which they are known both by the mayor and the police. If they hear shouting they don’t come in because they know what is going on there.
Q: However, generally speaking, in the rest of the world exorcism continues to be a spectacle.
Father Fortea: The lack of information is the taboo that has been created around this. The devil knows it well. The less that is know about him, or of the work of the Church against him, the better. But, of course, it is what interests him. What I am interested in is that his plans be uncovered. Above all, an exorcist must know that the devil exists and that the possibility of exorcism exists.

Spiritual Warfare Made Easy

http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/fiomascarenhas/scripturallyspeaking/20.asp

By Fr. Fio Mascarenhas S.J., May 22, 2005 – Holy Spirit Interactive Issue #72

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

The “world”, the “flesh” and the “devil” are the three fronts where intense spiritual warfare is constantly taking place. Jesus called the Devil a Murderer and a Deceiver, whose obsession is always to rob us of life. Hence, for Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare always includes the struggle for personal sanctity, together with the struggle to witness daily to the new life in the Spirit gifted to us by Jesus. In a “specialist” sense, spiritual warfare is about setting free those persons who are afflicted by evil spirits. For this, an important role is played by the deliverance ministry and the prayer of exorcism. But of greater consequence for victory in “general” spiritual warfare is self-denial in the power of the Spirit, and alertness against the enticements of the world, particularly its constantly pressurizing Christians to a materialistic and selfish lifestyle.

The “world” in a theological sense is the fallen world of human beings, alienated from and hostile to God. As long as the world remains unredeemed, Christians may not live as if they still belonged to the world (Colossians 2:20). In fact, friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), for the world hates Jesus (John 15:18). Hence, “the world” refers not to God’s beautiful creation but to the chaotic world, constructed by human sinfulness and oppressive socio-political structures, whose works are evil (John 7:7). It is a world under the control of Satan (1 John 5:19). It is the world of materialism, consumerism, oppressive social structures, hedonism, egoism, etc. “The flesh”, on the other hand, is the traitor within us. It is our own sinful ego, and it betrays our resolve to grow as committed and authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. St. Paul insists that those who belong to Christ must crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).

To get a holistic picture of spiritual warfare, let us look at some texts from Scripture and from the Pope’s encyclicals. The Book of Revelation declares:

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him… Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:7-9, 17). [Here the “woman” stands for the People of God of both the Old and New Testaments.]

From this text we have to conclude that all human beings are involved, consciously or not, in spiritual warfare! Each of us is created in the image and likeness of God, hence God’s Enemy hates us. Moreover, we are redeemed and given new life in the Spirit by the life, passion, death, and resurrection of God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hence the Devil hates us even more.

[N.B. The presence and activity of evil in the world are a mystery of faith. We will never understand fully: “Why is there a Devil? Why does he/she have such power to tempt and hurt us? etc.” But God’s word tells us about the fact of it, and also shows us how to face it victoriously.]

St. Peter reminds us, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. For your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him/her, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering” (1 Peter 5:8f). St. Paul too tells us, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places… Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:10-12, 17-18).

The history of salvation shows that God’s coming close and making Godself present to human beings and the world meets with resistance and opposition in our human reality. St. Paul speaks eloquently about it: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate …I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:15-17). He also tells us that “the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, licentiousness, drunkenness, and the like.” There are also other “works of the flesh” like “enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, and envy” (Galatians 5:19ff). Pope John Paul II explains:

“Resistance to the Holy Spirit finds in every period of history, and especially in the modern era, its external dimension, which takes concrete form as the content of culture… It reaches its clearest expression in materialism, both in its theoretical form as a system of thought, and in its practical form as a program of corresponding conduct… Materialism is a system that is essentially and systematically atheistic, and radically excludes the presence and action of God, who is spirit, in the world, and above all in man…” (Dei Verbum 56).

Materialism also leads to the acceptance of death as the definitive end of human existence. Hence, in today’s civilization, the Pope says,

“The signs and symptoms of death have become particularly present and frequent. One has only to think of the arms race and of its inherent danger of nuclear self-destruction. Moreover, everyone has become more and more aware of the grave situation of vast areas of our planet, marked by death-dealing poverty and famine. It is a question of problems that are not only economic but also and above all ethical. On the horizon of our era there are gathering ever darker ‘signs of death’: a custom has become widely established of taking the lives of human beings even before they are born (abortion), or before they reach the natural point of death (euthanasia). Furthermore, despite many noble efforts for peace, new wars have broken out and are taking place, wars which destroy the lives or the health of hundreds of thousands of people. This is only a partial and incomplete sketch of the picture of death being composed in our age” (Dei Verbum, 57).

The Pope is telling us here that all of the above are part of spiritual warfare. Human beings must not only fight evil within themselves, as individuals, but there is a global, cosmic, systemic sin which they must fight against in order to establish “the new creation”. St. Paul’s words about not contending “against flesh and blood, but against… the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” apply to all human persons regardless of their religion, color or social status.

How to Engage Victoriously in Spiritual Warfare

Pope John Paul II has introduced a new emphasis within this subject of spiritual warfare. Writing in his encyclical on “The Holy Spirit”, he points out that it is not only the Devil that is involved in spiritual warfare, but the Holy Spirit too is equally involved, or more involved in it, bringing men and women of goodwill the ability to overcome evil in their lives, so that they too can say: “Where evil abounded, grace super-abounded!” (Romans 5:20). The Pope points to St. Paul’s teaching given to the early Christians: “Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would” (Galatians 5:17).

If it is true that all human beings must fight strenuously against the Evil Spirit, it is also true that all human beings enjoy the active help of the Good Spirit. Hence, the Pope points out the Christian certainty that the Spirit is at work in human beings and in the world, seeking to renew the face of the earth; that if “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit”, it is even more true that the “desires of the Spirit are against the flesh” and that the Spirit is taking many new and powerful initiatives in our times to fight against evil!

“The Church is supremely aware of the reality of the inner persona, of what is deepest and incorruptible. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit this inner ‘spiritual’ person matures and grows strong …The hidden breath of the Divine Spirit enables the human spirit to open in its turn before the saving and sanctifying self-opening to God… The Triune God, who exists in Godself as a transcendent reality of interpersonal gift, giving Godself in the Holy Spirit as gift to men/women, transforms the human world from within, from inside hearts and minds … and enables men/women ever more fully to find themselves through a sincere gift of self” (Dei Verbum 58, 59).

Millions of people, Christians and non-Christians, are experiencing this action of the Spirit “transforming the human world from within” and leading them to make a “sincere gift of self” to God and to “neighbor”. Hence, the Pope can declare, “The Spirit’s presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. Indeed, the Spirit is at the origin of the noble ideals and undertakings which benefit humanity on its journey through history” (Red. Miss.,28). [You can read more about this in my 2 books, God’s Best Ideas and The Holy Spirit. In these books, I have given many more texts from Scripture, the Pope’s writings, the documents of the 2nd Vatican Council, and have also illustrated the teachings with many practical examples from my travels across the world.]

Practical Steps

The lives of the Saints provide us with an excellent commentary on real spiritual warfare. St. Ignatius of Loyola, a military man and master strategist, gives excellent guidelines for recognising and guarding against “the deceits of the rebel chief” and for a “knowledge of the true life exemplified in the sovereign and true Commander”.

He says that the Enemy summons and scatters innumerable demons throughout the world and goads them on to lay snares for men and women and to bind them with chains: first they are to tempt them to covet riches, that they may the more easily attain the empty honours of this world, and then come to overweening pride; from there he leads them to all other vices. Christ, on the other hand, attracts men and women to the highest spiritual poverty, and if God so chooses them for it, even to actual poverty; secondly, to at least a readiness (if not also a desire) for humiliations (insults and wrongs), for from these spring humility; and from there to all other virtues.

St. Ignatius wrote the above 500 years ago, but the respective strategies of the Enemy, and of Christ, are still the same today too! Materialism and consumerism are nothing but temptations of the Evil One to covet riches, by which people can then attain the empty honours of this world, and end up in overweening pride. The huge success of the Enemy’s strategy is seen from the fact that individualism and freedom from restraint, together with self-indulgence, have become distinguishing characteristics of our modern generation, not only in secular culture but also within Christianity, for example, in the signs-and-wonders branch of fundamentalist TV evangelism.

On the other hand, knowing that the “world” and the “flesh” are the vast battlefronts where the Evil One is gaining ground, Jesus invites us to the direct opposite of “coveting riches, and empty worldly honours, and pride”. He pours out his Holy Spirit, so that our “desires are against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17), and so that we experience power to “not live as if we still belong to the world” (Colossians 2:20). The Holy Spirit tries to attract us to the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), and to a Gospel-lifestyle as in the early Church (washing one another’s feet, bearing one another’s burdens, forgiving one another 70 times 7, becoming the servant of all, etc., etc.).

Hence, a most important way of getting equipped for effective spiritual warfare is personal openness to the Person of the Holy Spirit, and to the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. The charismatic gifts of faith, discernment of spirits, and prayer in tongues, the messianic gifts of wisdom, counsel, knowledge and fortitude, and the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, self-control and steadfastness are especially important items of the spiritual armour we must wear every waking moment. This is because the Spirit is “another Advocate,” especially given to us by Jesus and the Father, to help us in spiritual warfare. Jesus even said it was better for us that he himself should go, otherwise we could not receive his Spirit. And whereas the world, the flesh and the devil are very strong, “the Spirit who is within us is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Even so great an apostle as St. Paul would confess, “I buffet my flesh, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be lost!” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul engaged in this ordinary and personal spiritual warfare throughout the year, besides the special spiritual warfare he waged when casting out evil spirits from other people. In the Catholic Church, the season of Lent is the special time when the whole People of God gears itself annually to renewed involvement in spiritual warfare. Then, the means of daily personal prayer, a steadily increasing familiarity with and devotion to the word of God, fasting and penance, making new attempts at promoting social justice, frequent participation in the sacraments, enlisting the powerful intercession of Mary in the context of an authentic Marian devotion, etc., are all recommended. But all these are not merely for the season of Lent! For those of us who are serious about spiritual warfare, they are the basics of ongoing, ordinary, all-year-round spirituality.

To conclude, spiritual warfare, I mean holistic spiritual warfare, is more than just “casting out demons”. That kind, the extraordinary kind (of setting people free who are oppressed by evil spirits) is meant for a few Christians, depending on the ministry they are called to. But the ordinary kind that is meant for all is fighting against the “world” and the “flesh”. This is the kind Paul was referring to when he wrote about fighting against the principalities and powers of darkness, and what Peter warned us, about the devil going about like a roaring lion. In this “spiritual-warfare- made-easy”, all of us must be involved as Spirit-filled and Spirit-led disciples and we will experience the Holy Spirit taking many initiatives on our behalf, for God’s greater glory and our eternal good! [All bold emphasis the author’s- Michael]

Why another Course on
Exorcism and Satanism Interview With
Carlo Climati

http://www.zenit.org/article-13936?l=english

ROME, September 8, 2005 (Zenit.org) Interest in Satanism hasn’t waned. That is why the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University and the Socioreligious Research and Information Group are offering a course on “Exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance,” the second of its kind. To better understand the objectives and reasons for the course, which starts October 13, ZENIT interviewed one of the program’s teachers, Carlo Climati, a journalist who has written on youth Satanism.
Q: How did the idea arise to organize a second course on exorcism and Satanism, after the one already imparted in February, March and April of last year, which received unexpected coverage by the media worldwide?
Climati: There was a need to respond to the numerous requests that came from various parts of the world. The second course will be held from October 13 to February 9, 2006, with a break in mid-November and mid-January. It is reserved for priests and students with a licentiate in theology who are preparing for the priesthood. Moreover, it will be possible to follow the course by videoconference from Bologna, Perugia, Assisi, Maddaloni and other cities around the world.
Q: What are the novelties of this second edition?
Climati: All the professors of the first course have been confirmed. To these will be added Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City, and Bishop Andrea Gemma, F.D.P., of Isernia-Venafro, for the opening session, as well as several exorcists for the closing session.
Q: How has the first course been evaluated?
Climati: Optimally. A total of 127 people participated from Italy, Africa, Mexico, Brazil, the United States, Austria, Germany and Slovakia. In particular, its interdisciplinary character was very much appreciated, which allowed for a complete view of the arguments, including the scientific point of view. Without a doubt, among the objectives of the course was to remove such a difficult and delicate argument from a superficial and sensationalist approach.
Q: Did the interest of the media in the first course contribute to this result?
Climati: Undoubtedly. Newspapers, radios, magazines, news agencies and television channels from all over the world talked about our initiative with a correct and balanced language, which corresponded to the spirit of the course. Our sincere gratitude goes to all the journalists who made that course known, for the seriousness they demonstrated in their task of informing.
Q: What are the objectives of the second course?
Climati: In addition to the topic of exorcism, there will be much discussion on the problem of Satanism and sects. This second course also has the objective to give priests useful instruments for their pastoral work of information and support to families. Some incidents mentioned by the media recently must be a sign of alarm to take seriously a problem that is still underestimated: the increase of interest in Satanism. With his solid preparation, a priest can offer an important contribution to address this problem, which can affect above all young people.
Q: How would you describe the phenomenon of youth Satanism?

Climati: Youth Satanism is, above all, domestic Satanism, “homemade.” There are increasingly more youths who admit to being fascinated by devil worship and by a world of lugubrious and dark environments. For many of them, shadows seem to be more attractive than light. “Homemade” Satanism is an even more harmful phenomenon than sects. A sect, in fact, can be discovered and easily controlled. But the personal initiative of three or four youths gets out of control. One only succeeds in intervening when the evil has already been done.
For this reason, it is important to offer appropriate information to families. In this connection, a priest can have a determinant role and offer precious preventive action.

Pope Encourages
Exorcists
in Their Ministry

http://www.zenit.org/article-13984?l=english

VATICAN CITY, September 14, 2005 (Zenit.org) Benedict XVI greeted a group of exorcists and encouraged them in their ministry. At the end of today’s general audience, attended by some 20,000 people, the Pope addressed a few words “to the participants in national congress of Italian exorcists and encouraged them to continue in their important ministry at the service of the Church, supported by the solicitous care of their bishops and the incessant prayer of the Christian community.” Italian exorcists constitute the greater part of the members of the International Association of Exorcists.
Next month will see the start of a course on “Exorcism and Prayer of Deliverance” imparted by the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University together with the Socio-religious Research and Information Group (GRIS) for priests worldwide.
An exorcist is a bishop, or priest designated by a bishop, who by the command of Christ and in the name of God recites a prayer for the deliverance of a person possessed by Satan or under demonic influence.

Italian
Exorcists Dispel Misconceptions
Evangelization Seen as Main Task

http://www.zenit.org/article-14068?l=english

COLLEVALENZA, Italy, September 23, 2005 (Zenit.org) The primary task of the exorcist is to proclaim the Gospel, said a congress of the Association of Italian Exorcists. “The Exorcist in the New Evangelization” was the theme of the eighth meeting of Italian exorcists held in Collevalenza, in the province of Perugia, attended by 180 members of the association.
In statements to the Italian newspaper Avvenire, Father Giancarlo Gramolazzo, president of the International Association of Exorcists, said: “There is much disinformation today on the role of the exorcist; sadly, the media shows this figure as something other than what he really is.”
“With his apostolate,” he said, the exorcist “leads to the faith, persons who are possessed, vexed or obsessed by the devil.” “Essentially,” said Father Gramolazzo, “the exorcist is a catechist who undertakes a journey of faith with a person, also involving the family. The Gospel also teaches this — Mark 9:14-29 — when we read, for example, the case of the possessed child whom Jesus heals by helping the father to have faith.” Father Gramolazzo also warned of the danger of a superstitious faith which “attributes all physical and spiritual troubles to the devil’s action.” However, he said, “an aversion to the sacred,” or affliction by “unknown illnesses or even symptoms that are difficult to identify,” could be possible signs of possession. “Demonic presence must be diagnosed case by case,” he said.
The priest also said that “there should be greater dedication to asceticism, prayer and penance. The popular mentality has exaggerated Satan’s powers, which are those of an ordinary angel.”
“To defend oneself from evil in daily life it is enough to be consistent with the Gospel, not to be afraid to witness to one’s faith and to take care of one’s relationship with God,” he said. The congress offered talks on the role of the Eucharist, Mary and the saints in the lives and work of exorcists. The priests also dedicated time to prayer and liturgical celebrations.
Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, presented the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as an instrument of evangelization for the exorcist, whose job must first of all be to proclaim Christ. Benedict XIV, at the end of the general audience September 14, encouraged the participants of the congress “to continue in their important ministry at the service of the Church, supported by the watchful attention of their bishops and the incessant prayer of the Christian community.” A worldwide meeting of exorcists is planned for next year.

Interview with an Exorcist: Fr. James Lebar talks about ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’

http://www.godspy.com/reviews/Interview-with-an-Exorcist-Fr-James-Lebar-talks-about-The-Exorcism-of-Emily-Rose.cfm

By Angelo Matera, editor-in-chief and publisher of Godspy. October 3, 2005

The recent box office success of ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ got people talking about the existence—or not—of the demonic. We spoke to Fr. James Lebar, exorcist for the archdiocese of New York, about the thorny theological issues raised by the movie, and where the line between fact and fiction really lies.

Editor’s Note: This interview discusses key details of scenes crucial to the plot of ‘Emily Rose,’ which may spoil the movie for you if you haven’t seen it yet.

GODSPY: Fr. Lebar, did you find the movie convincing?

Fr. James Lebar: Yes, I would say so. I thought the movie was good; it presented things fairly. I didn’t see anything in the movie that didn’t belong there.

How do you think it compared to The Exorcist?

That was an entirely different situation. This move didn’t show all the grim and gory details … it did show the attacks by the devil, but I think this was a more cerebral movie in that it was trying to find out how the girl died, and whether the priest was guilty of negligence. The devil doesn’t just test people who want to be tested.

I’d like to ask you about some key points in the movie—for instance, the question of the priest’s possible negligence hinged on the fact that he took Emily off her medication for “psychotic epilepsy.” Was that realistic? Would an exorcist ever do that?

I certainly wouldn’t delve into an area I didn’t know anything about. I wouldn’t do something like that without consulting a psychiatrist. One of the most commented on and controversial aspects of the movie was that Emily seemed to be a pious girl who hadn’t done anything to open herself up to demonic attack. No dabbling in the Occult, no playing with Ouija boards.

Can demonic possession happen without some sort of consent on the part of the person, can it happen against her free will?

Oh sure. The devil doesn’t just test people who want to be tested. He wants to test everybody, especially people who aren’t asking to be tempted.

In what ways does possession happen?

It can happen in one of two ways. A person can open the door to evil through crime, sin, unholy practices, or hatred of God. There are people who never participate in a satanic cult who make a pact with the devil, who give themselves over to evil. The other way is when the devil wants someone for a specific purpose, and he initiates the possession to induce fear or despair in the person, or for some other reason we don’t know about. These people don’t realize what’s happening, and are caught up in the whole thing without warning.

Another interesting twist in the movie was that the medication was blamed for blocking Emily’s free will during the ritual, which is why the exorcism didn’t work. Is that accurate?

Not being a psychiatrist, I don’t know; on a certain level the free will of the individual is working no matter what. And within an exorcism itself, the devil does so many different things, that because of the stress and strain it would be hard to determine what the subject was really willing…

The movies implies that the possessed person has to consent to the exorcism.

When a person does their best to conform to the will of God they can put up with a lot…

More than likely the person needing an exorcism would not agree to one. They’re so wound up by the devil that he overpowers their mind. That’s why we have legal guardians to make decisions when the person can’t. So if the person is so wound up because of the presence of the devil another person can say this is what’s needed.

What about the emphasis, during the exorcism in the movie, on finding out the demon’s names. What’s that about?

In Old Testament times it was always thought that if you knew the name of your adversary you had more control over them, so that it was always thought that it was important to know the names of the demons…

The climax of the movie is the scene where Emily has a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gives her the choice whether to continue her possession. She chooses to stay possessed, which eventually kills her. She martyrs herself as a witness to the reality of Satan. Is there a theological basis for this? Many have asked, “Why would God allow a pious young girl to suffer so much?”

To strengthen her spirituality. To strengthen her love of God. Look at someone like St. Maximillian Kolbe. The Nazis threw him in a concentration camp against his will, but while he was there a situation presented itself where he freely chose to plunge deeper into that horror, to suffer and die in place of someone else. That man he replaced lived to see Kolbe canonized as a saint, someone who gave good example, who was a witness to love’s triumph over evil.

So we should see this as a version of the “dark night,” the absence of God experienced by saints such as St. Therese, and even Mother Teresa?

Was it a bad thing that Kolbe was sent to the camp? Of course. Did it have another purpose? It certainly did. It made him a saint. What made him a saint was not going to the concentration camp—it was conforming to God’s will and doing his priestly work inside the camp, in helping people as best he could. In retrospect, what he did inspired many others to go on.

You’re saying that St. Maximilian can help us understand Emily Rose’s situation—both were faithful believers who were subjected to evil against their wills, and both situations ended in their freely choosing to lay down their lives for God’s sake?

Right.

So to ask why God would permit Emily to die this way is just part of the larger mystery of why God permits suffering in general?

Yes. God sees the greater good.

And the idea that Emily could be a saint—which is what the priest in the movie suggests—that’s far-fetched?

No.

Look, if the devil is possessing a person, who then gets into the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, the devil ain’t happy about it!

The director, Scott Derrickson, said that what helped him come to terms with the tragedy of Emily was that “God Himself endured that—if you believe in the Incarnation.” Do you agree with that?

I guess I would say yes to that, although I might say it differently. We should also remember that when a person does their best to conform to the will of God they can put up with a lot and it’s not masochistic or self-destructive. God doesn’t abandon the person who undergoes these things.

In the movie, Emily runs into a church, where she is subjected to a very physical, demonic attack. Her back arches way back, and she’s in great distress. That surprised me…

I’m sure you’ve heard or read stories of people going into a Catholic church and having to leave because of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and other things as well. Let me give you an example.

Recently in another part of the country, a priest was working on a case where a woman who was being oppressed would meet him in a church. A point came when she didn’t want to go into the church anymore—she’d try to go in, but she’d get agitated, as if there was a plexiglass shield at the entrance. So the next time the priest arranged for her to wait in the lobby while he signaled another priest to remove the Blessed Sacrament from the church. She didn’t know this was happening. The priest then told her to try again, and she went in and sat down and they talked for an hour. That’s an indication that the devil is involved because he doesn’t want to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

In the movie I was surprised that she could be attacked right in front of the altar.

She went in the church for help. She didn’t know that was going to happen to her.

Wouldn’t she have been protected there?

Look, if the devil is possessing a person, who then gets into the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, he ain’t happy about it. That would account for that reaction. God doesn’t abandon the person who undergoes these things. A lot would depend on whether Emily at that point was oppressed or possessed. An oppressed person can go to mass sometimes, other times can’t. Because of that, very often they’ll fool the exorcist, if you’re only depending on that sign.

From the movie, I don’t know whether Emily was a normal everyday person, whether she did something bad and got possessed, whether the devil went after her because she was good … a lot of things follow from the answers to those questions. She knew enough to go into a church when she was attacked. The attacks before then could have been oppressions, not possessions. But at one point the devil possessed her so when she went into the church he had an adverse reaction of the worst kind.

So we shouldn’t view it as “the demons are getting their way even in a church,” but that they’re having an adverse reaction to the Blessed Sacrament…

Yes. The devil doesn’t want her there at all. He’d want to get her out of there.

What do you think about the media attention that movies like Emily Rose bring to the subject of demonic possession? Isn’t there a danger that it will lead people to see demons where none exist?

One of the reasons I’m willing to do interviews like this is so that this phenomenon comes to the attention of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, and they will be informed that a: The devil exists, b: He tries to trouble people, and c: If he troubles people so much that he possesses them, they can be helped through exorcism.

The movie suggests that the reason for Emily Rose’s martyrdom was to demonstrate to the world that the devil exists. You could say that, like the crucifixion, an apparent victory for Satan was turned to defeat. Does evidence of real demons lead people to believe in God?

Yes. I’ve heard of many cases where people who didn’t have any strong belief in God, who became possessed or oppressed themselves, or knew someone who came into that condition, from that came belief in the true God.

Humility Defeats Power of Devil, Says Vatican Course on Exorcism and Satanism Begins in Rome

http://www.zenit.org/article-14275?l=english

ROME, October 16, 2005 (Zenit.org) The devil exists, but his power is not equal to God’s, assured the opening speaker of a course on exorcism and Satanism. Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City, inaugurated on Thursday the course “Exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance,” offered by the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University and the Socioreligious Research and Information Group. The course runs until February 9.

“The devil exists, but omnipotent evil does not exist. There is only One who is infinite and he is infinitely good,” stated Archbishop Comastri.
“There can be no doubt of the devil’s existence,” he continued, addressing 120 students, priests and seminarians, as well as students from other cities worldwide via a teleconference link. “More than in the lives of sinners, his existence is seen in the lives of saints,” the prelate said. “Read the lives of the saints. All have had to combat the devil. Specifically, the devil’s existence is seen in the life of Jesus Our Lord.
“The devil is a creature who was created good by God, but has become evil by rebelling against God. It is essential to remember this truth, not to trivialize the devil but to place him in the right context.”
The vicar general explained that, although the work of salvation is a reality, the prince of this world “can still act because Christ’s work of salvation has not yet been accomplished in our lives, called continually to decide for or against him.” “When freedom becomes a slave of Satan, man suffers grave wounds in his life,” he added. That is why “Jesus gave his apostles the power to expel demons with the power of his redeeming blood, with the power of love that he introduced in history through his death on the cross.”
According to the archbishop, “we make use of this power to expel the demons. This power is real and must be taken seriously, but it must be exercised with great humility, avoiding hasty analyses or degenerating into magical arts of liberation, remembering always that it is Jesus who liberates, through the power of prayer that arises from faith, and through the power of the sacraments of faith.”
The prelate referred to a dialogue that St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, said he had with the devil.
The latter said: “I can do everything you do, I can also do your penances, I can imitate you in everything. There is one thing, however, that I cannot do; I cannot imitate you in humility.”
The saint answered: “That’s why I defeat you.”

“Humility,” continued the archbishop, “is the best bulwark against the devil and humility always ends in prayer and adoration. … “[It is] a power that is obtained continuously from the cross, because the whole of salvation stems from that event of infinite love with which Jesus entered history as Savior.”
On the first day of the course, the doors were opened to journalists. One of them asked why evil exists.
Archbishop Comastri answered: “Pride is the root of all evil because pride separates [one] from God and, when one separates from God, all the other consequences ensue.
“On the cross, Jesus expressed an act opposed to Satan’s: an act of humility, of love.”

Cause Opens for Religious Slain in Satanic Rite
Sister Maria Laura Mainetti Murdered by 3 Teen-age Girls

http://www.zenit.org/article-14469?l=english [Also see http://www.zenit.org/article-22250?l=english 9.4.2008]

CHIAVENNA, Italy, November 6, 2005 (Zenit.org) The cause of beatification has opened for Sister Maria Laura Mainetti, a 60-year-old religious murdered by three girls during a Satanic rite in 2000.
Bishop Alessandro Maggiolini of Como solemnly opened the process in Chiavenna on Oct. 23.
“After the time of sorrow and mourning, now is the moment of joy and light,” said Monsignor Ambrogio Balatti, archpriest of Chiavenna San Lorenzo, as reported by the Italian newspaper Avvenire.
Sister Laura, as she was known, was stabbed 18 times on the night of June 6-7, 2000, after being taken to a dark alley by two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old.
Monsignor Balatti said: “The three hapless girls could find no better excuse to attract Sister Laura, than to convince her that one of them was expecting a child, that she had been rejected by her family and boyfriend, and that she didn’t know what to do or where to go.
“It makes me angry when they say that Sister Laura was naive. She took every precaution, but so did the girls. They were able to set up an astute and diabolic plan.”
“How could Sister Laura, whose birth cost her mother her life, who died a few days after her birth, refuse to help that young girl who said she was a mother?” the monsignor asked.
Sister Laura had “a special predilection for young people,” whom she “considered the real poor of today: She saw them lost, without points of reference, exposed to the risk of the existential void.”
Under interrogation, the accused said they killed the nun to “dispel the boredom of a life that was always the same in the small city,” said Monsignor Balatti.

Officials soon learned that the trio initially wanted to sacrifice a priest in their Satanic rite — and their first choice for a victim was Monsignor Balatti.
“At that time, interest in Satanism and occultism had become a fad,” said the archpriest. “Even dress, music and some books contributed to the spread of such a tendency.
“Many young people followed more than anything out of a desire to call attention, to defy the rules. It found fertile ground in some because they were angry with God, perhaps because of personal problems, because of family troubles.”
During the cause’s opening ceremony, some of Sister Laura’s thoughts were read out: “My life belongs to you, Jesus,” “Lord, take also the little I have and the misery I am.”

The killers themselves admitted that when she was dying, Sister Laura found the strength to pray for them, saying: “Lord, forgive them.”
Bishop Maggiolini said: “I am certain that all this will reflect positively also on the three girls: Sister Laura’s is a light that will help them grow and mature.”
Sister Laura, who was baptized Teresina, was born in Colico, Italy, on Aug. 20, 1939. At the time of her death she was superior of the Community of Daughters of the Cross, in the Mary Immaculate Institute of Chiavenna.
A foundation and a series of charitable and pro-life services have been established in her memory. Several denominational centers in Italy and Africa have been named after the murdered religious.

On
the Devil‘s Doings Theologian Delivers a Lesson in a Rome Pub

http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2769

ROME, November 18, 2005 (Zenit.org) Rome’s Theology on Tap series for English speakers resumed with a talk on angels and devils. Father Pedro Barrajón, a professor of theological anthropology, explained to a group of young people, who gathered Monday in an Irish pub near the Piazza Venezia, how an exorcism is carried out. He recommended that one should not be afraid of the devil. “The devil exists, but we must not be afraid,” said the Legionary priest who lectures in the course on exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. “The devil first tries to tempt us and takes advantage of our weak points,” he warned. “So then, it is important that we know ourselves well and that we know what our weak points are.” “The action of evil can be present in life from the beginning until the latter’s end,” said Father Barrajón. He recalled that in some saintly lives, such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta or Padre Pio, there was an action of the devil on several occasions. “We live in a very complicated culture, and at times the devil’s presence is manifested through ideas,” the theologian said.

The weapons Father Barrajón asked the young people who were listening to him and holding beers in their hands how one can protect oneself from the devil. The first answer heard was “through the sacraments.” “Yes, the sacraments, faith, prayer and sacrifice are the defense against the devil,” he noted. One of the possible, though exceptional, actions of the devil is possession, said Father Barrajón. “Possession can be induced through cases of magic or Black Masses.” “Exorcism is a kind of struggle,” he added. It “begins invoking the name of the Trinity. The people attending the exorcism pray, although this does not mean that the devil goes away.” “A sort of dialogue is established between the priest authorized to carry out an exorcism — although at times there are lay people who do it but it is not right, because they do not have permission from the ecclesiastical authorities — and the possessed person, who emits strange sounds,” the priest added.
“The devil tries to provoke the priest and shows aversion to the cross, to prayers and the rosary and to other sacred objects,” continued Father Barrajón. “One of the devil’s names is Asmodeus; this is a devil who acts against marriage and the family,” he pointed out. “Other names are Son of Darkness, Satan or Beelzebub, names of biblical origin.”
Finally, Father Barrajón said that in a case of possession, biological, psychological and spiritual elements intervene and that it is not easy at all to establish the boundary between psychological illness and possession.
More information on Theology on Tap in Rome is available via totroma@hotmail.com.

Cardinal Cottier on
Exorcisms –
“The Church must speak About the Devil“

http://www.zenit.org/article-15072?l=english

VATICAN CITY, January 22, 2006 (Zenit.org) Cardinal Georges Cottier, while he was still the theologian to the Pontifical Household, wrote an introduction to the book “Presidente degli Esorcisti — Esperienze e Delucidazioni di Don Gabriele Amorth” (President of the Exorcists — Experiences and Clarifications of Father Gabriel Amorth).
Father Amorth is an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, and founder and honorary president of the International Association of Exorcists. The book has been recently published by Edizioni Carismatici Francescani. Here is a translation of Cardinal Cottier’s introduction.
The Church must speak about the devil. Though he sinned, the fallen angel has not lost all the power he had, according to God’s plan, in the governance of the world. Now he uses this power for evil. John’s Gospel calls him “the prince of this world” (John 12:31) and also in the First Letter of John one reads: “the whole world is in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Paul speaks of our battle against spiritual powers (cf. Ephesians 6:10-17). We can also refer to Revelation. We must fight not only against the human but the superhuman forces of evil in their origin and inspiration: Suffice it to think of Auschwitz, of the massacres of entire peoples, of all the horrendous crimes that are committed, of the scandals of which little ones and the innocent are victims, of the success of the ideologies of death, etc.

It is appropriate to recall some principles. The evil of sin is done by a free will. Only God can penetrate the depth of a person’s heart; the devil does not have the power to enter that sanctuary. He acts only on the exterior, on the imagination and on feelings of a sentient origin. Moreover his action is limited by the permission of Almighty God.

The devil generally acts through temptation and deceit; he is a liar (cf. John 8, 44). He can deceive, induce to error, cause illusion and, probably more than arouse vices; he can support the vices and the origins of the vices that are in us.
In the Synoptic Gospels, the first apparition of the devil is the temptation in the desert, when he subjects Jesus to several incursions (cf. Matthew 4:11 and Luke 4:1-13). This event is of great importance. Jesus cured sicknesses and pathologies. Altogether, they refer to the devil, because all disorders afflicting humanity are reducible to sin, of which the devil is instigator. Among Jesus’ miracles are liberation of diabolical possessions, in the precise sense. We see in particular in Saint Luke that Jesus orders the devils who recognize him as Messiah.
The devil is much more dangerous as tempter than through extraordinary signs or astonishing external manifestations, because the gravest evil is sin. It is no accident that we ask in the Lord’s Prayer: Lead us not into temptation. Against sin the Christian can fight victoriously with prayer, prudence, in humility knowing the fragility of human freedom, with recourse to the sacraments, above all Reconciliation and the Eucharist. He must also ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment, knowing that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are received with the grace of Baptism. Saint Thomas and Saint John of the Cross affirm that we have three tempters: the devil, the world (we certainly recognize this in our society) and ourselves, that is, self-love. Saint John of the Cross maintains that the most dangerous tempter is we ourselves because we alone deceive ourselves. In the face of deceit, it is desirable that Catholic faithful have an ever more profound knowledge of Christian doctrine. The apostolate must be promoted for the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, of extraordinary usefulness to combat ignorance. The devil perhaps is instigator of this ignorance: He distracts man from God, and it is a great loss that can be contained by promoting an adequate apostolate in the media, in particular television, considering the amount of time that many people spend watching television programs, often with contents that are culturally inconsistent and immoral. The action of the devil is also unleashed against the men of the Church: in 1972 the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI spoke of the “smoke of Satan that has entered the temple of God,” alluding to the sins of Christians, to the devaluation of the morality of customs and to decadences (let us consider the history of the religious Orders and Congregations, in which the need has always been noted of reforms to react to the decadence), to yielding to the temptations in the pursuit of a career, of money and of wealth in which the members of the clergy themselves can incur, committing sins that cause scandal. The exorcist can be a Good Samaritan — but he is not the Good Samaritan — as sin is a graver reality. A sinner who remains set in his sin is more wretched that one who is possessed. The conversion of heart is the most beautiful victory over the influence of Satan, against which the Sacrament of Reconciliation has an absolutely central importance, because in the mystery of the Redemption God has liberated us from sin, and gives us, when we have fallen, the restoration of his friendship. The Sacraments have in truth a priority over the sacramentals, a category in which exorcisms are included, which are requested by the Church but not as a priority. If this approach is not considered, the risk exists of disturbing the faithful. Exorcism cannot be considered as the only defense against the action of the devil, but as a necessary spiritual means where the existence of specific cases of diabolic possession have been confirmed.
It seems that the possessed are more numerous in pagan countries, where the Gospel has not been disseminated and where magic practices are more widespread. In other places a cultural element endures where Christians conserve an indulgent tendency in regard to ancient forms of superstition. Moreover it must be considered that alleged cases of possession can be explained by present-day medicine and psychiatry, and that the solution to certain phenomena may consist in good psychiatric treatment. When a difficult case is manifested in practice it is necessary to get in contact with a psychologist and an exorcist; it is advisable to make use of psychiatrists of Catholic formation. A course on these topics has recently been instituted in the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. It also seems opportune to include such formation in seminaries, in a balanced and wise dimension, avoiding excesses and constrictions.

Cardinal Georges Cottier, O.P., Pro-theologian of the Pontifical Household

Father Raniero Cantalamessa on Unclean Spirits
Comments on This Sunday’s Readings

http://www.zenit.org/article-15123?l=english

ROME, January 27, 2006 (Zenit.org) Here is a translation of a commentary by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the Pontifical Household, on this Sunday’s liturgical readings.
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B (Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28)
The Unclean Spirit Came Out of Him
“Then a man with an unclean spirit cried out: ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ Jesus then rebuked him saying: ‘Be silent and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.” What to think of this episode narrated in this Sunday’s Gospel and of many other similar incidents present in the Gospel? Do “unclean spirits” still exist? Does the devil exist?

When we speak of belief in the devil, we must distinguish two levels: the level of popular beliefs and the intellectual level (literature, philosophy and theology). On the popular level, or the level of customs, our present situation is not that different from the Middle Ages, or the 14th-16th centuries, sadly famous for the importance given to diabolical phenomena. There no longer are, it is true, Inquisition trials, deaths at the stake for the possessed, witch hunts and similar things; but practices that have the devil at the center are even more widespread than they were then, and not only among the poor and popular classes. It has become a social (and commercial!) phenomenon of vast proportions. More than that, it could be said that the more one tries to expel the devil out the door, so much more does he return through the window; the more he is excluded from faith, the stronger he gets in superstition.
Things are very different at the intellectual and cultural level. Here the most absolute silence already reigns about the devil. The enemy no longer exists. R. Bultmann, the author of the demystification, wrote: “One cannot make use of electric light and the radio, one cannot make use of medical means and clinics in case of illness and at the same time believe in the world of spirits.”
I believe that one of the reasons that many find it difficult to believe in the devil is because they look for him in books, whereas the devil is not interested in books, but rather in souls. Paul VI reaffirmed forcefully the biblical and traditional doctrine on this “dark agent and enemy that is the devil.” He wrote, among other things: “Evil is no longer only a deficiency, but an efficiency, a living, spiritual, perverted and perverting being, terrible reality, mysterious and dreadful.”
In this realm, however, the crisis has not happened in vain, without bearing even positive fruits. In the past, talk of the devil was often exaggerated; he was seen where he was not; many offenses and injustices were committed with the pretext of fighting him; much discretion and prudence is necessary not to fall in the enemy’s game. To see the devil everywhere is no less deflecting than to see him nowhere. St. Augustine said: “The devil rejoices when he is accused. More than that, he wants you to accuse him; he accepts gladly all your recrimination, if this serves to dissuade you from making your confession!”
Therefore, one understands the Church’s prudence in discouraging the indiscriminate practice of exorcism by people who have not received any mandate to exercise this ministry.
Our cities are full of people who make exorcism one of the many paid practices and they boast of removing “spells, the evil eye, bad luck, malignant negativities on people, houses, enterprises, commercial activities.”

It is surprising that in a society such as ours, so alert to commercial frauds and willing to denounce cases of excessive credit and abuses in the exercise of a profession, many people are found willing to swallow such hoaxes.

That day, even before Jesus said anything in the synagogue of Capernaum, the unclean spirit felt ejected and obliged to come out in the open. It was Jesus’ “holiness” that seemed “untenable” for the unclean spirit. The Christian who lives in grace and is temple of the Holy Spirit, bears in himself some of this holiness of Christ, and it is precisely the latter which operates, in the environments where he lives, a silent and effective exorcism.

New law forces UK retreat houses to tolerate black masses

http://www.cathnews.com/news/603/178.php
March 30, 2006 New rules forcing UK Catholic retreat centres to accommodate militant gays or even satanists have been met with a flurry of complaints.
The Universe reports that complaints against the new Equality Act are coming from Christian business operators of retreat centres and guesthouses.
The director of one leading Catholic retreat centre, the Jesuit run Loyola Hall on Merseyside, said he would rather go to court than let a black mass be celebrated on the premises by a guest. Other Christian bed and breakfast establishments have also promised to ignore the legislation which they say conflicts with their Biblical beliefs.
The law was introduced last October but as the holiday season gets underway, Catholics are anxious that militant gay rights campaigners or satanists will try to make a test case by checking into a retreat or conference centre.
Fr Ian Tomlinson, director at Loyola Hall at Prescott said: “I have no problem with a satanists wanting to come and have a discussion about their beliefs.
“But I would not allow them to stay here and certainly not allow them to celebrate a black mass in their room. I would rather go to court. It would be deeply offensive to allow something like that to happen here.”
He also said that it would conflict with his obligations as a priest.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Hilary Sutton, press officer for the Catenian Association, also opposes the new legislation.
“If I did run a bed and breakfast establishment, I think I should be entitled to choose who I allow to stay there,” he said.

A Home Office spokesperson confirmed ministers had been inundated with letters from Christians angry at the new legislation, and the responsible government Department has also received scores of written protests.
Under the legislation providers of services to the public will not be able to refuse to deal with individuals or groups because of their religion or sexual orientation, but Christian groups are demanding an exemption.
“Homosexuals have human rights, but so do religious people, and potentially there’s a clash between them,” said Dr Don Horrocks of the Evangelical Alliance.

Satan victim of a devilish image problem

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/satan-victim-of-a-devilish-image-problem/2006/04/11/1144521339095.html

By Barney Zwartz Sydney Morning Herald April 12, 2006

A former Jesuit turned university professor has set himself an ambitious project: rehabilitating the devil.

Henry Ansgar Kelly says Satan is the most maligned figure in history and has endured 17 centuries of unjustified character assassination. “For 1700 years Satan has been the enemy of God, whereas in the Bible he works for God, he’s his prime minister or attorney-general, in charge of policing the world,” Professor Kelly said.

“He is one of God’s angels, and his job is to test people.” The 71-year-old University of California professor has played devil’s advocate for four decades, and is the author of many books and scholarly articles. The devil did not have a kingdom, did not rule over hell, and did not try to damn people, Professor Kelly said. These ideas had developed from the second to the fourth centuries AD, and were refined for the next 1000 years. Professor Kelly said it was important to recapture the biblical understanding of Satan to combat the doctrine of original sin, “in which the whole human race is delivered to Satan”. “That’s the most immoral doctrine in Christianity that the whole of the human race is doomed to hell for something they didn’t do. Once you get rid of that, Christianity becomes less unreasonable.”

Satan’s rare appearances in the Old Testament were not by one person, but a number of angels doing God’s work, Professor Kelly said. He would like his theories to attract more official hostility, he said, because then they would be better known. Professor Kelly is officially an exorcist, but he has never tackled anyone with demon possession. “Demons are like talking germs – parasites looking for a place to stay, like diseases – and are under Satan’s control,” he said. “I prefer to have a global exorcism [of Satan’s reputation]. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about these minor manifestations.”

Melbourne priest “murdered, held satanic rituals”

http://www.cathnews.com/news/605/160.php
May 26, 2006 The Melbourne Archdiocese has accepted as substantially true allegations that a Melbourne priest took part in satanic rituals during which a number of murders occurred.
The Advertiser reports that the Melbourne Archdiocese paid $33,000 to the man who made the allegations as compensation for the repeated sexual and physical abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of the priest after investigating claims.
The Archdiocese’s independent sexual abuse investigator, barrister Peter O’Callaghan QC, described the details of the ritualised murders and sexual abuse provided by the victim as “extraordinary”.
“… but I have no reason or justification for doubting his credibility,” Mr O’Callaghan said in a letter to the victim’s lawyers in 2000.
Earlier during a formal interview with the victim, Mr O’Callaghan said he was satisfied the man was telling the truth. “I see no reason why I shouldn’t accept what you say,” he said.
The Melbourne Archdioceses Vicar General, Msgr. Les Tomlinson, said that Mr O’Callaghan advised Victoria Police about the allegations when he first learned of them in 1999.
He was told that the victim had already notified police that he had been sexually abused and was a witness to murder.
In a sworn statement given to the Archdiocese, the victim said he was first abused by the priest in Melbourne in the early 1960s, when he was serving as an altar boy at the Sacred Heart Church in Sandringham and attending a Catholic school.
The abuse continued for three years.
In his statement the 56-year-old victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, gave details of at least three deaths – a young woman, a young man and a child – that occurred during the satanic rituals over a number of years.
Two victims had their throats cuts and a third was killed with an axe. Animals were also killed during the ceremonies.
SOURCE Priest murdered, held satanic rituals (The Advertiser 26/5/06)

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604897.htm

By John Thavis August 29, 2006

VATICAN CITY (CNS) An Italian exorcist said demonic influence is strong in today’s world, affecting individuals and sometimes entire societies. While it is very rare for a person to be possessed by a demon, history reveals some likely examples — including Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, said Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth.
Father Amorth, who works as an exorcist in the Diocese of Rome, made the comments in an interview with Vatican Radio August 27. Father Amorth said every culture in history has shown an awareness of the existence of evil spirits. With the Bible, he said, these spirits were identified as rebellious angels who “tempt man to evil out of hatred for God.” “The devil can possess not only individuals but also entire groups and populations. For example, I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed by the devil,” he said.
“If one thinks of what was committed by people like Stalin or Hitler, certainly they were possessed by the devil. This is seen in their actions, in their behavior and in the horrors they committed,” he said.
“Therefore, society also needs to be defended against the devil,” he said.
Father Amorth said he thought one reason why the devil’s influence was high today is that Christian faith has weakened, replaced in many cases by superstition and an interest in the occult, which he said “open the way to demonic influences.” He said the church teaches that the devil is a pure spirit; he is not seen, but his effects can be seen, he said. Exorcism, he said, is a prayer made in the name of the church to liberate people stricken by the devil or by his evil influences.
Father Amorth gained notoriety in 2000 when he revealed that Pope John Paul II had performed an impromptu exorcism on a young woman who flew into an apparent rage at the end of a general audience at the Vatican.
In 1999, the Vatican issued a revised Rite of Exorcism, cautioning that cases of actual possession by devils were probably very rare. The church also has emphasized that before an exorcism is performed, it is important to make certain one is dealing with the devil and not a psychological or other illness.

President of HLI to expose the Devil

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/president_of_hli_to_expose_the_devil/

Front Royal, Va., May 25, 2007 (CNA) Fr. Tom Euteneuer, the president of Human Life International, wants to talk about a hot topic—exorcism and deliverance from the Devil. According to Euteneuer, the approach of Pentecost is all the more reason for to speak of the remedy to the Devil, the Holy Spirit.

His new book, “The Devil, His Minions, and His Activities,” will be published in the coming months. Its purpose is to put people in closer touch with the Holy Spirit, who defends us from the Devil, and to help us “experience God’s love as the protective shield against all his evil.”

Fr. Euteneuer also exposes the Devil for who he really is, using the words of Christ.
“The devil’s most serious indictment came from our Blessed Lord who called him, ‘a liar and the father of lies’, and ‘a murderer from the beginning’ (Jn 8:44). The New Testament refers to this origin of all wickedness nearly three hundred times to warn us of his presence and work.”

As Pentecost approaches, Father urges us to, “make a profound act of faith in the Holy Spirit, that, no matter how evil our times may be, God will never abandon to the power of evil those who call upon Him. Let us call upon the Holy Spirit to protect us and our loved ones and to renew the face of the earth!”

3rd National Conference of Exorcists to take place in Mexico

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/3rd_national_conference_of_exorcists_to_take_place_in_mexico/

Mexico City, Mexico, July 10, 2007 (CNA) The Archdiocese of Mexico is organizing the 3rd National Conference of Exorcists to take place July 16-20 at the headquarters of the Bishops’ Conference of Mexico in Mexico City, with international experts from around the world in attendance. The event is intended for exorcists, priests in general, and those who assist in the pastoral ministry to the possessed. Members of the laity who attend must present a letter from their priest confirming their active work in the ministry of exorcism.

Among those attending will be the president of the International Association of Exorcists, Father Gian Carlo Gramolazzo, Father Gabrielle Nanni, author of the book “Exorcisms“, and Father Francisco Bamonte, author of “Diabolical Possessions and Exorcisms“.

The themes that will be discussed during the conference include, “Demonology and Satanism according to the Magisterium of the Church,” and “Practical guides for exercising the ministry of healing, liberation and exorcism.”

Mexican exorcist criticizes priests who do not believe in the Devil

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mexican_exorcist_criticizes_priests_who_do_not_believe_in_the_devil/

Mexico City, Mexico, July 24, 2007 (CNA) The coordinator of exorcists of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, Father Pedro Mendoza, criticized the skepticism of some priests about the existence of the Devil and said that although there are not many cases of possession, there are many who suffer from demonic attraction, which is the result of man’s estrangement from God.

At the conclusion of the 3rd National Congress of Exorcists, Father Mendoza warned that those who do not believe in the existence of the Devil forget that it is a dogma of the faith, “no matter how much they want to explain (these phenomenon) as psychological or something else.”

Speaking to reporters, Father Mendoza said there are seven exorcists in the archdiocese and that the number is low because of the few cases of possession. But, he warned, there are many cases of individuals who suffer from demonic attraction as a result of estrangement from the faith, “which leads them to be interested in magic, witchcraft, spells, horoscopes and even death, and priests are not helping them because they don’t know how.”

He said the congress was a success as bishops were encouraged to address this issue in seminaries and thus train more priests to be exorcists.  One of the speakers at the event was Father Enrique Maldonado of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, who said it was necessary to distinguish between true demonic possession and mental illness. In this sense, he noted that of every 10,000 cases of alleged possession, only one is authentic. Therefore real experts are needed to distinguish between the two.

Father Jesus Yanez, who also addressed the congress, said demonic possession is characterized by four aspects: abhorrence for the sacred, the appearance of paranormal phenomenon, knowledge of things from afar and the ability to speak in languages that are unknown to the person when he or she is in a normal state.

The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-504969/Popes-exorcist-squads-wage-war-Satan.html

By Nick Pisa December 29, 2007

The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism.

Vatican chiefs are concerned at what they see as an increased interest in the occult.

They have introduced courses for priests to combat what they call the most extreme form of “Godlessness.”

Each bishop is to be told to have in his diocese a number of priests trained to fight demonic possession.

The initiative was revealed by 82-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican “exorcist-in-chief,” to the online Catholic news service Petrus.

“Thanks be to God, we have a Pope who has decided to fight the Devil head-on,” he said.

“Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the Devil. You have to hunt high and low for a properly trained exorcist.

“Thankfully, Benedict XVI believes in the existence and danger of evil – going back to the time he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.” The CDF is the oldest Vatican department and was headed by Benedict from 1982, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, until he became Pope in 2005.

Father Amorth said that during his time at the department Benedict had not lost the chance to warn humanity of the risk from the Devil.

He said the Pope wants to restore a prayer seen as protection against evil that was traditionally recited at the end of Catholic Masses. The prayer, to St Michael the Archangel, was dropped in the 1960s by Pope John XXIII.

“The prayer is useful not only for priests but also for lay people in helping to fight demons,” he said.

Father Paolo Scarafoni, who lectures on the Vatican’s exorcism course, said interest in Satanism and the occult has grown as people lost faith with the church. He added: “People suffer and think that turning to the Devil can help solve their problems. We are being bombarded by requests for exorcisms.”

The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet.

In theory, under the Catholic Church’s Canon Law 1172, all priests can perform exorcisms. But in reality only a select few are assigned the task. Under the law, practitioners must have “piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life.” The rite of exorcism involves a series of gestures and prayers to invoke the power of God and stop the “demon” influencing its victim.

Exorcist priest warns against “hidden knowledge” trend in Mexico

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/exorcist_priest_warns_against_hidden_knowledge_trend_in_mexico/

Saltillo, Mexico, January 20, 2008 (CNA) Fr. Jose Luis del Rio y Santiago of the Mexican Diocese of Saltillo, who carried out an exorcism during a healing Mass last Monday, warned against the trend of seeking supposed secret knowledge, and the consulting of healers and fortune tellers, saying such practices “open the door to Satanism.”

During the Mass celebrated at a local parish, a young woman with signs of possession was present, forcing Father del Rio to practice an exorcism in front of the entire congregation.

Father del Rio, who is authorized by the bishop to practice exorcisms in the diocese, warned that the practices of fortune telling, witchcraft and the occult are leading to an increasing number of cases of Satanic possession. “There are people who get involved in these kinds of practices without knowing that what they are doing is opening the door to the devil,” he stressed.

“People begin to see the occult and fortune telling as something natural and legitimate; and they watch TV programs on astrology, parapsychology and psychics.  They get carried away by their ignorance and can fall prey to occult practices. We must warn the faithful that these practices open the door to the devil,” he added.

The young girl who underwent the exorcism was able to leave the church with the help of her family. Father del Rio said she would “have to return for several more sessions in order to ensure her recovery.”

Satan Exists, and Christ Defeated Him
Gospel Commentary for 1st Sunday of Lent

http://www.zenit.org/article-21719?l=english

By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

VATICAN CITY, February 8, 2008 (Zenit.org) Demons, Satanism and other related phenomena are quite topical today, and they disturb a great part of our society.

Our technological and industrialized world is filled with magicians, wizards, occultism, spiritualism, fortune tellers, spell trafficking, amulets, as well as very real Satanic sects. Chased away from the door, the devil has come in through the window. Chased away by the faith, he has returned by way of superstition.

The episode of Jesus’ temptations in the desert that is read on the First Sunday of Lent helps us to have some clarity on this subject. First of all, do demons exist? That is, does the word “demon” truly indicate some personal being with intelligence and will, or is it simply a symbol, a manner of speaking that refers to the sum of the world’s moral evil, the collective unconscious, collective alienation, etc.?

Many intellectuals do not believe in demons in the first sense. But it must be noted that many great writers, such as Goethe and Dostoyevsky, took Satan’s existence very seriously. Baudelaire, who was certainly no angel, said that “the demon’s greatest trick is to make people believe that he does not exist.”

The principal proof of the existence of demons in the Gospels is not the numerous healings of possessed people, since ancient beliefs about the origins of certain maladies may have had some influence on the interpretation of these happenings. The proof is Jesus’ temptation by the demon in the desert. The many saints who in their lives battled against the prince of darkness are also proof. They are not like “Don Quixote,” tilting at windmills. On the contrary, they were very down-to-earth, psychologically healthy people.

If many people find belief in demons absurd, it is because they take their beliefs from books, they pass their lives in libraries and at desks; but demons are not interested in books, they are interested in persons, especially, and precisely, saints.

How could a person know anything about Satan if he has never encountered the reality of Satan, but only the idea of Satan in cultural, religious and ethnological traditions? They treat this question with great certainty and a feeling of superiority, doing away with it all as so much “medieval obscurantism.”

But it is a false certainty. It is like someone who brags about not being afraid of lions and proves this by pointing out that he has seen many paintings and pictures of lions and was never frightened by them. On the other hand, it is entirely normal and consistent for those who do not believe in God to not believe in the devil. It would be quite tragic for someone who did not believe in God to believe in the devil!

Yet the most important thing that the Christian faith has to tell us is not that demons exist, but that Christ has defeated them. For Christians, Christ and demons are not two equal, but rather contrary principles, as certain dualistic religions believe to be the case with good and evil. Jesus is the only Lord; Satan is only a creature “gone bad.” If power over men is given to Satan, it is because men have the possibility of freely choosing sides and also to keep them from being too proud (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7), believing themselves to be self-sufficient and without need of any redeemer. “Old Satan is crazy,” goes an African-American spiritual. “He shot me to destroy my soul, but missed and destroyed my sin instead.”

With Christ we have nothing to fear. Nothing and no one can do us ill, unless we ourselves allow it. Satan, said an ancient Father of the Church, after Christ’s coming, is like a dog chained up in the barnyard: He can bark and lunge as much as he wants, but if we don’t go near him, he cannot harm us.

In the desert Jesus freed himself from Satan to free us! This is the joyous news with which we begin our Lenten journey toward Easter.

Ritual of Dealing with Demons Undergoes a Revival

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/02/10/ST2008021002438.html?hpid=moreheadlines
By Craig Whitlock Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, February 11, 2008

POCZERNIN, Poland This wind-swept village is bracing for an invasion of demons, thanks to a priest who believes he can defeat Satan. The Rev. Andrzej Trojanowski, a soft-spoken Pole, plans to build a “spiritual oasis” that will serve as Europe’s only center dedicated to performing exorcisms. With the blessing of the local Catholic archbishop and theological support from the Vatican, the center will aid a growing number of Poles possessed by evil forces or the devil himself, he said. “This is my task, this is my purpose — I want to help these people,” said Trojanowski, who has worked as an exorcist for four years. “There is a group of people who cannot get relief through any other practices and who need peace.”

Exorcism — the church rite of expelling evil spirits from tortured souls — is making a comeback in Catholic regions of Europe. Last July, more than 300 practitioners gathered in the Polish city of Czestochowa for the fourth International Congress of Exorcists.

About 70 priests serve as trained exorcists in Poland, about double the number of five years ago. An estimated 300 exorcists are active in Italy. Foremost among them: the Rev. Gabriele Amorth, 82, who performs exorcisms daily in Rome and is dean of Europe’s corps of demon-battling priests.

“People don’t pray anymore, they don’t go to church, they don’t go to confession. The devil has an easy time of it,” Amorth said in an interview. “There’s a lot more devil worship, people interested in satanic things and séances, and less in Jesus.”

Amorth and other priests said the resurgence in exorcisms has been encouraged by the Vatican, which in 1999 formally revised and upheld the rite for the first time in almost 400 years.

Although a Vatican official denied reports in December of a campaign to train more exorcists, supporters said informal efforts began under Pope John Paul II — himself an occasional demon chaser — and have accelerated under Pope Benedict XVI. A Catholic university in Rome began offering courses in exorcism in 2005 and has drawn students from around the globe.

One of the recruits is the Rev. Wieslaw Jankowski, a priest with the Institute for Studies on the Family, a counseling center outside Warsaw. He said priests at the institute realized they needed an exorcist on staff after encountering an increase in people plagued by evil.

Typical cases, he said, include people who turn away from the church and embrace
New Age therapies, alternative religions or the occult.
Internet addicts and yoga devotees are also at risk, he said.

“This is a service which is sorely needed,” said Jankowski, who holds a doctorate in spiritual theology. “The number of people who need help is intensifying right now.”

Jankowski cited the case of a woman who asked for a divorce days after renewing her wedding vows as part of a marriage counseling program. What was suspicious, he said, was how the wife suddenly developed a passionate hatred for her husband.

“According to what I could perceive, the devil was present and acting in an obvious way,” he said. “How else can you explain how a wife, in the space of a couple of weeks, could come to hate her own husband, a man who is a good person?”

Jankowski said that an archbishop granted him the authority last October to perform exorcisms and that he’s been busy ever since. As for the afflicted wife? “We’re still working with her,” he said.

Exorcists said the people they help can be in the grip of evil to varying degrees. Only a small fraction, they said, are completely possessed by demons — which can cause them to display inhuman strength, speak in exotic tongues, recoil in the presence of sacred objects or overpower others with a stench.

In those cases, the exorcists must confront the devil directly, using the power of the church to order it to abandon its host. More often, however, priests perform what some of them refer to as “soft exorcisms,” using prayer to rid people of evil influences that control their lives.

Exorcisms remain a touchy subject even among priests who perform them, aware that the rite is associated with medieval witch-burnings and the 1973 Hollywood horror film, “The Exorcist.”

More recent horror stories have also taken their toll. In Germany, memories are still fresh of a 23-year-old Bavarian woman who died of starvation in 1976 after two priests — thinking she was possessed — subjected her to more than 60 exorcisms. In 2002, a German bishop resigned after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her during an exorcism.

Exorcists said they are careful not to treat people suffering from mental illness, and that they regularly consult with psychologists and physicians. At the same time, they said, conventional medical therapy often neglects spiritual ailments.

“My remedy is based on spiritual means, which cannot be replaced by any pharmaceutical remedies,” said Trojanowski, the priest who is overseeing plans for the new exorcism center. “I do not stop at the level of just treating symptoms. I’m very much interested in the soul of a person. As a priest, I keep asking questions a doctor will never ask.”

Trojanowski is a priest in the northwestern Polish port city of Szczecin. He said that he sees as many as 20 people a week who are under the influence of evil spirits, but that he needs more space to treat them properly. At his exorcism center, he said, people could check in for a few days and receive ministrations.

Plans for the center were announced in December after an archbishop gave approval to build it on church land in Poczernin, a village surrounded by cabbage fields about 20 miles outside Szczecin.

The news came as a bit of a shock to the villagers, who said they hadn’t been consulted and weren’t sure they liked the idea of demons coming home to roost.

“People are worried about the potential for crazy people coming here,” said Ksawery Nyks, 50, a longtime resident. He said most people were opposed unless the church could guarantee the exorcism center would have adequate security. Others were more sympathetic. “I don’t think it’s going to harm us,” said Romnalda Banach, 46, who runs a food shop on the muddy street that runs through the heart of the village. “Every person, if he or she needs help, should be able to get it somehow.”

Special correspondent Sarah Delaney in Rome contributed to this report.

From:
erikagib@aol.com
To:
michaelprabhu@vsnl.net
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 6:52 AM

http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11755

Washington DC, February 12, 2008 (CNA) A retreat center that some have billed as Europe’s only center dedicated to performing exorcisms is being planned to be built in a village in the northwest of Poland, the Washington Post reports.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23232311-3102,00.html

Courier Mail February 18, 2008 Pagans have hit out at the Catholic Church after a church spokesman blamed an increase in exorcisms on people dabbling in paganism. One priest, who asked not to be named, said he was carrying out at least one exorcism a fortnight. “There has been a recruitment of pagan practices, and it’s sheer poison.” His claim has provoked an angry response from the Pagan Awareness Network (PAN), an association representing Wiccans, pagans, and other followers of nature-based faiths.

“A pagan ritual is no more dangerous than going to a church, a temple, or a mosque,” says PAN president David Garland. “The Catholic Church is once again trying to create a moral panic about devil-worship and the occult. This kind of fear-mongering belongs in the Middle Ages, not in the 21st century.

“Exorcisms endanger lives and physical safety. Anyone worried that they might be possessed by spirits should seek referral to a psychiatrist or other mental health expert, not a witch-doctor in a priest’s collar. The Catholic Church should ban this barbaric practice.”

In 2007, a New Zealand woman died after a botched exorcism in Wellington. Nine participants in the ritual have since been charged with manslaughter.

In June 2005, in Romania, a 23-year-old nun was found crucified to a wall in her convent room. She had been undergoing exorcism with Father Daniel Corogeanu, a Romanian Orthodox priest, who consequently was charged with her murder.

Mr Garland said that according to 2006 Census, there were more than 40,000 Pagans of different denominations across Australia, “all remarkably unaffected by demonic possession”.

“Pagans see the Devil as a Judeo-Christian invention, and do not believe in his existence,” he said.

Archbishop debunks exorcism spike claims

http://www.catholicleader.com.au/news.php/top-stories/archbishop-debunks-exorcism-spike-claims_43844

March 2, 2008 Reports of a priest dealing with an increasingly heavy load of exorcisms due to an outbreak of demonic possessions are news to Archbishop John Bathersby.

The claims were recently made in a Brisbane media outlet.

The media report was linked to an initiative announced by the Pope’s exorcist-in-chief Fr Gabriele Amorth, 82, to “fight the devil head on” by training hundreds of priests as exorcists.

In an interview last week, Archbishop Bathersby told a Brisbane radio station that the claims of an increased frequency of exorcisms in Queensland were a “complete surprise” to him. He said during his entire time as archbishop he had only been approached “four to six times” by someone looking for an exorcist.

In response to a question from the interviewer, the archbishop said he had “never been present at an exorcism”.

Archbishop Bathersby said the archdiocese did possess a priest with the authority to carry out exorcisms, as did most dioceses. “I’ve certainly had no reports from this priest that he was getting any busier in this regard.”

The archbishop did acknowledge that it was possible that a group of people within society may be interested “in evil and in the devil”.

He noted that belief in the existence of the devil goes back to “scripture and life itself” and is a “regular part of Christian faith from the time of Christ, and still is”.

Sacrament of Penance in Crisis, Says Bishop Urges More Training for “Special” Cases

http://www.zenit.org/article-21987?l=english

VATICAN CITY, March 6, 2008 (Zenit.org) The sacrament of the confession is experiencing a crisis, and the Church needs its pastors to be better trained to overcome some particular difficulties, says the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti said this in reference to a course taking place this week on the “internal forum” — questions of conscience — organized by the tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary. He said the seminar, which ends Saturday, has been promoted to “strengthen the training of priests, who are the ministers of reconciliation.”
“As with vocations and the institution of marriage,” the regent told L’Osservatore Romano this week, “so also the sacrament of penance must confront a period of crisis, which though it began a number of decades ago, is becoming much worse.”
Bishop Girotti recalled the results from a study conducted by the Milan-based Catholic University of the Sacred Heart to underscore the serious state of the current difficulties in understanding the sacrament of confession, “which is so key to the health and salvation of souls.”
According to the 1998 study, 30% of the faithful in Italy do not believe that priests are needed in confessionals. In fact, 10% consider the priest gets in the way of a direct dialogue with the Lord, while 20% say it is difficult for them to speak with another person about their own sins. The prelate told the Vatican daily that the crisis isn’t just among the lay faithful, but has begun “to cross the door into seminaries, colleges and ecclesiastic institutions.”
During Bishop Girotti’s intervention in the course, he paid special attention to “some unique aspects of the confessor’s mission, with regard to certain categories of penitents classified as ‘special’.”
The first type are divorced people and couples that are not married, with regard to whom “the doctrine and official Church practice try follow a path that nevertheless allows us to remain faithful to the mandate to administer God’s forgiveness and mercy.” Because of this, “the confessor has the obligation to propose solutions, from time to time, that would heal the situation or transform it into a relationship of friendship and solidarity, the only conditions necessary to once again receive the Eucharist.” Bishop Girotti said that confessors should always be especially caring in dealing with people who are divorced and remarried, who “should have their own particular place in the caring love shown by the pastor of souls, and not just in this extreme situation, but also in the daily pastoral activities.”
“A pastoral practice inspired by the Gospel,” he added, “cannot and should not ever make a person despair.”
The regent said the confessor also needs to make a special effort in dealing with those who are consecrated members of the Church, or candidates for the priesthood or consecrated life. In this case, he said, the confessor should position themselves as a “just judge” or “good doctor of the spirit”, always remembering that “hardness of heart has often been fatal for many people”. The bishop said the confessor “should never assume an apocalyptic tone.”
Bishop Girotti recalled that regarding those who display homosexual tendencies in their lives as they approach the seminary and holy orders, “the Church cannot admit into the seminary or holy orders those who practice homosexuality, display deeply rooted homosexual tendencies, or adhere to the so-called ‘gay culture,’ that is, those candidates who display an exclusive same sex attraction in dealing with people of the same sex, regardless of whether or not they’ve had erotic experiences.”

In these cases, he said, the confessor must know how to distinguish between “deeply rooted homosexual tendencies,” and those that are “not deeply rooted”. In the first case, exclusion from the seminary is called for; in the second case, at least three years without a recurrence is required in order to receive admission to the seminary.
Bishop Girotti then took time to discuss some “delicate and complex cases”, such as diabolic, mystical or supposedly supernatural phenomena, scruples and relapses. Although the intervention of an exorcist is recommended for diabolical phenomena and expert confessors in cases of mysticism, he said the situation is different in the case of scruples or relapses.

The bishop explained that scrupulous penitents are those that those that go from one confessor to another out of fear that the first one or the following ones did not understand their sins, or they feel the need to confess them again. Relapsing souls, added the regent, are those that continue to fall in the same sin that they continue to confess. In these cases, he said, the confessor should act wisely to step out to meet the needs of the faithful, helping them understand the truth. “And so, this is the first lesson given to the course,” concluded Bishop Girotti, “much patience is needed in the confessional.”

‘Exorcisms, cruel techniques’ part of Mercy Ministry treatment

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/17/2191256.htm

March 17, 2008 The peak body for mental health professionals has issued a warning on the potential dangers of faith-based cures for mental health problems.

The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed allegations of incorrect treatment of several troubled young women by the Christian group, Mercy Ministries, which is linked to the Hillsong Church.

On its website, Mercy Ministries claims to treat women aged 16 to 28 years old by “providing homes and care for young women suffering the effects of eating disorders, self harm, abuse, depression, unplanned pregnancies and other life controlling issues.”

But three former patients told the Herald that the programs involved “emotionally cruel and medically unproven techniques”, such as exorcisms and “separation contracts” between friends.

The girls reportedly left the Mercy centre suicidal, after being told they were possessed by demons.

The newspaper report also claims Mercy Ministries received the women’s Centrelink payments during their residential stay.

Mental Health Council of Australia spokesman Simon Tatz says it is important people receive treatment that is evidence-based, for instance psychiatry and certain drug treatments.

“It’s about getting people into treatments that are proven to work,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Federal Human Resources Minister Joe Ludwig says the allegations regarding Centrelink are being investigated.

Meanwhile, coffee chain Gloria Jean’s says it will continue its sponsorship and fundraising of the Mercy Ministries program. A spokeswoman says the company was told the allegations were unfounded.

Rome’s Exorcist Gives inside Look at Devil
Urges Separating Possession from Psychiatric Problems

http://www.zenit.org/article-22264?l=english

ROME, April 11, 2008 (Zenit.org) Some of the mystery surrounding the devil and exorcism is being unveiled in a television and Internet report series, detailing the work of the exorcist of the Diocese of Rome.
Society of St. Paul Father Gabriele Amorth, Rome’s exorcist for the past 21 years and a specialist in the figure of Mary, explained in the first edition of the series how he performs exorcisms.
“I go to one of Rome’s churches, to a parish that is closed during the day,” he said. “There is Mass in the morning and then the church is closed. There I perform the difficult exorcisms. I always work with seven to 10 people who help me, and use a small bed. Sometimes we need to tie people down or simply subdue them.”
With Christ, the priest said, it is possible to overcome the devil: “The exorcist acts in the name of Jesus and with the strength that comes from Jesus.”

The first question Father Amorth addressed in the report is if the devil exists: “I respond with the words of John Paul II, who was once asked this question: ‘Your Holiness, I find many bishops who don’t believe in the devil.’ And John Paul II responded: ‘One who doesn’t believe in the devil doesn’t believe in the Gospel.’
“The devil is an angel, and therefore, a pure spirit created good by God and who perverted himself because he rebelled against God. Therefore, he maintains all the characteristics proper of a pure spirit, such as a very large intelligence, immensely bigger than ours.” The devil is pleased by the way he is generally represented — with wings and a tail, horns, as a bat, etc. — because these images make him seem ridiculous and help people to believe that he does not exist, the exorcist reported.
Father Amorth suggested that diabolic problems be separated from psychiatric ones; and to do so an exorcist is needed in every diocese to help in discernment.

“Normally when a person experiences these conflicts and problems, the first thing he does is see a doctor and psychiatrist,” he said. “It is very difficult to distinguish the devil’s action from a psychological problem. The person goes to a psychiatrist and after years of therapy obtains no result.
“Then he begins to suspect that the problem is not a natural one and goes to a conjurer from whom he obtains even greater harm. This is what normally happens. At this point, it is possible that someone more experienced in these matters suggests an exorcist.”
The exorcist confirmed that Satan’s great foe is the Virgin Mary. He explained: “On one occasion an exorcist friend of mine asked the devil what most hurts him about Our Lady, what most annoys him. He responded, ‘That she is the purest of all creatures and that I am the filthiest; that she is the most obedient of all creatures and that I am the most rebellious; that she is the one who committed no sin and thus always conquers me.'”
Father Amorth affirmed that on some occasions, God forces the Prince of Lies to tell the truth, however, the devil’s main struggle is to make man fall into sin. “To lead man towards evil is to make him fall into sin; this is the devil’s preferred activity and we are all subject to it from our birth until our death.”
According to Father Amorth, Mary is a key figure in the fight against the devil’s tricks, especially since she herself was tempted: “Mariology is my field and I have often been asked if Mary was tempted by the devil. Definitely. When? From her birth until her death. But she always triumphed.”

Exorcists are summoned from abroad to drive the demons away

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3981337.ece

By Roger Boyes in Berlin, The Sunday Times May 22, 2008

Hundreds of Germans, tortured by inner voices, are on the search for priests who can free them from what they believe to be the grip of the Devil, according to an extraordinary radio documentary that has stirred an awkward debate about exorcism in the Catholic Church.

“Over the past year alone I have received requests from around 350 people who think they are possessed by an evil spirit,” says Father Joerg Mueller, who heads a group of priests, doctors and therapists to deal with the problem. “Therapy hasn’t worked for them; they want exorcism — a prayer that can free them.”

Father Mueller, who is based in a Bavarian monastery, was talking to a team from WDR, the state radio network, which was allowed to record extracts from eight exorcisms.

A Polish exorcist, named only as Father Wiktor, suggested that this was only a fraction of the actual number seeking help. “I would say that every day at least one person is undergoing a full-scale exorcism,” he told WDR.

This has come as a shock to the Catholic Church in Germany, which has shied away from exorcism since the tragic case of Anneliese Michel* in 1973. Ms Michel, 23, from a strongly Catholic Bavarian village, had epilepsy and suffered from hallucinations. Two priests were authorised to perform an exorcism. They performed the ritual 67 times until she died, having starved herself to 31kg (68lb). After her death the priests and her parents were sentenced to six months’ suspended jail sentences for not referring her for medical treatment.

That verdict and the publicity — two films were made about the case including The Exorcism of Emily Rose in 2005 — scared the Church hierarchy. Permission for a full exorcism now has to be granted by a bishop, but few permits have been given. In a poll of German dioceses, only Paderborn admitted to having authorised three exorcisms.

Frustrated by the lack of exorcists in their own country, disturbed Germans are turning to esoteric spiritual healers and priests in Switzerland and Poland. Andrzej Trojanowski, a Polish priest, even has plans to set up an exorcism centre in Poczernin, on the Polish-German border.

WDR broadcast some of the sessions of the exorcists with Ms Michel. She is heard growling and barking. “Tell the truth in the name of the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary!” commands Father Arnold Renz. The answer comes in the form of a long, terrifying scream.

The recording is making the Church leadership more reluctant to address the needs of the supposedly possessed. Yet by doing so the bishops are flying in the face of the Pope, who urged a convention of exorcists to “carry on your important work in the service of the Church”.

Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican exorcist-in-chief, has performed the ritual more than 40,000 times.

The Vatican aim appears to be to place at least one exorcist in each diocese to ensure that the distressed do not drift away from the Church. In Germany, however, that drift is already happening.

“I would say that 90 per cent of those who think they are possessed by the Devil are mentally ill,” said Father Mueller. A large number of them have suffered sexual abuse as children. Some think that an exorcism is easier than long years of psychotherapy. He added: “But about ten per cent of the people who approach us have some sign of demonic possession and then you have to turn to special, charismatic men and women who have the gift of being able to feel and recognise if demons have entered someone.”

Only a handful qualify for exorcism. He gave the example of a widow who was convinced that her late husband had returned, in demonic form, to taunt her. She was offered psychotherapy.

Counting the Devil

300 Estimated number of trained exorcists in Italy

70 Estimated number of exorcists in Poland

84 Pages in the Vatican’s 1999 Latin “rule book” on exorcism

Source: Times archives

*Exorcism

http://www.phantasmpsiresearch.com/Demonic.htm

By Fr Dave Considine

Another famous case of demonic possession occurring in modern times but not as well known is the case of Anneliese Michel.

Let me start out by saying that I have no doubt in my mind this girl was indeed possessed. And how do I know this? Although I was not personally involved with this case, there were over forty audio recording that were made during the actual exorcisms of Anneliese between 1975 and 1976. I did have a unique opportunity to acquire some of them and have been able to study some of these exorcism recordings personally, and If you the reader were able to hear even 15 minutes of these recordings, you too would also be convinced that this girl was under diabolical attack.

Anneliese Michel was born on September 21, 1952 to parents Josef and Anna Michel in Klingenburg, Germany. Brought up in a devout Roman Catholic family, Anneliese starts out in life normally until 1968. During the fall of 1968 Annelies suffers a “seizure” after which she is examined and diagnosed by a neurologist. Her parents are told she has (Grand Mal) type “Epilepsy”.

In 1970 after a long stay at Germany’s Wurzburgh Psychiatric Hospital, she is finally released to go home with her parents. At this point she is suffering from extreme depression do to her disability, and she begins to notice strange things occurring while in prayer. In her own words, “I saw faces that would look at me grimacing and snarling”; voices would also be heard by Anneliese telling her she would “stew in hell”.

By now it is 1973 and the demonic attacks along with the depression are getting so strong that Anneliese stops seeking psychiatric treatment at the clinic, as she feels treatment is of no use. Along with her family she seeks the council of the Roman Catholic Church.

After meeting with church officials Anneliese is told to continue with psychiatric treatment, but is put under the supervision of Fr. Ernest Alt. After close examination by Fr. Ernest Alt he is finally convinced of demonic possession, and asks for the church officials to give permission for the Rites of Exorcism to be initiated. His request is rejected on the grounds of insufficient proof of possession. But unfortunately by this time Anneliese is suffering from full possession. With fits of rage she would mutilate herself and destroy any holy objects nearby.

Finally, in 1975 permission is granted by the Bishop of Wurzburgh for exorcism. Fr. Ernest Alt and Fr. Arnold Renz are assigned to perform the Rites of Exorcism. From September 1975 to July of 1976 these rites were performed once a week, sometimes even twice, and all manner of demonic chaos would and did occur. This included the superhuman strength in which Anneliese exhibited during possession, sometimes taking up to three to four men to restrain her from hurting herself or the exorcists.

During these sessions unearthly voices would also be heard. Sometimes up to five or six voices would be heard during the exorcisms. One disturbing fact is that the demon was causing Anneliese to avoid any type of food all during the exorcism and now physically it was creating a very dangerous physical situation for her.

By June of 1976 Anneliese is suffering from malnutrition and has contracted pneumonia, being so ill it is hard for her to even carry on. On July 1, 1976, the last day of the exorcism, the demonic spirit in control of Anneliese says to the exorcists “beg for absolution”. She then collapses and is brought to her bed.

That night her final words would be, “Mother, I’m afraid “. The next day July 7, 1976 at twelve o’clock noon Anneliese Michel died.

Woman sues priest over exorcism

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=7808

June 25, 2008 A Singaporean woman who claims to be suffering from post trauma stress disorder following an exorcism has sued a priest for damages over the affair.

Today Online reports the long running saga resumed in Singapore’s High Court after a seven month hiatus.

Ms Amutha Valli Krishnan’s lawyer told the court that the 52 year old “is not in a position to give evidence”.

When asked by defence lawyers if her absence was voluntary or based on medical grounds, he added that it was on the advice of her current psychiatrist, who is expected to take the stand later this week.

Ms Amutha Valli is suing the Church, two Catholic priests and six helpers for damages arising from assault, battery and false imprisonment during the alleged incident in August 2004.

When she took the stand over two days last November, her behaviour was near hysterical, breaking down several times, screaming at some church helpers and not being able to recall details of the incident and her life.

The alleged exorcism allegedly left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and she was unable to continue working as a tutor.

Yesterday, psychiatrist Ong Thiew Chai, who attended to Ms Amutha Valli for close to three years after the incident, testified that the trauma caused by the alleged event “had changed her personality drastically in addition to leaving her in a state of severe depression, phobia and anxiety.”

Westminster Exorcist Says Promiscuity can Lead to Demonic Possession

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081506.html

By Hilary White WESTMINSTER, UK, August 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) A priest of Westminster, the leading diocese of the Catholic Church of England and Wales, has written that promiscuity, whether homosexual or heterosexual, can lead to dire spiritual consequences, in addition to the dangers to physical health. Promiscuity, as well as homosexuality and pornography, says 73 year-old Fr. Jeremy Davies*, is a form of sexual perversion and can lead to demonic possession. Offering what may be an explanation for the explosion of homosexuality in recent years, Fr. Davies said, “Among the causes of homosexuality is a contagious demonic factor.”

Fr. Davies continues: “Even heterosexual promiscuity is a perversion; and intercourse, which belongs in the sanctuary of married love, can become a pathway not only for disease but also for evil spirits.”

*To order Fr. Davies’ book: http://www.cts-online.org.uk/acatalog/info_Ex27.html

“Some very unpleasant things must be mentioned because young people, especially, are vulnerable and we must do what we can to protect and warn them,” he told the Catholic Herald.

He also said that Satan is responsible for having blinded most secular humanists to the “dehumanising effects of contraception and abortion and IVF, of homosexual ‘marriages’, of human cloning and the vivisection of human embryos in scientific research.” Extreme secular humanism, “atheist scientism”, is comparable to “rational satanism” and these are leading Europe into a dangerous state of apostasy. “Only by a genuine personal decision for Christ and the Church can someone separate himself from it.”

Fr. Davies’ (an Oxford graduate who is also a qualified physician) comments come in conjunction with the publication of his new book, entitled, “Exorcism: Understanding Exorcism in Scripture and Practice” published earlier this year by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS).

In the Catholic Church, exorcisms can only be performed by a priest who has the “express” permission of his bishop. According to the Code of Canon Law, only experienced priests can be chosen who exhibit, “piety, knowledge, prudence, and integrity of life.” Before the official rite of exorcism is used, the subject must also be examined thoroughly by doctors and psychiatrists to rule out any non-spiritual causes of his difficulties and physicians are often asked to assist during the course of an exorcism.

Fr. Davies also warns in his book against so-called New Age and occult practices, as well as trendy exercise and “spiritual healing” regimens derived from eastern religions.

“The thin end of the wedge (soft drugs, yoga for relaxation, horoscopes just for fun and so on) is more dangerous than the thick end because it is more deceptive – an evil spirit tries to make his entry as unobtrusively as possible.”

“Beware of any claim to mediate beneficial energies (e.g. reiki), any courses that promise the peace that Christ promises (e.g. enneagrams), any alternative therapy with its roots in eastern religion (e.g. acupuncture).” Needless to say, overtly occult activities such as séances and witchcraft are “direct invitations to the Devil which he readily accepts.”

Fr. Davies was appointed exorcist of the Westminster Archdiocese in 1986 after a four month training period in Rome. In 1993 he co-founded, with Italy’s Father Gabriele Amorth, the International Association of Exorcists which now has hundreds of members worldwide. In 2000, Fr. Davies told the Independent newspaper that incidents of demonic possession are rising dramatically along with the increase of New Age beliefs and practices, ignorance of the Bible and a growth in spiritual confusion. “At the centre of this is man’s ever-growing pride and attempted self-reliance. Man trying to build a better world without God – another Tower of Babel,” he said.

In 2005, the Vatican recently made headlines around the world by publicly announcing the launch of a course on exorcism for priests. The Church’s writings on exorcism and demonic possession say that a person can be influenced or even possessed by demonic forces when they are “hardened” in serious sin and the Church specifies that these include people who are involved in heavy drug use, violence and sexual perversions. It is also noted that the “heinous crime” of abortion exacerbates these. Italian exorcist Fr. Gabriel Amorth writes that it is particularly difficult to liberate a victim who is guilty of abortion, and that this can take a “very long time”.

Theology instructors in favor of teaching
Satanism

http://english.sabah.com.tr/2EB09F3683F94FDA9CE54E09639E13C4.html

Turkey August 18, 2008 The Ministry of Education consulted theology instructors on the re-evaluation of theology classes’ curricula and textbooks for the 9th, 10th and 11th grades. From 28 different cities, 270 instructors responded to the survey, offering quite interesting responses: “Students can not learn enough about their own belief systems. How to worship should be demonstrated in class. Belief systems such as monotheism, polytheism and atheism are not included in the students’ best interest. It is possible to introduce some superstitious belief systems with regard to belief systems they are familiar with. For example, ideologies such as Satanism, reincarnation and meditation can be taught as they are concepts students have heard of.”

INDIA: Satan Worshippers Suspected In Disappearance of Consecrated Hosts
By George Kommattathil November 7, 2008
KANNUR, India (UCAN) Catholics in a southern Indian village suspect the involvement of Satan worshippers in the disappearance of consecrated hosts from a shrine.
“We are very hurt that the Blessed Sacrament was stolen,” Father Ancil Peter, pastor of Our Lady of Dolores Parish in Vellarivayal, told UCA News on Nov. 1. “We strongly suspect Satan worshippers are behind this horrific act.”
The incident occurred at a popular shrine dedicated to Saint Anthony in Karaparambu, a substation of the parish in Kannur diocese, Kerala state, 2,350 kilometers south of New Delhi.
According to Father Peter, parishioners found the shrine open and the ciborium containing the holy hosts missing on Oct. 22 when they came for weekly Mass.
On the same day, parishioners gathered at the shrine to conduct special prayers to atone for the sacrilege. They recited the rosary and conducted adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and penitential services.
Police have registered a case but have yet to arrest anyone.
P. Paul, parish council secretary, said local Catholics suspect the hosts were taken to conduct a “Black Mass.” The 42-year-old lay leader explained they “don’t suspect Hindu fanatics because this is a Catholic stronghold.” Catholics would have dismissed the incident as a case of theft if the intruders had taken money from the donation box, he added.
Father Clement Langen, Kannur diocese’s financial administrator, told UCA News on Nov. 1, “It is heard that Black Mass is prevalent in this region” but that the Church has no “explicit evidence to prove it because Satanists keep their activities highly secretive.”
Abraham Jacob, a lay evangelist who has researched the prevalence of Satanism and Freemasonry in Kerala, said he has heard of people stealing consecrated hosts from Catholic churches and giving them to Satan worshippers for huge amounts of money.
Jacob suspects Catholics and Muslims are involved in the Black Masses but has no solid proof where they hold them. A Black Mass, he explained, is a parody of the Catholic Mass in which God is mocked and the devil is worshipped.
Jacob said Church people began noticing missing consecrated hosts after the Church introduced the practice of receiving Communion in the hand. “We assume the missing consecrated hosts have gone to the Satanists,” he continued. “But until the culprits are arrested, it is hard to confirm.”
Father Harshid Dev, who manages a retreat center in Peratta, another village in Kannur district, has printed and distributed a leaflet on Satanism and the Black Mass to educate Catholics.
The priest, a member of the Indian Missionary Society, told UCA News on Nov. 1 that Satan worshippers spread their message through tattoos, t-shirts and upside-down crosses. “Satanic symbols are available across Kerala. This is part of a hidden agenda. Catholics are not fully aware of the challenging situation,” he maintained.
Father Dev added that he had met three Catholic youths involved in Satanism when he was working in New Delhi a few years ago and managed to bring them back to the Catholic fold.
While he admits he has not yet met anyone involved in Satanism in Kerala, he wants the Church to seriously educate Catholics about the potential threat. “Unfortunately, even the Church people are unaware of the growing influence of Satanists in our society,” he said. See also page 155

Exorcists for all African dioceses: Synod

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/2009/10/26/exorcists-for-all-african-dioceses-synod/?awt_l=HsiGl&awt_m=1fPK3QOsdwYDL0
EXTRACT

October 26, 2009
In its final recommendations, the African Synod has denounced corruption, called for urgent dialogue with Islam and traditional religions, recommended that each bishop name an exorcist, and denounced Maputo Protocol provisions for legalization of abortion…

VATICAN CITY, October 10, 2009 (VIS) The Tenth General Congregation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops was held this morning in the Vatican’s Synod Hall in the presence of 211 Synod Fathers … Extracts from some of the Synod Father’s speeches are given below:

BISHOP JOSEPH EFFIONG EKUWEM OF UYO, NIGERIA. “Paul the Apostle reminds us that we do battle with principalities and powers of the rulers of darkness and he asks us to arm ourselves in order to resist their manipulations. … The Church recognised this and … not only provided the rite of
exorcism
but made room for the exorcists. This seems to have fallen into disuse over the last few decades. May I therefore suggest: (1) That an authentic catechesis, deeply biblical and theological, be provided and possibly offered as a course in our theological faculties. A simpler version may also be provided for teaching the faithful. (2) A new rite based on the old rite of exorcism be put in place for use by priests. (3) Each ordinary … should appoint an exorcist for his particular Church. We owe our people according to our teaching office, to teach them and save them from the claws of false belief and terrible occult practices like witchcraft“.

Audio of Talk by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, an Evening with an Exorcist

LifeSiteNews.com November 14, 2009
In An Evening with an Exorcist, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer explains the anatomy of an exorcism.  As a practicing exorcist, he discusses how a person may become possessed and what goes on during an exorcism. He also explains the connection between abortion and demonic possession, from the abortion demon’s invitation into the US with the Supreme Court’s passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973 to the ritualized sacrifice of unborn children that goes on in Planned Parenthood “clinics” today.
http://www.hli.org/index.php/video-audio/35-audio/582-fr-thomas-euteneuer-an-evening-with-an-exorcist

Exorcism is “Christ’s victory over the devil” and “the vocation of the Church Militant.” 

Listen as Rev. Euteneuer strengthens your faith and encourages you to join in the spiritual battle against the culture of death in order to “exorcise this demon from our country.” 

The Nature of Satan and the Church’s War against Him

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=1209-euteneur

By Thomas J. Euteneuer December 2009
I cast thee out, thou unclean spirit, along with the least encroachment of the wicked enemy, and every phantom and diabolical legion. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, depart and vanish from this creature of God. For it is He Who commands thee, He Who ordered thee cast down from the heights of heaven into the nethermost pit of the earth. He it is Who commands thee, Who once ordered the sea and the wind and the storm to obey…. Him thou shalt fear! — Roman Ritual, Rite of Exorcism
The awesome prayers of the Church’s Rite of Exorcism (to be quoted in this column) are nothing short of a holy war carried out in the bosom of the Church against man’s mortal enemy: Satan. The fiend is made to know from the first moment of the exorcism that he is being assaulted by a superior spiritual authority that has the power to cast him out of the abode he has set up in the person he possesses, and that there is nothing he can do about it but resist as far as his strength will last. Then, with a word of command and the Church’s unmatched spiritual power, he is sent to the place he most fears: Calvary, the place where all evil was judged by Christ.
It is the constant teaching of the Church that the devil and his angels were created good but chose of their own free will to reject God. It is almost unimaginable that these beings, so close to God and with so much insight into His goodness, could reject Him. But I learned the truth behind this teaching firsthand in an exorcism I performed some years ago. When I commanded the demon to look at the crucifix and to bow down before the One the image represented, the demon answered me with a steely, bone-chilling malice that is impossible to duplicate. He simply uttered one word, Never. That “never” of a demon is his eternal and irrevocable choice to reject God, and unfortunately for us, he is adamant that we join him in that great apostasy.
The Book of Revelation tells us that when the devil was cast down by the valiant archangel Michael, “his tail swept a third of the stars from the sky” (12:4). This has been commonly interpreted in Church history as the rebellion of a third of God’s other angels, who joined Lucifer in his apostasy. That was the first and most serious rebellion of God’s creatures against Him. While two-thirds of the holy angels remained faithful in their time of testing, that wicked one-third comprises the Satanic army the human race contends with on a daily basis. It is important for us to realize that the fallen angels are in this war for keeps. They are deadly serious about their mission to bring us into their rebellion and thus separate us eternally from God. Their prize is our eternal human soul.
Despite all of this, it is amazing how naïve and careless people can be toward these creatures that “prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” Even serious Christians sometimes place too much emphasis on Satan, either out of fear or out of spiritual immaturity, and inadvertently give him more attention or credit for the evils of the world than he merits:

The devil doesn’t turn traffic lights red to make us late for work, or make us forget about the water we leave boiling on the stove. The devil is not responsible for everything that goes wrong in our lives. In fact, such over-spiritualizing of human problems often masks a serious evasion of responsibility for the problems we must address through human means without recourse to spiritual explanations. The devil loves to indulge the nonsense of those who see his presence around every corner but miss the obvious natural reasons for their problems.

Make way, thou horrible creature, make way, thou monster, make way for Christ, in Whom thou has found nothing of thy works. For He has stripped thee of thy might and laid waste thy kingdom. He has overcome thee and put thee in chains…. He has cast thee into exterior darkness….

The Church is clear-eyed about the devil’s existence and demands that we not minimize the real danger he presents to our salvation. Satan positively gloats when we indulge in Satanic-themed books and movies, or play seriously hateful video games because we see it as just “harmless” entertainment. I once had to perform an exorcism on a young man who had become infested with demons because of his obsession with a Satanic role-playing video game titled Diablo, Spanish for “devil,” that’s every bit as evil as its name portends. I have also exorcised youths and adults who opened themselves up to evil by spell-casting, playing with Ouija boards, demon-conjuring, and visiting psychics. None of these is mindless entertainment; each is a tool of the devil.
Our society is rife with soft occult forces that are unleashing a Pandora’s Box of demonic trickery on us in the form of “healing” and New Age-style deceptions. People are looking for stimulation and care in all the wrong places. Reiki, yoga, energy therapy, and other anti-Christian practices come dressed up as wholesome band-aids to our problems and deceive many with promises of health, wealth, and entertainment.
The devil is also quite pleased when we act as de facto agnostics, careless about growth in virtue, casually falling into sin, skipping Mass for no reason, or refusing to draw clear lines between good and evil in our home, work, or social environments. The callous disregard of the demonic threat to our souls is a great victory for the master deceiver and his troops.
Demons are not bound by the human limits of flesh and blood. They are intelligent and crafty. They don’t have to eat, sleep, or fulfill family obligations. In fact, they spend their “time” in a relentless pursuit of the best ways to destroy our souls, and the only thing that stands between us and those malicious beings is a Church that cares for our souls.

God the Father commands thee, God the Son commands thee, God the Holy Spirit commands thee! The mystery of the Cross commands thee! The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and all the other saints commands thee! The blood of the martyrs commands thee!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the “dramatic situation of ‘the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one’ makes man’s life a battle” (#409). We are all called to be combatants on the side of Christ against the forces of wickedness all around us. St. Padre Pio used to say that the battlefield between God and the devil is the human soul; it is here where we must fight against the power of temptation to sin. Not even our Lord in His human nature was exempt from fighting this good fight. He was under constant assault during His earthly ministry. For us, the tactical weapons the Church gives us for this combat are the mighty sacraments that attack sin repeatedly and effectively: baptism and confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, and even the anointing of the sick, which also brings sacramental pardon of sins. Every exorcist will tell you that the Sacrament of Penance is much more powerful than exorcism because it blots out the precondition for demonic control over us, which is sin. How fortunate we are that we have not been deprived of weapons to fight our interior battle!
There is one remedy for the power of spiritual evil in the world: holiness. That is undoubtedly the Church Militant’s greatest weapon against evil. If the Church were run by holy priests and bishops and served by holy nuns, and if our pews were filled with tested saints, then the devil would have much less of a chance to force his destructive will on society. In practical terms, holiness means simply staying in the state of grace and doing everything we can to evangelize our wicked culture with the sanctity of Christ and His Church. St. Paul reminds us that we are to “put on the armor of Christ” and “stand firm against the tactics of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) because we are in a war — a war the Church wages with deadly seriousness.

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolic legion, we adjure thee by the living God, by the true = God, by the holy God…. Get thee gone, Satan, founder and master of all falsity, enemy of mankind! Give place to Christ in Whom thou didst find none of thy works; give place to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church which Christ Himself bought with His blood!

The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer is president of Virginia-based Human Life International, which has affiliates and partners in 87 countries around the world. A trained exorcist, Fr. Euteneuer has been authorized to perform the ancient rite in several dioceses in the U.S.

LINK:
Human Life International
DOSSIER:
Spiritual Warfare & the Problem of Evil

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/denver_archbishop_urges_catholic_to_engage_in_spiritual_combat_against_satan/

Rome, January 28, 2010 (CNA) Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver followed his keynote address to the Emmanuel Community of Rome’s conference on “Priests and Laity in the Mission” with a short reflection on the “disappointing times” he is experiencing. He also elaborated on a major theme of his talk—the reality of Satan and the importance of “spiritual combat.”
Just before launching into a question and answer session, Archbishop Chaput gave a reflection on his years as a bishop to stimulate discussion, saying, “I thought that after 20 years more of my life things would change and things would be a lot better but I don’t think they are.
“I think we live in disappointing times, in times of confusion, and in some ways that is the result of our failure to understand that we have an enemy in the Devil, but also we have enemies in the world around us.”
He pointed to a “great talk” from an American Protestant pastor he once heard which was titled “We preach as though we don’t have enemies,” and reflected that this sentiment “is true in the United States…”

“I think it’s important to understand that we are in a battle, we really do live in a time of spiritual combat and I think we’ve lost that sense of the Church,” Archbishop Chaput stated.
He continued with a comparison of the temptation we face to be like “everyone else” like the Israelites from the Old Testament wishing for a king like the other nations. They wanted a king … they got Saul and he was a good man, and then he became a politician and he lost his faith. We’re just like that.” “In America, we don’t want to be different than our Protestant brothers and sisters, or the secular forces around us. And, I think that’s the great danger of our time, we don’t love God enough and we don’t enter into combat with the enemy enough and we need to recommit ourselves to doing that,” the Archbishop of Denver urged.
During his keynote address, Archbishop Chaput had also referred to the importance of recognizing that evil exists and that “Satan is real.”
Responding later to a question from CNA about where he sees the Devil’s presence in society, the archbishop said, “Well, one of the most obvious things in the United States is internet pornography which is pervasive, and subtle, and attractive and totally destructive of peoples’ lives and there’s very little talk about fighting it.
“If you talk about fighting pornography in the media you’re somehow seen as anti-American, anti-freedom of speech … things that are so obviously destructive to society…” he said.
The archbishop also named divorce and the changing definition of marriage as places where Satan is holding sway.
“All of the statistical studies show us that a stable relationship between a man and a wife for the sake of children is what produces good, healthy human beings and you can’t say that today without being branded as somehow on the opposite side of freedom and truth,” Archbishop Chaput explained.
“So, those kind of basic human values, the value of chastity and the value of family life are popularly seen as ‘old fashioned’ because of the lies, because of the deceptions of the Evil One. Even Catholics are afraid of standing up for the truth because we’re afraid of being branded ‘old-fashioned.'”
When asked whether there are any successes in the fight today, the archbishop responded, “I think we’re doing a lot of very good things and doing well in terms of fighting but in terms of winning the battles, we’re not winning many of those cultural battles in terms of the formal direction of society.
“But,” he added, “every time an individual is converted the battle has been won in a huge kind of way, because we’re not saved as a group. We’re saved as individuals and what pleases the enemy of God, Satan, is that individuals are not being faithful to their identity as children of God.
“So, I think every time there’s a conversion, every time one of us turns from our sins there is a victory in the battle,” he remarked.
Archbishop Chaput concluded, “There are lots of victories, so I don’t think we measure our success in terms of swaying whole segments of society, but it’s convincing individuals to give themselves faithfully to the call of God in their lives.”

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Pink Ouija Board ‘Toy’ Targeting Young Girls Sparks Boycott

By Kathleen Gilbert

PAWTUCKET, Rhode Island, February 5, 2010 LifeSiteNews.com – A boycott has been launched against toymaker giant Hasbro and Toys R Us for making and marketing a pink Ouija board targeting girls as young as eight years old.

The board’s Toys R Us webpage – which has evidently been recently removed – boasted: “It has always been mysterious. It has always been mystifying. And now the OUIJA Board is just for you, girl.”  The board comes with 72 “fun questions” to ask, including: “Who will call/text me next? Will I be a famous actor someday? Who wishes they could trade places with me?” 

However, a glow-in-the-dark Ouija board is still available on the Toys R Us website, which is also marketed for ages 8 and older.  The product description suggests: “Make up your own questions, and let the OUIJA Board satisfy your curiosity in virtually endless ways. OUIJA Board will answer. It’s just a game – or is it?”

The vast majority of online comments, both positive and negative, on the glow-in-the-dark version strongly emphasized that the Ouija board is potentially dangerous and “not a game.”  Several comments discussed in depth how to treat the “spirits” of the game politely, in order to avoid attack.  Only about half a dozen comments out of 123 claimed the game was “just a toy.”

“This may be a game to you, but I assure you whomever you are playing with on the ‘other side’ it is not a game to them,” wrote one contributor.

Another user wrote: “Although I love this game, it is very definitley (sic) NOT suited for 8 year olds, considering it works most of the time, and they could be
talking to evil spirits.”

Yet another user told the following story, which resembled the stories of several others who also posted their comments about the board: “they asked the board my middle name which no one in the room knew. it spelled it out perfectly. I was so freaked out. we all got really into the game but then the lights started flickering, by its self. of course us girls just screamed and hugged each other and the door opened. omg it was so freaky we stopped playing that night.”

John Cain of Ottawa, Canada, launched a boycott of Hasbro and Toys R Us after learning of the Ouija board targeted at young girls, reports Susan Brinkmann of Living His Life Abundantly International.

“Kids wouldn’t even think about Ouija boards unless it was marketed directly toward them,” said Cain.

Brinkmann points to the testimony of New York City policeman Ralph Sarchie, who has routinely assisted at exorcisms, and who says “innocent” board games like the Ouija board are immensely dangerous.

“There ought to be a law against these evil, occult ‘toys’,” wrote Sarchie in his book “Beware the Night.”

“I can hear some of you out there saying, ‘Hey, I used a Ouija board and nothing happened’. Consider yourself lucky, then. It’s like playing Russian roulette. When you put the gun to your head, if you don’t hear a loud noise, you made it. Same thing with the board: The more times you pull the trigger, the more likely that on the next shot, your entire world will go black.”

Stephen Phelan of Human Life International threw his support behind the boycott.  Fr. Tom Euteneuer, HLI’s president, is an experienced exorcist who has also strongly condemned Ouija boards.

“No responsible parent would want his or her child messing with this, and they need to be thrown out of houses and destroyed if you already have one,” said Phelan. “And tell a priest that someone in your family has been using a ouija board as soon as possible. … No Christian family should support either of these companies with their money.”

Toys R Us spokesman Bob Friedland told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) Friday that the pink ouija board, which the store has sold since 2008, was no longer shown as available “because we’re making way for newer products.” 

Asked whether Toys R Us had received complaints over the ouija board, Friedland responded, “Nothing significant that I’ve been told about,” and denied that outside criticism affected the decision to pull the game. 

Toys R Us still carries a glow-in-the dark Ouija board marketed to children 8-14 years old.

To sign up for the Hasbro/Toys R Us boycott click here.

Contact: Hasbro email form Toys R Us customer service: 800-869-7787 email form

Exorcism chapel opened in Mexico

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8502665.stm

By
Cecilia Barria
BBC News, Mexico City February 7, 2010

A Mexican church in the central city of Queretaro has opened a chapel in which exorcisms can take place.

There are no accurate figures for the number of exorcisms in Mexico. But the Roman Catholic Church says that in Mexico City alone there are about 10 cases a month – and the phenomenon is on the rise.

Critics say that priests often mistake mental illness or epilepsy for signs of possession. The new church will only treat people already seen by doctors.

Belief in possession and exorcism is common in a country where more than 90% of the population is Catholic.

Nevertheless, Mexico now has a church where exorcisms can be performed: La Capilla de las Benditas Animas del Purgatorio.

Exorcism predates the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th Century. Aztec healers burned herbs and prayed to eliminate the influence of bad spirits.

Nowadays the Roman Catholic Church follows the guidelines contained in a book published by the Vatican.

Signs of possession could be, for example, speaking in a foreign language that the person does not know, or being familiar with events that happened in far away places or in other times.

In a common exorcism, a priest performs a ceremony that includes sprinkling holy water over the possessed person and reciting prayers ordering the devil to depart.

Critics argue that priests commonly mistake mental illness such as schizophrenia or epilepsy and think instead they are confronting a demonic possession. But one priest, Rogelio Cano, told the BBC that the new church will only accept cases that have been already been treated by doctors and psychiatrists.

Spanish Exorcist Addresses Claims of Satanic Influence in Vatican

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35661

ROME March 3, 2010 Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

In a book of memoirs the noted Italian exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth affirmed ‘Yes, also in the Vatican there are members of Satanic sects.’

A renowned exorcist in Rome recently released a book of memoirs in which he declares to know of the existence of Satanic sects in the Vatican where participation reaches all the way to the College of Cardinals. A second demonologist, also residing in Rome, entered the debate this week, clarifying the origins of the information and defending the Vatican’s clergy as an “edifying and virtuous” collection of prelates.

In a book of memoirs released in February, the noted Italian exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth affirmed that “Yes, also in the Vatican there are members of Satanic sects.” When asked if members of the clergy are involved or if this is within the lay community, he responded, “There are priests, monsignors and also cardinals!”

The book, “Father Amorth. Memoirs of an Exorcist. My life fighting against Satan.” was written by Marco Tosatti, who compiled it from interviews with the priest.

Fr. Amorth was asked by Tosatti how he knows Vatican clergy are involved. He answered, “I know from those who have been able to relate it to me because they had a way of knowing directly. And it’s something ‘confessed’ most times by the very demon under obedience during the exorcisms.”

The famous Italian exorcist was also asked if the Pope was aware of Satanic sects in the Vatican, to which Fr. Amorth replied, “Of course, he was informed. But he does what he can. It’s a horrifying thing.”

Benedict XVI, being German, comes from a place “decidedly averse to these things,” argued Fr. Amorth, saying that in Germany “there practically aren’t any exorcists.” However, he clarified, “the Pope believes (in them).”

The Italian priest also warned of the existence of bishops and priests who do not believe in Satan in the interview. “And yet, in the Gospel, Jesus speaks extensively about it, so it should be said, either they’ve never read the Gospel or they just don’t believe it!”

Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea Cucurull, a Spanish priest and theologian who specializes in demonology and is now studying for his doctorate of theology in Rome, responded to Fr. Amorth’s assertions on March 1.

After reading reports of Fr. Amorth’s accusations pointing a finger at members of the clergy, including cardinals, Fr. Fortea declared that it is a “duty of justice” to speak out in their defense.

Noting that some prelates “are more spiritual and others more earthly, some more virtuous and others more human,” he wrote on his blog, “from there to affirm that some cardinals are members of Satanic sects is an unacceptable distance.”

The Spanish priest then explained the sources of information used by Fr. Amorth to say that Satanic sects are operating in the Vatican. In addition to the people that seek help for demonic possession, said Fr. Fortea, “innumerable persons come to us who claim to have visions, revelations and messages from Our Lord.” Among these, “a certain number offer apocalyptic messages and revelations about the infiltration of Satanism and the Masons within the dome of the Church.”

Fr. Fortea added that the only acceptable stance is to suspend judgment of the messages while they are subjected to time-intensive discernment, “sometimes months for each one of the cases.”

The other source Fr. Amorth refers to, according to Fr. Fortea, is the demons who are being exorcised. Of this, the Spanish priest wrote that knowing whether or not the demon is telling the truth “is in many cases impossible.” “We can know with great confidence when a demon tells the truth in the subject directly related with the exorcism. That is, the number of demons, their name and similar things. But we cannot be confident in what regards concrete news relating to people.”

“Father Amorth does not have other sources of knowledge than the two that I just cited,” indicated the Spanish exorcist, “I refer to his own words for this affirmation.”

Fr. Fortea observed that the existence of similar messages from the same sources is “something known by me just as (it has been) by many other colleagues for many years.”

“Among exorcists, some have come to similar conclusions as those of Fr. Amorth. Others have not.”

Fr. Fortea also defended those implicated in Fr. Amorth’s statements, stating, “Our College of Cardinals, if we compare it with past centuries is the most edifying and virtuous that history has ever known. One would have to go back to the epoch of the Roman Empire to find a body of electors so distanced from all earthly pretension as the current one is.

“Cardinals might be better or worse,” he reflected, “but all have upright intentions and seek the glory of God.”

He concluded by emphasizing, “Statements must be proven, especially when they are about such grave accusations that affect the honorability of those who form part of the Head of the Church as far as they help the Supreme Pastor.”

Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7056689.ece

Richard Owen in Rome March 11, 2010

Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as “cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon”.

He added: “When one speaks of ‘the smoke of Satan’ [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia.”

He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican “cover-up” over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead. “They covered up everything immediately,” he said. “Here one sees the rot”.

A remarkably swift Vatican investigation concluded that Corporal Tornay had shot the commander and his wife and then turned his gun on himself after being passed over for a medal. However Tornay’s relatives have challenged this. There have been unconfirmed reports of a homosexual background to the tragedy and the involvement of a fourth person who was never identified.

Father Amorth, who has just published Memoirs of an Exorcist, a series of interviews with the Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti, said that the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981 had been the work of the Devil, as had an incident last Christmas when a mentally disturbed woman threw herself at Pope Benedict XVI at the start of Midnight Mass, pulling him to the ground.

Father José Antonio Fortea Cucurull, a Rome-based exorcist, said that Father Amorth had “gone well beyond the evidence” in claiming that Satan had infiltrated the Vatican corridors.

“Cardinals might be better or worse, but all have upright intentions and seek the glory of God,” he said. Some Vatican officials were more pious than others, “but from there to affirm that some cardinals are members of satanic sects is an unacceptable distance.”

Father Amorth told La Repubblica that the devil was “pure spirit, invisible. But he manifests himself with blasphemies and afflictions in the person he possesses. He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, transform himself or appear to be agreeable. At times he makes fun of me.”

He said it sometimes took six or seven of his assistants to hold down a possessed person. Those possessed often yelled and screamed and spat out nails or pieces of glass, which he kept in a bag. “Anything can come out of their mouths – finger-length pieces of iron, but also rose petals.”

He said that hoped every diocese would eventually have a resident exorcist. Under Church Canon Law any priest can perform exorcisms, but in practice they are carried out by a chosen few trained in the rites.

Father Amorth was ordained in 1954 and became an official exorcist in 1986. In the past he has suggested that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were possessed by the Devil. He was among Vatican officials who warned that J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels made a “false distinction between black and white magic”.

He approves, however, of the 1973 film The Exorcist, which although “exaggerated” offered a “substantially exact” picture of possession.

In 2001 he objected to the introduction of a new [1999] version of the exorcism rite, complaining that it dropped centuries-old prayers and was “a blunt sword” about which exorcists themselves had not been consulted.

The Vatican said later that he and other exorcists could continue to use the old ritual.

He is the president of honour of the Association of Exorcists.

On Satan’s trail with Don Gabriele, the world’s most famous exorcist

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7060354.ece

Richard Owen in Rome March 13, 2010

“Are you afraid of the Devil?” The world’s most famous exorcist levels his gaze at me and then smiles.

“No, it is he who is afraid of me. I work in the name of the Lord. Poor Satan.”

Poor Satan?

“Oh yes. The Evil One shouts and makes noises, but we are made in God’s image, we have the Holy Trinity on our side. There is no need to be afraid of the Devil unless we give in to his temptations.”

We are in the infirmary of the Society of St Paul, the order of Father Gabriele Amorth, in the shadow of St Paul’s Basilica, Rome. The Vatican’s chief exorcist was taken to hospital last autumn with a blood infection and is now convalescing — “they found nothing serious”. Perhaps it was the Devil who laid him low. “Oh no — just an illness. He has more serious evil to perform.”

Father Amorth made headlines this week by suggesting that those who had “given in to Satan’s temptations” included paedophile priests and even some cardinals and bishops who paid only lip service to the Gospels.

The growing crisis over the clerical sex abuse now engulfing Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican, he said, was the work of Satan, who had even “infiltrated the Vatican corridors”.

Is the sex abuse crisis really due to the Devil? “Oh yes. All evil is due to the intervention of the Devil, including paedophilia.”

And the Vatican? “Legions of demons have lodged there. The majority of those in the Vatican do good work. But Pope Paul VI talked about the ‘smoke of Satan’ infiltrating the Vatican as long ago as 1972. Satan sets out to damage the leadership of the Church — and of politics, industry and sport, for that matter.”

And although all manner of incidents, scandals and misdemeanours in Italy and abroad leap to mind as potential evidence of diabolical intervention, he declines to give examples. Father Amorth — or Don Gabriele, as he is universally known — has just published The Memoirs of an Exorcist, a book of interviews with Marco Tosatti, the Vatican journalist. In a style that is somewhat reminiscent of a medieval chronicle, he describes his often hair-raising experiences over the past quarter of a century in the front line against the Evil One and his minions.

Father Amorth, aged nearly 85, is honorary president of the International Association of Exorcists. He fought for the Resistance in the Second World War, took a law degree but then entered the Church. He began conducting exorcisms shortly after his ordination 60 years ago; in 1986 he was appointed by Cardinal Ugo Poletti, then the Vicar of Rome, as assistant to Father Candido Amantini, the chief exorcist, eventually succeeding him.

Now frail, he becomes animated as he describes his life-long struggle with demons who possess the bodies of their victims, at one stage spreading his arms wide to show me the length of one particular demon occupying the body of a woman he had “liberated”.

He talks to Lucifer and his demons, he says, and knows their names. On the writing table in his room he keeps pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, “who came into the world to fight the Devil and return us to God”. But the modern world, he says, has “given in to the Evil One. You see it in the lack of faith, the empty churches, the collapse of the family.”

“Compare the world of today to when I was a boy in Modena: families and parish communities were strong, women did not go out to work. Now they have to because one income cannot support a family. So young people are left to their own devices, they get into bad company, they have lost their roots and replaced them with the negative influences of television and the internet, or the occult.”

What about those who believe in neither God nor Satan? “The Devil is only too happy to take advantage of those who do not believe in his existence. It means he can operate with complete freedom, even inside the Church. He exploits lust and power.”

The Devil tries to reach all of us, Father Amorth adds, and “the possessed are those who listen to him most. Mind you, they are a minority. If you read my book you might get the impression the whole world is possessed, but I am describing a small number of cases, comparatively speaking.”

His claim to have carried out 70,000 exorcisms seems incredible. “But I was talking about the number of exorcisms, not the number of people exorcised. You often have to exorcise someone dozens, even hundreds, of times, and an exorcism ritual can take anything from a few minutes to several hours.”

Exorcism can only be done with the approval of the local bishop, usually after medical or psychiatric tests show no rational explanation for the symptoms, which include vomiting, violent headaches and stomach cramps but also superhuman strength, fits and extreme aversion to holy symbols. He is adept, he says, at distinguishing hysterics from the real thing. There are more women than men among the possessed, “but we don’t know why. There are various explanations: Satan taking revenge on the Virgin Mary, or using women as a means of reaching men. None of them is convincing.”

The possessed talk in languages they do not know, including ancient tongues such as Aramaic, the language of Christ. “Sometimes the language is incomprehensible. I once asked a demon what it was and he said, ‘Satanic language’.” The victims often react so violently to the ritual of prayers, incantations, holy water and the sign of the Cross that they have to be held or tied down while the priest touches the possessed person with his stole and places his hand on his or her head.

In many cases, he says, they vomit objects such as nails or glass. Father Amorth has a collection weighing two kilograms. “You get used to being vomited over. I once performed an exorcism on a woman who managed to hit me in the face with a stream of vomit from the other side of the room — physically impossible.”

The Devil, he says, is humourless but does sometimes play tricks. He and his demons speak through the victim, sometimes using their normal voice but sometimes in hoarse, raucous tones. He imitates the unnerving low growl for me. They are not, however visible, any more than angels are.

“Angels exist, and how, but they are not as depicted in art — they are pure spirit. We all have guardian angels. Demons are, of course, fallen angels who rebelled against God; that is why they are so intelligent, and so arrogant.”

He does not believe in ghosts, which are “an invention of the human mind”.

Father Amorth has no designated successor, and complains that even now the Church hierarchy does not take exorcism — or the Devil — seriously enough. But “the Lord has made use of me” and his example has inspired many other priests — as did the 1973 film The Exorcist, which although “exaggerated” was “substantially true”.

At his age does he still have the stomach for the battle with Satan? “Oh yes. I have work to do.”

Do Twilight, Harry Potter open door to the Devil?

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/do-twilight-harry-potter-open-door-to-the-devil-20100320-qn74.html

By Linda Morris, March 21, 2010

The appointment of a new exorcist by Sydney’s Catholic Church precedes a warning by a senior clergyman that generation Y risks a dangerous fascination with the occult fuelled by the Twilight
and
Harry Potter
series.

Julian Porteous, the auxiliary bishop of Sydney, warns that pursuing such ”alternative” relaxation techniques as yoga, reiki massages and tai chi may encourage experimentation with ”deep and dark spiritual ideas and traditions”.

Bishop Porteous, who is second to Cardinal George Pell in the Sydney Archdiocese, told The Sun-Herald the Twilight and Harry Potter books and films ”are attractive to adolescents and can be innocent enough.

”However, they can open up a fascination with this mysterious world and invite exploration of various phenomena through the use of occult practices like séances.”

Exorcism is no fantasy according to the church, with the Sydney archdiocese last month appointing an as-yet unnamed priest, suitably ”endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life” to conduct exorcisms, as required by Catholic canon law.

In Rome, the Vatican is preparing its first official English translation of the rite of exorcism, which was promulgated in 1614 and reissued in 1999. Its chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, claimed this month to have carried out 70,000 exorcisms.

Bishop Porteous – who has stood in as exorcist for the Sydney archdiocese over the past five years – warns that yoga, reiki massages and tai chi can lead to people being in the grip of ”demonic forces”.

”A person can move from the use of a simple practice to de-stress to embracing the underlining theory and religious beliefs because these all come out of religious traditions of the East and people can then find themselves in the grip of demonic forces,” he said. ”People can be naive in that regard.”

But David Tacey, associate professor of English at La Trobe University, said demonic possession was an archaism long discredited by science, psychology and modern theology. Any suggestion that reiki massage, yoga and tai chi could have evil influence were ”expressions of Western ignorance about Eastern practices”, he said. ”This is an example of how certain voices in the church have no idea about other cultures and religions,” Professor Tacey said. ”To argue that only Christianity can rescue people from these supposed ‘demonic’ forces is a wonderful evangelical trick. The arrogance and ignorance … is … transparent, and anyone can see through it as an attempt to recruit people to the failing mainstream religion.”

The main signs of ”diabolical influence” recognised by the Catholic Church include speaking in unknown languages, including ancient tongues, and exhibiting superhuman strength.

Some victims have spoken to Bishop Porteous of feeling an evil presence around them or of feeling an oppressive force bearing down on their chest.

Bishop Porteous has been verbally abused during exorcisms yet he says he does not fear the Devil. ”You’re conscious the powers of Christ are greater than the powers of evil,” he said.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN EXCORCISM

The minor rite can be done by any priest and provides prayers of protection and assistance for people who fear they are being tempted by the devil. Prayers of minor exorcism are built in to the rite of baptism.

The major rite applies to cases of full demonic possession. The priest wears a purple stole, representing his role as a leader of the church. He carries holy water which he sprinkles over the victim during prayers. The crucifix is held aloft, representing the most potent symbol of Christ’s victory over evil. Prayers are either dedicative or indicative. During dedicative prayer, the exorcist asks God to drive out an evil spirit. The indicative prayer directly commands the demon to leave: ”I command you evil spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, begone.”

Also at: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20153

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20621

April 15, 2010 This program examines the covert Catholic ritual of exorcism in Italy where half a million people are turning to exorcists for help each year.

Pope Benedict XVI recently hailed the importance of the rite and now for the first time the Vatican is backing a course to prepare a new generation of exorcists.

This film shows rare footage of exorcisms and sufferers in states of trance and altered states.

It goes beyond the extreme drama of the ritual and observes the daily life of an exorcist, seeking to understand the rite and what lies behind its revival.

It also examines the difference between psychological illnesses, and perceived “demonic possession”.

Compass: Return of the Exorcists – ABC-TV1, 10.20pm Sunday, April 18, 2010

CATHNEWS COMMENT

Even in the promo blurb, ABC-TV and Compass reveal their typical cluelessness about and hostility towards anything Catholic. ‘Return’? Exorcism never went away. And don’t you love how anything of which the details of every individual case are not publicised to the media becomes ‘covert’ if it involves the Catholic Church? Peter G

Memoirs of an Exorcist Interview With Author Who Spoke to Father Amorth
http://www.zenit.org/article-29018?l=english

By Antonio Gaspari
ROME, April 23 2010 (Zenit.org) Father Gabriele Amorth is considered the most expert exorcist in the world, having performed this duty for more than 25 years and 70,000 exorcisms. Marco Tosatti, previously the Vatican expert for the newspaper La Stampa, and author of innumerable books, interviewed Father Amorth. The fruit of their conversation is “Memorie di un Esorcista” (Memoirs of an Exorcist). The book is a sort of spiritual testament, in which Father Amorth recounts the struggle against the Evil One: an impressive series of stories that attest to the presence and influence of evil, but also deliverance from it, as Tosatti explained to ZENIT.
ZENIT: What is an exorcist and, in particular, who is Father Amorth?
Tosatti: An exorcist is a priest who has received from his bishop – the only one authorized to carry out this type of intervention – the authorization to liberate persons affected by demonic phenomena, such as infestation, vexation and possession. Gabriele Amorth is the honorary president of the association of exorcists founded by him many years ago, and probably the most well known exorcist in the world. In April he will celebrate his 85th birthday and he continues with his battle.
ZENIT: Does the devil really exist?
Tosatti: Christians cannot fail to believe that a pure spirit exists who has rejected God, and who acts in an ordinary and extraordinary way – very rare — in the world.
ZENIT: Who is he and what does he do? How does he manifest himself and in what way do exorcists distinguish his influence on persons?
Tosatti: He is a fallen angel, at the head of other beings similar to him. In his ordinary action he tries to drive people to sin, to conquer their souls. His extraordinary action is certainly more mysterious. With God’s permission, he carries out actions against persons, succeeding, in some cases, in possession — which, however, cannot touch the soul. With the prayers of the ritual and the use of sacraments, exorcists try to liberate victims from this negative action.
ZENIT: Why has the Church instituted the figure of the exorcist?
Tosatti: Jesus Christ gave the mandate to his disciples to preach the Gospel, to cure the sick and to cast out demons. During several centuries the figure of the exorcist did not exist in Christianity: every Christian could be a soldier in this battle. And even today simple Christians can say, and do say, prayers of deliverance. And some saints — Padre Pio, for example — without being exorcists, delivered victims from demonic influence. It must be said that in the last years, evidently in response to a growing need, increasingly bishops are obliged to appoint priests for this type of pastoral work.
ZENIT: How much is there of suggestion and how much of truth in many persons who believe they are possessed by the devil?
Tosatti: From what has been said to me in my research, the real cases of possession, vexation or infestation are very, very rare. Gabriele Amorth — and I believe his colleagues also act in this way — does not receive anyone who has not first sought help from official medicine. And despite this precaution, he sees that in many cases an evil origin is not identified with the disturbances. But, although rare, cases of demonic influence exist, and they are frightening.
ZENIT: In what way can men escape from temptations to sin and evil?
Tosatti: To flee from the attack of temptations, I believe, is impossible. A clean and Christian life can help us not to yield to those temptations.
ZENIT: The devil has always beset the Church. Pope Paul VI once said: “the smoke of Satan has entered the Church.” John Paul II and Benedict XVI several times denounced the presence of the devil’s tail in many actions that attack the Chair of Peter. In these days we are witnessing an unprecedented attack against the present Pontiff. What is your opinion?

Tosatti: Benedict XVI, as John Paul II before him, indicated the central battle of the Church in our times in the moral topics and the defense of life and of the family. It is a battle against the prevailing culture in a great part of the Western world, and above all in the media. The attempt to discredit the Church and the Pope precisely to weaken the impact of his teaching is evident. Also in an evidently instrumental and incorrect way, trusting in the negative effect of the attack on public opinion – which often does not have the instruments or the time to carefully verify the veracity of the accusations. 
And this is all the more extraordinary inasmuch as if there ever was some one who seeks — who has always sought — to cleanse the Church, it is precisely Joseph Ratzinger. 
I think that, unfortunately, our profession is not living one of its happiest moments.
Memorie di un Esorcista www.itacalibri.it/Template/detailArticoli.asp?LN=IT&IDFolder=144&IDOggetto=36906

Pro-Life Exorcist: “Never in All of History Have We Seen Evil Promoted So Effectively”

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) “Satan is normally ‘hidden’ … but nowadays he is walking tall in powerful structures of sin like abortion, pornography, sex slavery, rapacious greed and terrorism,” writes pro-life leader, Catholic priest and exorcist Reverend Thomas J. Euteneuer in his new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant.

The devil, says the President of Human Life International, “flexes his muscles” with “pernicious ideologies like radical feminism and ‘pro-choice’ extremism, the militant homosexual movement and the aggressive mass media which is the ministry of propaganda for Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.”

Father Euteneuer has conducted exorcisms in several dioceses around the United States and spoken to thousands of people on the subject.

In the newly released book, Fr. Euteneuer warns: “Never in all of history have we seen evil promoted so effectively and the true good so roundly mocked and rejected as in this age of extreme technological prowess.”  He explains, “The difference between the modern world and past generations is that Satan has a greater ability to use groups and institutions for increasing his wicked reach into human life and society.”

Far from hidden, suggests the exorcist, “Nowadays, objective evil is displayed out in the open air with impunity, celebrated in the public forum and strategized in plush board rooms.”

Fr. Euteneuer presents the case that “the devil’s spiritual warfare on our flocks will intensify as the years proceed and that all Christians, but especially priests, will have no choice but to engage more deeply in the spiritual battle for souls.”

“The devil now,” he warns, “arrogates to himself the right to control the totality of human existence even in so-called free societies: from manipulating the very act of creation (in vitro fertilization, cloning, Human Genome); to the authority over life and death (abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia); to the definition of human sexuality and marriage (birth control, divorce, homosexual unions); to the very prospect of human annihilation (nuclear war, genocide and the impending New World Order).”

Along with Exorcism and the Church Militant, Father Euteneuer is also releasing Demonic Abortion, the first of two companion works. This 120-page booklet is a meditation on the evil nature of the abortion industry, from the perspective of a priest and exorcist who has been fighting in the pro-life trenches around the world for well over a decade. With a release date of July 7, 2010, Demonic Abortion is now available for pre-order.

More information about both Exorcism and the Church Militant and Demonic Abortion can be found at http://www.exorcismbook.com/. The introduction to the book is available here.

Priests will soon be ‘inundated’ with exorcism requests, asserts author

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/priests-will-soon-be-inundated-with-exorcism-requests-asserts-author/

Front Royal, Va., June 18, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News) In an exclusive interview with CNA, author and pro-life leader Fr. Thomas Euteneuer discussed his recent book on the often misunderstood topic of exorcism, asserting that due to an increased exposure of young people to the occult, priests within the next decade are going to be “inundated” with exorcism requests. Speaking on his new book, “Exorcism and the Church Militant,” which was released on June 14, Fr. Euteneuer, who also serves as director of Human Life International (HLI), elaborated on the need for exorcism to be clarified in modern society.

http://www.turnbacktogod.com/power-of-the-rosary/

October 27, 2010

Often Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican writes:  One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism, “Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end.”

The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centered on Christ.

I write in addition to the above: Please enunciate each word of the Rosary clearly and distinctly. Do not trample on the heels of the words of anyone with your words.. Do not speak over the leader if you are following or the respondent if you are leading the Rosary. Remember that they also are having a conversation with Mary Our Mother and it is not polite to speak when someone else is speaking.

In the case of the public Rosary there are only two people speaking: the Leader and the respondents. Each is speaking to the Blessed Mother and listening carefully to her response within their hearts as they meditate on the scene before them in their consideration of the mystery being spoken of and interpreted and translated into their lives.

Spread this powerful prayer of exorcism, the Rosary, which contains the Our Father, the Perfect Prayer, prayed five times in the recitation of each set of the Rosary’s Mysteries, backed up by the powerful prayers of Our Mother who prays with us as we pray 53 Hail Mary’s.

The Eternal Father described to a group of us, through a Visionary Friend of mine, what happens when we pray the Rosary, saying, When you pray Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now……, the Blessed Mother comes instantly to your side to pray with you. And she does not come alone. She brings angels with her. And not just one or two for she is the Queen of Angels, so choirs of angels come with her.
And she and Jesus are joined at the heart and cannot be separated so she brings Jesus with her. And Jesus cannot be separated from the Trinity so He brings the Father and the Holy Spirit with Him.

And where the Holy Trinity is, all of creation is, and you are surrounded by such beauty and light as you cannot imagine in this life. Your Mother comes as Our Lady of Grace with her hands outstretched. Rays of light emit from her hands piercing your body, healing you and filling you with graces. This is your inheritance which was poured out from the heart of Jesus on the Cross, when the centurion pierced His Heart with the spear, into the only pure vessel ready to receive such graces at that time, Your Mother.

Now as you pray the Rosary, or even just recite one Hail Mary, you receive your portion of these graces. He also said at this time, “Anyone who goes to Mary and prays the Rosary cannot be touched by Satan.”

Is it any wonder that anyone who prays the Rosary from the heart is so blessed and protected and powerful in their prayers for others? Come, let us ask our Mother’s intercession more often.

Hollywood, US Bishops Spotlight “The Rite” Interview with San Jose Diocesan Exorcist

http://www.zenit.org/article-31515?l=english

By Genevieve Pollock

(Part 1)
SARATOGA, California, January 20, 2011 (Zenit.org) January 28 is the release date for a new movie about exorcism and faith, which is based on the story of Father Gary Thomas, official exorcist of San Jose, California. ZENIT spoke with Father Thomas about his call to the ministry of exorcism, his experiences over the past years in working with people seeking his help, and the prevalence of demonic influences in our society today. The movie, “The Rite,” starring Anthony Hopkins and distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures, focuses on themes of faith, as evidenced by the promotional tagline: “You can only defeat it when you believe.”

It is based on the real experiences of Father Thomas, as recorded in the book, “The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist,” by Matt Baglio. Both the author and the priest, who serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Saratoga, were invited onto the set to consult in the making of the movie.

Hollywood producers are not the only ones with a renewed interest in this topic; last November the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops sponsored a two-day conference on exorcism, which took place in Baltimore just prior to the fall assembly. Some 56 prelates and 66 priests signed up for the course.

In this interview, Father Thomas described his experiences on the set of the movie, and explained the relevance of this ministry today.

ZENIT: Could you tell us about the scene on the set of the movie?

Father Thomas: I was on the set for a week with the actors, and I gave them input in terms of what the reaction to an exorcism and what the manifestations look like. The author of the book was on the set for most of the shoot. For example, I taught Anthony Hopkins how he has to bless left to right and not right to left, and all those little things. The producer Beau Flynn and the director Mikael Håfström really wanted this to be supremely accurate, and I do too. It’s really a movie about faith. It’s not a gory movie or a horror movie; there is no green pea soup or heads spinning off of bodies.

I’ve not seen a lot of exorcism movies; there was one that was just out about three months ago called “The Last Exorcism,” which actually was very good. And “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” came out in 2005, which was done by New Line Cinema as well and actually done by the same producer. But I think this one has a whole different take to it, because it’s really a movie about faith.

ZENIT: Most people get their ideas of exorcism from what they’ve seen in movies and on television. What would you say is different about the way Hollywood portrays exorcism and the way you’ve experienced it?

Father Thomas: I think in many cases Hollywood is basing everything on sensationalism, which I’m hoping this movie is not about. Exorcism, rather, is a ritual set of prayers that command the demon to cease its attempt to inflict harm, suffering, pain and total possession of a human being, and to depart.

There are some dramatic manifestations that I’ve encountered, but often times what Hollywood tries to do is exacerbate the dramatic and add to it in the name of entertainment, when quite honestly this is not a topic to entertain people with.

Is there a dramatic side to personified evil? Yes, there is.

Satan or his minions attempt to intimidate human beings and to cause them to lose heart altogether, but with the help of Christ we have nothing to worry about. We have nothing to fear.

Hollywood wants to play out the dramatic, and because they’ve never really seen exorcisms they’re just envisioning. I’ve had a number of media outlets contact me with the request to film one and I’ve said no, because I have no guarantee and no reassurance that they are going to get it right. I also say, you’re not going to objectify someone’s suffering in this way. Because then it becomes more of a fodder for entertainment rather than a way of becoming educated and informed about the real dark underbelly of the world.

ZENIT: How necessary is a ministry of exorcism in our country these days? Are these cases of demonic possession very frequent?

Father Thomas: The ministry is essential. It is not because we are having so many cases of demonic possession. What we are seeing — speaking from my experience — is that we are all, not just the exorcists, but priests in general, having a lot more people coming to us about matters that are of this realm. Many of the issues people are coming with are actually not demonic; they are more related to mental health.

Sometimes people ask, “Why now?” And I say, because now there are more Catholics who are involved in paganism and idolatry, so there are a lot of people who are opening a lot of doors to the diabolical. The occult is all about power. Now the occult is not synonymous with the Satanic, but it is a doorway. There are also more and more Catholics, and people in general, now in this country who are involved in New Age things. With the opening of doorways to the New Age and the occult, you do not know what is behind that door; you do not know what you are tapping into most of the time. So, are there more cases of possession? In five years, I’ve exorcised five people, whom I do believe had a demonic attachment. And I’ve prayed over others who also I think have a demonic attachment, but I’ve not done exorcisms with them.

But what is becoming very rampant is that more and more people are involved in pagan idolatry. Some of it is structured and formal, and some of it is not.

This is coupled with issues that have to do with sexual abuse; 80% of the people who come to me have been sexually abused. That is a soul wound, and a doorway for a demon.

If the soul wounds are coupled with either heavy drug use, heavy sexual perversions, sexual abuse or physical abuse, usually by a parent, a sibling or an extended family member, it becomes a recipe for an invitation for a demon. It is not like demons just show up. You have to invite them in, or someone else invites them in for you.

If a person has been sexual abused it does not mean that they are going to have a demonic attachment. What I am saying is that when people have been sexually abused they become incredibly vulnerable to that possibility.

Then if they get involved in matters that have to do with paganism and idolatry, like the occult or things of the Satanic, the bar goes way up, the chances go up. Because demons are always looking for human beings who either have no relationships or a variety of broken relationships.

ZENIT: If Catholic laity find themselves in this situation, how would they guard against the possibility of demonic activity in their lives or how would they protect a loved one who they are worried about?

Father Thomas: There are a variety of ordinary means.

People say to me all the time, “I don’t want this to happen to me.” I tell them that as long as you have a faith life, a prayer life and a sacramental life, the chances of this occurring are very nil.

If you have a life that involves God — and for a Catholic if you have a sacramental life that involves the Eucharist and reconciliation with regularity — and your life is lived in the spirit of the will of God and the providence of God, you do not have any serious consideration to be concerned about.

It is when people are involved in the spirit world, which is rarely deliberate. It is usually out of curiosity, of when they think they can get a leg up on things. For example, it can be people who get involved in very unorthodox types of meditation. I’m not talking about Ignatian spirituality or having a spiritual director who helps you learn how to meditate. I’m talking about people who go off to Buddhist camps, or people who are involved in spiritism, where you do not know what they are involved in, and you do not know what kind of techniques people are using to somehow deal with the realm beyond this one. It is much more about stuff that is really not known or tested, or sometimes it is known and tested by people who really have the wrong focus. It is not about a relationship with God; it is about a relationship with self.

“The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist” Book:

http://www.amazon.com/Rite-Making-Modern-Exorcist/dp/0385522703

Hollywood, US Bishops Spotlight “The Rite” Interview with San Jose Diocesan Exorcist

http://www.zenit.org/article-31525?l=english
EXTRACT

By Genevieve Pollock

(Part 2)
SARATOGA, California, January 21, 2011 (Zenit.org)

ZENIT: Could you say something more about these unorthodox practices that could be doorways for demons? What are the practices people should be aware of and should be careful of getting into?

Father Thomas: I think people should know if there are any effects from being involved in these things, and they should know why. They are tapping into these kinds of activities and if they do not know, they are really running a risk of opening themselves up.

For example, people who get involved with psychics, or tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystals, Wicca, or even yoga…

People that get themselves involved in very unorthodox kinds of self-focused practices need to be aware of the potential that they might be opening themselves up to.

Or, séances, again, are a doorway. People should ask who is running the séance, and why they are going to a séance. They want answers to the future, and if they are going to commune with a human spirit from the world beyond ours, it is very dangerous because they do not know what they are doing.

ZENIT: What signs would indicate possible demonic activity in a friend or a family member?

Father Thomas: If, for example, if somebody was able to speak in a language that he had no prior competency in, or if someone would foam at the mouth or have a lot of rolling of the eyes.

If the person were not able to walk into a church or be close to any Catholic sacramental: holy water, a crucifix, the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacramental anointing of the sick, or someone wearing some kind of a Christian symbol. If these caused a reaction, it certainly would be a sign.

Another sign of a diabolical attachment is when people have unnatural amounts of strength that they normally do not possess. Sometimes people will take on a serpentine appearance, again in reaction to sacraments and sacramentals.

But there would be things leading up to that; for example, these people could have an obsessive amount of thoughts or ideas of the Satanic, or feel a tremendous amount of depression in their lives, usually due to tapping into the spirit world. Those would be signs.

ZENIT: Is this ministry of exorcism something that any priest might feel called to engage in?

Father Thomas: First of all, you have to believe. It is what Anthony Hopkins says to my character at one point in the movie, “You cannot defeat it till you believe in it.” You have to believe that Satan is a reality.

Personally, on an ideal basis, I think that every priest should be trained to be an exorcist.

It is part of our healing ministry, and it is very much at the heart of the Paschal mystery. So on the one hand I do think every priest ought to be trained to know how to do this.

Do I think every priest has the ability? Probably to some degree; it depends. But I think every priest should know what to do in these situations, and quite honestly they don’t, at least at this time. The seminaries do not teach this.

When the book came out, I requested that the publishing company send this book to every bishop in the United States and every rector in every major seminary. They did, with a cover letter from me. This came up in the meeting in Baltimore to some degree, without a huge amount of response, but I firmly believe this needs to be in the program of priestly formation in our seminaries. This needs some serious attention.

It does not mean there has to be a whole semester course on it, but there needs to be a development of some pastoral skills in this area, and some theological training.

Satan has to be part of the equation of salvation in the formation of priests, and the topic is not there right now. Now I know the major seminary in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is teaching a course on demonology. And I know in the seminary that I went to they are teaching a course this semester on good and evil, though I don’t know what that is going to entail. It is a start. If that is happening at other seminaries, I am not aware.

All I can say with some certitude is that there is nothing in the formation program as such that deals in a kind of overt way with exorcism.

ZENIT: Could you tell us a bit about your own story, and how you knew that you were called to be an exorcist?

Father Thomas: I didn’t know; that’s the amazing thing in all of this.

Two months before Pope John Paul II died in 2005, he sent a mandate through Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s office requesting every bishop in the United States to select and train an exorcist.

This was because of the growing occult that has become an epidemic in Europe. I know in my time in Rome on sabbatical, which coincided with all of this, it was reported that 25% of the people in Italy practice the occult. We saw a lot of damage to people, when I was working with Father Carmen.

How I got involved with it was obviously providence, but it was not like I had an epiphany. What happened was that our bishop took the letter seriously, and approached a priest of our diocese.

It came to my attention that the priest who received the initial invitation declined, so I decided to volunteer for this ministry. I thought to myself: “I can be the exorcist. I believe in the personification of evil. I can fulfill that role.” The bishop came to me the month before my 12-year term as pastor of my previous parish was coming to an end and I was going on sabbatical to Rome. He said, I’m appointing you exorcist; thank you very much for saying yes, and there is a course you can take in Rome while you’re there.

I took this course in Rome, which was taught at the Regina Apostolorum seminary of the Legionaries of Christ, while I was on sabbatical studying at the North American College.

Halfway through the course it was apparent to me that I needed someone to work under, because the course was good but it was very theoretical and theological.

There were about 60 people in the class, mostly Italians and Africans, and another priest was working with this 85-year-old exorcist. He would come to class on Thursday morning and tell us what he had been doing, what he had seen, and what he had been experiencing. And I said, I have to find someone to work under.

Now there are nine exorcists in Rome but none of them speak English. Finally I was able to locate Father Carmen, and I worked with him for three and a half months, observing exorcisms three days a week for three and a half hours at a time.

I would go home and journal about what I had seen today: what did he do, and what did I see from the people who would come to him. And then every few weeks I would sit down with him with an English translator and ask, what did this mean, why did this happen, why did you do this? That’s how I learned.

There is no course in the United States per say to train exorcists although I just came back from a meeting in Baltimore with the bishops and the exorcists and we did talk about this some.

ZENIT: Why do you think the bishops called that meeting in Baltimore? Was it in response to the letter from the Pope a few years ago?

Father Thomas: No. I think what made them hold this conference was the fact that Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, who is the chairman of the canonical governance committee for the bishops, called for the meeting. He had come to one of our annual conferences in Chicago, and I think he felt that this was the right time to bring this to the bishops.

The Making of a Modern Exorcist
Encounter with Author of “The Rite”

http://www.zenit.org/article-32251?l=english

By Father Alfonso Aguilar, LC

ROME, April 6, 2011 (Zenit.org) Does the devil exist? Father Gary Thomas of the Diocese of San Jose, California, once thought that belief in the devil’s existence was part of an archaic and superstitious way of living the faith.

Father Thomas, who is pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga, was asked by his bishop to travel to Rome for training in the rite of exorcism at a Vatican-affiliated university. Through the lessons given by great exorcists and the training from a priest based in Rome, Father Thomas experienced firsthand that the presence of personal Evil is concrete and more ubiquitous than he could ever imagine. He eventually performs more than 80 exorcisms, and becomes the official exorcist of the San Jose Diocese.

These are the experiences recounted in the 2009 book “The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist” by Matt Baglio. Inspired by true events, “The Rite” follows the steps taken by a skeptical priest in order to become an exorcist. The story is interwoven with traditional theological notions about the demons, the touching experiences of possessed people, the quasi-magical power of the ancient rite, and the encounter, face to face, with the devil in person.

The book has inspired the feature film called “The Rite,” which has been in theaters since January 28, starring Anthony Hopkins, no less. Directed by Mikael Håfström (“1408”), “The Rite” is a supernatural thriller that uncovers the devil’s reach to even one of the holiest places on earth.

On January 20 and 21 — a week before the release of the movie in the U.S. theaters — ZENIT spoke with Father Thomas about his call to the ministry of exorcism, his experiences over the past years in working with people seeking his help, and the prevalence of demonic influences in our society today.

Both Father Thomas and Matt Baglio were invited onto the set to consult in the making of the movie. “I was on the set for a week with the actors,” Father Thomas said, “and I gave them input in terms of what the reaction to an exorcism and what the manifestations look like. For example, I taught Anthony Hopkins how he has to bless left to right and not right to left, and all those little things. The producer Beau Flynn and the director Mikael Håfström really wanted this to be supremely accurate, and I do too.”

According to the Californian priest, “The Rite” is not a typical entertaining Hollywood product. “It’s really a movie about faith. It’s not a gory movie or a horror movie; there is no green pea soup or heads spinning off of bodies.”

Father Thomas expressed the belief that learning about exorcisms is today more necessary than ever, because there are more Catholics who are involved in paganism, idolatry and the occult (psychics, tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystals, Wicca, séances, and the like), so there are a lot of people who are opening a lot of doors to the diabolical.

Certain signs would indicate possible demonic activity in someone. For example, “if somebody was able to speak in a language that he had no prior competency in, or if someone would foam at the mouth or have a lot of rolling of the eyes,” Father Thomas said. Another sign of a diabolical attachment can be found “if the person were not able to walk into a church or be close to any Catholic sacramental: holy water, a crucifix, the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacramental anointing of the sick, or someone wearing some kind of a Christian symbol. If these caused a reaction, it certainly would be a sign.”

Another sign is “when people have unnatural amounts of strength that they normally do not possess. Sometimes people will take on a serpentine appearance, again in reaction to sacraments and sacramentals.”

On Thursday, Baglio will present his novel at the university where the story began: Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University (located at Via degli Aldobrandeschi, 190 in Rome).

The event, scheduled at 1:30 p.m., has been organized by the Pascal Center, an apologetics association, together with the Università Europea di Roma. Well-known Spanish exorcist Father José Antonio Fortea and Father Pedro Barrajón, Regina Apostolorum’s rector and a theologian expert on demons, will take part in the presentation.

“The idea began when I heard about a university-level course at a Vatican-affiliated school that purported to train potential exorcists,” Baglio said. “As a freelance journalist living in Rome I thought it might just be a P.R. stunt. The only thing I knew about exorcism was from what I’d seen in Hollywood films like ‘The Exorcist’ and I wondered how the Catholic Church could still believe in it.”

At this point, Baglio met Father Thomas and learned more about his spiritual journey. “Attending the course,” he said, “I realized that the reality of exorcism is much different from what I’d imagined.”

Baglio was born and raised in San Diego, California. In 1996, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a bachelors’ degree in English literature. After a stint working as an intern and editorial assistant for TransWorld SNOWboarding magazine, Baglio moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a freelancer. In 2000, in an effort to expand his horizons, Baglio took a trip to Europe where he met his future wife in Rome. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Italy permanently, and over the years he worked for a variety of news organizations and magazines, including The Associated Press, The American Magazine, The Snowboard Journal, COLORS, Bene, and Homeland Security Today, as well as a host of others. Baglio’s interests are varied, and his work has exposed him to topics as diverse as Vatican politics, anti-mafia police, the Olympics, and satanic cults. Currently, he lives in Rome with his wife and son. “The Rite” is his first book.

The novel impels the believer and the agnostic to consider the unavoidable presence of the devil in a new way.

In that sense, it belongs to the rare and cherished genre of books capable of changing the reader in one way or another. “The purpose of this book is not to promote any one faith over another, but to offer a detailed account of one priest’s journey from a rational skeptic to a practicing exorcist,” Baglio said. “I didn’t set out to write with any preconceived bias and as such the book is written in a straightforward journalistic style, which means that I give respect to the beliefs and testimonies on all sides, including medical science.”

From the theoretical point of view, it makes sense to believe that, if the existence of a higher good being is postulated, the personification of evil could be perceived by humans in certain circumstances.

“You be careful, Michael; choosing not to believe in the devil will not protect you from him,” says Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) in the movie.

The ultimate question we are all compelled to answer by reading the book is the one used as the title of the movie’s official Web site: “What do you believe?”

AS EVIL SWIRLS IN AND AROUND, PROTECTION AND DELIVERANCE COME THROUGH FASTING

By Michael H. Brown

The other night there was a case on television of a “haunted” home where an evil transpiring was driving a family to distraction — they eventually had to move out — and the part that got my attention was the involvement of a priest. The family had a local cleric come to bless the home, and the blessing did not take.

The “haunting” (I would call it an “infestation,” since it was more demonic) continued.

It was not just the case of an unsettled spirit.

As can happen, those exposed to it had become ill and in the case of one female occupant, possessed.

The priest came once more — this time with a psychic in tow, relying on the psychic to “see” who or what the trouble was. The man envisioned instances of murder many decades before, in the days when the West was being settled. This, it seemed, was a murderous stagecoach stop. Still the haunting continued. The family — bankrupt — fled. In an interview, the mother expressed surprise that the blessing had not worked. The whole episode caused this woman, who was raised Catholic, to believe that all religions have a certain validity, but that they each have only part of the truth.

This week I contemplated of how very much of the Truth the Catholic Church has (more, with all due respect, than any other Church), as well as why that blessing did not work. It was not that Catholicism could not handle the situation, but that its tools — tools of fasting, tools of exorcism — were not fully used. Such happens often everywhere. Many problems have this as a source that is unrecognized. It is a sign of our times that somehow so many priests, religious, and of course congregants have forgotten about exorcism and fasting. But we should know this: fasting elevates us above the physical. It also elevates us above the demonic. It ends “hauntings.” Satan is the “prince” of this world — but not the spiritual one. And so when we fast, we are rising above his torments, we are inoculated, we are with the old Church, and we are buffered with special heavenly protection. I noted that there was no indication that the priest involved with this case, nor anyone else, had fasted. I doubt there was because no evil spirit can stand up to it. Resist the devil and he will flee from faith, prayer, and fasting because he has to.

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/858/Authority_over_Demons.html

By Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio
I’ve read many term papers in my day. Most of them are no more than a patchwork of quotes. That’s because college students are smart enough to know that they really can’t say much on their own authority–to make their case, they have to lean on the authority of others more learned than themselves.
That’s exactly how the scribes and Pharisee’s taught in Jesus’ day. “Rabbi Abraham says this. . . Rabbi Gamaliel says that . . .”
So when a new young rabbi appears in Capernaum, this is what people expect. They are in for a surprise: he quotes no one else except God’s Word. That’s because there is no one more learned than He. In fact, he happens to be God’s Word made flesh.
But he doesn’t just speak to the humble townspeople this way. When he encounters superhuman forces that strike fear into the hearts of men, he is unruffled. There are no incantations; he does not plead. Rather than Jesus being afraid of them, the demons are afraid of him. Upon seeing them, they shriek. He calmly commands–”shut up and get out”. A moment later all is still. A former victim is now a free man and bystanders marvel. Word easily travels fast–little Capernaum happens to be right on a caravan route from Syria to the region of Galilee and beyond.
But isn’t all this talk of demons just a relic of the mythological world view of pre-scientific people? After all, these primitive folks don’t know about mental illness, chemical imbalance, viruses, and bacteria. Surely they just explained what they could not understand in terms of the supernatural.
That sounds very sophisticated, but it’s dead wrong. First of all, demons are not supernatural at all. Super-natural means above and beyond nature or creation–in other words, uncreated and transcendent. Only God qualifies for this label.
St. Thomas called the realm of angels and demons “preternatural” since it escapes the sensory knowledge that we can have of the rest of creation. We human beings were created by God as enfleshed spirits. But divine revelation tells us that God also created pure spiritual beings with the same freedom we have. Those who have chosen to use that freedom to serve God we call “angels” or messengers. Those who used their freedom to defy God are called demons. Pride and envy lead them to hate not only God, but us who are made in God’s image and likeness.
So people in Jesus day had good cause to fear demons–they are hostile and powerful. Plus, their intelligence is superior to ours–note that the demon in the story, unlike the humans, instantly recognized who Jesus was.
OK, the ancients may have attributed too much to demonic influence, but moderns tend to make the opposite error. The existence of the angelic and demonic realm is part of the ordinary teaching of the Church’s Magisterium, clearly reaffirmed clearly by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II. In fact when we say in the Creed that we believe in the Creator of heaven and earth, “of all things visible and invisible,” the invisible things refer precisely to this world.
So why is it important to believe that such creatures exist? Because the first rule of warfare is to know your enemy. Paul tells us clearly in Ephesians 6:12 “Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers . . . the evil spirits.”
Only God has power over this world. Jesus, in commanding the demons, as he later in the Gospel commands the wind and the waves, does only what God can do. Once we are joined to Christ, the enemy has no more authority or power over us. Unless, of course, we give it to him through sin. If we cling to the Lord and listen to him, we have nothing to worry about. If not, we have lots to worry about.

Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio
is a Ph.D. in historical theology from the Catholic University of America. His doctoral dissertation, written under the direction of the renowned Jesuit theologian, Avery Cardinal Dulles, focused on one of the theological lights of the Second Vatican Council, Henri Cardinal de Lubac, and his recovery of biblical interpretation of the early Church fathers.

SATAN AND THE SAINT

http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/colson_satan_aug2005.asp

By Carl E. Olson
Imagine a saint – a priest – so dedicated to God that he often went days without eating, and when he did eat, it was a boiled potato or a piece of hard bread.
Although many considered him unfit for the priesthood, he revived the crushed faith of an impoverished village and often spent eighteen hours a day hearing confessions, often sleeping only an hour or two each night.
As the reputation of this holy man of God spread, pilgrims began to seek him out, sometimes waiting days for him to hear their confession, heal their illnesses, and speak directly to their deepest needs. But not everyone was so pleased. This priest began to be attacked, sometimes physically and, at other times, emotionally and psychologically. He was verbally mocked, scorned, and abused. At night he was subjected to loud and violent noises for hours on end. He was pulled from bed in the middle of the night and, on one occasion, his bed was set on fire.
Despite this constant abuse, the priest never called the police or requested security. It wouldn’t have mattered, for the abuse and taunts did not come from another human, but from Satan. The priest, of course, was St. John Vianney (1786-1859), the Curé of Ars, whose feast is celebrated August 4.
Although rightly renowned for his holiness, asceticism, and spiritual insight, the Curé of Ars was also remarkable for his courage and steadiness in the face of the Devil. For some thirty-five years (1824-1858) Satan assaulted the Saint in a nearly endless number of ways, seeking to break the will and resolve of the great man of God: making harrowing noises, singing in a wicked voice, meowing like a cat, or shouting, “Vianney! Vianney! Potato eater!”

Living being or scary symbol?
Many people today would believe St. John Vianney’s struggles with Satan to simply be the result of psychological problems that weren’t understood or properly identified in his day. They would explain that in a less scientific age people often attributed behaviors they didn’t understand to the work of the devil, but now we can treat many such illnesses with proper medication and therapy. Behavior that once was deemed demonic or caused by spiritual oppression can be explained by science and psychology, as newspapers, magazines, and television programs instruct us on a regular basis.
While it’s not surprising that non-Christians or non-religious people might make such assessments, there’s evidence that more and more Christians are rejecting the ancient belief that Satan is a real, living being.
In his 1991 book, What Americans Believe (Regal Books; page 26), Evangelical pollster George Barna reported that a survey of 1005 Americans found that 60% of respondents, regardless of religious affiliation, believed that Satan was “only a symbol of evil,” while 35% believed he is “a living being.” Just over half of the respondents who described themselves as “born again Christians” believed Satan is a living being, while only 26% of Catholics agreed, with almost 7 out of10 Catholics saying Satan is only a symbol of evil.
In December 1993, Time magazine featured a story and an opinion poll on angels. The poll revealed that 69% of respondents believed in the existence of angels, but only 49% believed in the existence of fallen “angels or devils.” Two years later, in 1995, another Barna survey revealed that about 58% of American adults believed that Satan is “not a living being but is a symbol of evil.”
And, finally, an October 2002 study by the Barna Group (“Americans Draw Theological Beliefs From Diverse Points of View“) found that 59% of Americans reject the existence of Satan, instead believing he is merely a symbol of evil. The study stated: “Catholics are much more likely than Protestants to hold this view – 75% compared to 55% – although a majority of both groups concur that Satan is symbolic.” The study also noted that the rejection of Satan’s existence apparently conflicted with the fact that 54% of respondents believed that “a human being can be under the control or the influence of spiritual forces such as demons.” The religious group with the highest percentage (59%) of members who believe that Satan is a living entity was Mormon. The group with the lowest percentage, at 17%, was Catholic.
For some people, the path from denying Satan is a living being to denying his existence in any form – even an impersonal and abstract one – is a short one. As many have noted, this is probably how Satan would prefer it. The French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) is credited with the saying that “the Devil’s cleverest wile is to convince us that he does not exist.” In his book, The Eternal Galilean, Archbishop Fulton Sheen warned readers: “Do not mock the Gospels and say there is no Satan. Evil is too real in the world to say that. Do not say the idea of Satan is dead and gone. Satan never gains so many cohorts as when, in his shrewdness, he spreads the rumor that he is long since dead.”
Even though there are priests, catechists, and Catholic educators who may never speak of Satan and who – either directly or indirectly – apparently deny his existence, Satan is not dead, nor has the Church demoted him to a vague, impersonal force. While a growing number of people, including an alarming number of Catholics, are being convinced (or have convinced themselves) that the Devil is just a figment of primitive imaginations, the Church’s teachings today about him are just as robust and clear as ever.

For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church contains numerous references to Satan, or the Devil, explaining that he was originally a good angel who rebelled against God (CCC 391), he is a creature of pure spirit who is powerful but not infinite (CCC 395), and that his goal is to destroy man by turning him against God (CCC 414). Especially striking is the Catechism’s explanation that the petition “Deliver us from evil” in the Our Father does not refer to evil as “an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God.
The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who “throws himself across’ God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ” (CCC 2851). So even those who deny the personal, creaturely nature of Satan unwittingly acknowledge it whenever they recite the Our Father.

The names and the fall of Satan

In a general audience titled “Confronting the Devil’s power,” (November 15, 1972) Pope Paul VI said that it is a departure from “biblical Church teaching to refuse to knowledge the Devil’s existence; to regard him as a self-sustaining principle who, unlike other creatures, does not owe his origin to God; or to explain the Devil as a pseudo-reality, a conceptual, fanciful personification of the unknown causes of our misfortunes.” Here are expressed three major truths about Satan, all of them found in the Bible: the Devil exists, he is a creature who was created by God, and he is very real.
The name Satan appears numerous times in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary, or to someone who plots opposition to another. It is used several times in the Old Testament to describe the work of both human and heavenly beings sent to stop, or oppose, the actions of a wrongdoer and to act as an agent of judgment on behalf of God. Eventually, in the decades immediately prior to the time of Christ, the word began to be used as a proper name – Satan – for a heavenly creature who is in complete opposition to God and who seeks to ruin His work. In Jewish apocryphal writings he is understood to be the prince of evil spirits whose expulsion from heaven was due to his refusal to recognize man as the image of God (cf. Genesis 1:26-27).
Throughout the New Testament he is referred to by many other names, including Beelzebul (Mark 3:22; Matthew 10:25; 12: 24), Belial/Beliar (2 Corinthians 6:15), the evil one (Matthew 13:19; John 17:15; 1 John 5:18, 19), the enemy (Matthew 13:25, 28, 29; Luke 10:19), the ruler of the demons (Mark 3:22), the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30), the great dragon (Revelation 12:9), the serpent, or serpent of old (2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9, 14, 14; 20:2), and the tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). And, of course, he is called “the Devil” (Matthew 4:1; 25:41; Luke 4:2; John 13:2; Acts 10:38), which derives from the Greek word diabolos (Latin, diabolus), which means “slanderer” or “accuser.”

Satan, like all creatures, was created by God – and created naturally good. He was an angel, a being of pure spirit created for the glory of God and do the Creator’s work. But something went horribly wrong with Satan and some of the other angels. Possessing free will, they chose to rebel against their Maker. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) stated that although they were created “good according to their nature” by God, they fell from heaven because “they made themselves evil by their own doing.” As the Catechism notes, this action, God’s allowance of it, and the resulting evil are a “great mystery” (CCC 395). Quoting St. John Damascene, the Catechism also explains that this sin of Satan and his angels is unforgivable, having a permanent and irrevocable character (CCC 393).
This mysterious, cosmic event is referred to in passing in 2 Peter, which mentions the angels who had sinned (v. 4; cf. Matthew 25:41; Job 4:18) and John’s first epistle, which states that “the devil has sinned from the beginning” (1 Jn 3:8). The twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation describes the tail of “the great red dragon” sweeping away “a third of the stars of heaven” (vs. 3-4), commonly understood to refer to the fall of Satan and his angels. The same chapter also describes a war in heaven between those fallen beings and the archangel Michael and his angels:
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)
That scene from the final book of the Bible serves as a bookend of sorts with the first mention of “the serpent” in Genesis 3 and the well-known story of the temptation in the Garden of Eden and the subsequent Fall.
The serpent, described as the most cunning of the animals (Genesis 3:1) tempts Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which she eventually does. Some biblical scholars doubt the author of Genesis had Satan in mind when he wrote about the serpent. However, in the ancient Near East the serpent was often believed to be a cosmic figure who is identified with a monster of chaos and who represents the powers of evil and darkness. In later Jewish thought the serpent of Genesis 3 became identified with Satan, either as a symbol of Satan or as his mouthpiece (cf. Wisdom 2:24).
That identification is also explicit in the New Testament, especially in Revelation 12, which identifies the dragon as “the ancient serpent,” the Devil, and Satan.

Jesus described the devil as being “a murderer from the beginning” and “a liar, and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44) and St. Paul writes of the serpent who “deceived Eve by his cunning” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Likewise, the Catechism explains that behind the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden “lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called ‘Satan’ or the ‘devil’.” (CCC 391)

The witness of the New Testament

If ever there was a person who believed in the existence of Satan, it was Jesus. It is easy to forget, especially since it isn’t mentioned often these days, that Jesus understood that Satan is the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), a murderer, a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44). In fact, Jesus plainly stated that a key aspect of the salvation He offered the world involved the destruction of Satan’s power in the world:
Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show by what death he was to die. (John 12:31-33; cf. John 16:11; 1 John 3:8)
To that end, Jesus often cured people suffering from demonic possession (Matthew 9:33; 17:18; Mark 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-35; Luke 9:38-42), demonstrating His power over evil and the “prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34; 12:24; cf. Ephesians 2:2). And while Satan is not the focus of the Gospel, there were important moments in Jesus’ ministry when He either spoke of Satan or to Satan.
The Catechism points out that the Evil One, the ruler of this world, has “mendaciously attributed to himself the three titles of kingship, power, and glory” (CCC 2855). Satan wants to rule all things, to have power everywhere and over everything, and steal and destroy the glory of all that exists.
This is dramatically shown in Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13; CCC 540), which inaugurated Jesus’ public ministry. Satan tempted Jesus to show His power by turning stones into bread. He tempted Jesus to reveal His heavenly glory by throwing Himself from the top of the Temple and having angels carry Him to safety. And the Evil One offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He will fall down and worship him. However, Jesus knew that His kingdom could only be established through suffering and death. He understood that true power comes through love and sacrifice, not fear and arrogance. And He knew that His glorified body would result from rising from the grave, not by avoiding it. These temptations echo the temptations that Adam and the people of Israel underwent. But while they failed to resist the work of Satan, Jesus is victorious over the tempter (CCC 538-540).
Jesus’ rejection of Satan’s temptations showed the heart of the Messiah who was intent on establishing His Kingdom. But Jesus’ also knew that His Church and the Kingdom would come under severe attack from Satan and his angels. He told St. Peter that the powers of hell would seek to destroy the Church but would not prevail (Matt 16:18). He also told the chief apostle, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31), indicating some of the hardships the apostles would have to endure. While St. Peter denies Jesus, he repents of his sin; Judas, on the other hand, is seduced by Satan and betrays Jesus (John 13:2, 27).
The apostles also recognized the reality and power of Satan – and of the Savior’s victory over him. St. Paul mentions Satan in several of his epistles, often in the context of temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 2:11) and spiritual conflict (Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:27; 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:18). He draws a careful distinction between Satan’s ability to tempt and man’s free will to reject or accept the temptation. In other words, the apostle does not confuse Satan and sin. Satan wants us to sin, but we choose sin on our own, using our free will. St. James makes the same point when he writes, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Vivid descriptions of Satan include “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and “the great red dragon” with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 12:3-17).
Finally, the Bible says a few words about the fate awaiting Satan. Just before His arrest, Jesus tells his disciples that the Devil and his angels are destined for “eternal fire” that has been prepared for them (Matthew 25:41). And at the end of time, after being allowed to test the faithful for a time (Revelation 20:7), Satan will be “thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10; cf. CCC 677).

The work of Satan today

In 1972 Evangelical author Hal Lindsey wrote a book titled Satan Is Alive and Well On Planet Earth. It was full of descriptions of occult activities, bizarre behavior, debauchery, and paranormal activity, all intended to convince readers that Satan is even more active and successful than ever before. On one hand, such a book helps people to recognize that Satan is alive, he is active, and he does seek to destroy lives in a multitude of ways. On the other hand, such sensationalism can lead to an imbalanced view of Satan, even to a dangerous preoccupation.

There are much better guides for Christians looking to learn more about Satan without losing perspective. One such work is “Christian Faith and Demonology,” (June 26, 1975) found in Vatican II: More Post Conciliar Documents (Vatican Collection, Volume 2), edited by Austin Flannery, O.P. (The Liturgical Press, 1982). It provides a helpful list of truths to consider when it comes to the reality and work of Satan in the world today. They include:
– SATAN AND DEMONS DO EXIST, THEY ARE REAL, AND THEY ARE CREATED BEINGS.

This is the clear and consistent teaching of the Church and to deny it is to actually call into question the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and his consciousness and understanding of Satan, evil, and sin. Be humble in the face of the mystery of evil and pursue a life of holiness, including the rejection of Satan and all of his ways, by God’s grace.
– MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EVIL HE COMMITS.

The Church does not allow us to say, “The devil made me do it!” Man has free will and liberty; he is also able to call upon God, who is far more powerful than Satan can ever dream of being.
– HAVE A CRITICAL AND PRUDENT ATTITUDE ABOUT CLAIMS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION.

Demonic activity is real and there are people who suffer from demonic infestation and even possession. But don’t be taken in by sensational reports that might be inaccurate or poorly communicated. Discernment comes from knowing what the Church teaches about demonic activity and from careful investigation of claims.
– MODERN MAN IS OFTEN NAÏVE ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL.

He can also be incredibly arrogant in his denial of things that cannot be explained by science or reason alone. Again, humility is essential. Let Scripture and the teachings of the Church be your guide.
– NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH.

Satan desires to destroy man and he is deadly serious in his ceaseless quest to do so. Through faith in God, we can resist Satan. It’s true that he can tempt us and that he looks for opportunities to cause us to sin. But though he can tempt us, Satan cannot force us to sin. And by faith we can have assurance about his end and the triumph that God grants over him.
– EVIL IS A MYSTERY.

The culture often doubts evil and acts as though evil, if it does exist, is a vague, impersonal force. Yet the culture is also fascinated by evil, as the success of horror films, literature about Satan and demonic possession, and endless newscasts about evil acts (kidnappings, murders, violent crime, etc.) indicates. We must work to show that the mystery of evil should not attract us, but repulse us. The challenge is to show that the Cross is about true life and victory, while acts of evil are indicative of death and defeat.
RESIST THE DEVIL!
It is said that the Devil told St. John Vianney, “If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom would be ruined.” The Saint, for his part, developed a remarkable sense of humor about the supernatural assaults, saying, “Oh! the grappin” – his nickname for the Devil – “and myself? We are almost chums.”
It’s not likely that we’ll ever have to struggle with Satan the way St. John Vianney did, but we should be familiar with who he is and what he does – and why he must be resisted. That begins with acknowledging that he exists and that he wants to destroy us. It means knowing that although he is powerful, Satan is limited and he is already defeated (CCC 2852, 2864). Imagine a person so dedicated to God that he becomes likes St. John Vianney. That saint could be you.
This article was originally published in a slightly different form in the July 31, 2005 issue of Our Sunday Visitor.
CARL E. OLSON is the co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code and author of Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”? He has written for numerous Catholic periodicals and is a regular contributor to National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor newspapers.

The Exorcist

http://www.messengersaintanthony.com/messaggero/pagina_articolo.asp?IDX=174IDRX=56

By Renzo Allegri

An exclusive interview with the Church’s leading exorcist and honorary president-for-life of the International Association of Exorcists

Father Gabriele Amorth is the leader of Rome’s six exorcists. He is also the most famous Catholic exorcist in the world. People come to see him from all round the world to ask for help in defeating satanic oppression, in other words, to combat the Devil in all his various activities against mankind.

He is 78 years old and belongs to the Society of St. Paul, the Congregation founded by James Alberione in 1914, known for his intense activity in mass communication. Fr. Gabriele too, for many years, was involved in mass media, and edited the magazine, Mother of God. As well as a theology degree, Fr. Gabriele has also graduated in law. Having written many books and essays about the Virgin Mary, he has acquired the title of expert in Mariology has been nominated member of the Pontifical International Marian Academy. But since having been entrusted with the role of exorcist in the diocese of Rome, his time has been completely consumed by his new ministry.

These days he is considered the world’s leading expert on problems concerning Satan and his evil activity against mankind. He is the ‘doctor’ par excellence for illnesses caused by evil, the ‘surgeon’ who knows how to root them out, fight and prevent them.

‘I would never have thought I’d be asked by the Church to carry out such a difficult mission,’ he recently declared when I met him for this interview. ‘Cardinal Ugo Poletti sent me the mandate when he was vicar of the diocese of Rome and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI). Luckily, at the beginning, I was the helper of one of the greatest exorcists that ever existed, Fr. Candido Amantini, a holy man whose cause for beatification is about to be opened. He was an exorcist in Rome for 36 years and was an incredible teacher.’

It is difficult to arrange a meeting with Fr. Amorth especially as he never has a moment free. For this interview he managed to spare a few hours one Thursday morning, but even during our conversation, he received telephone calls from people all over the world who were in need of him. ‘It is incredible,’ he says, ‘to see how many people look for an exorcist, and unfortunately there are few priests who are able to help them. For several centuries, the Church has overlooked the ministry of exorcism.’

He speaks with determination. His faith is unwavering, based on the Scripture and on the teachings of the Church. He reveals a deep knowledge of the subjects he discusses, extensive experience sustained by numerous case histories. ‘I think I must have carried out over 70,000 exorcisms in my lifetime. The problems I am called to deal with every day concern people who are suffering physically, psychologically and spiritually. These problems are caused by the Devil. At times they are so serious they lead a person to suicide or death. Faced with many priests who reveal themselves to be sceptical, indifferent or who consider these problems to be the fruit of imagination or obsession, I get very angry.’

But are there really priests who are sceptical about this topic?

‘Many if not lots! Contemporary religious culture, while not negating the existence of Satan and the other rebellious angels, is inclined to diminish their influence over people. Discrediting this influence is almost compulsory and is considered a sign of wisdom. This mentality, which is completely wrong, is commonplace not only among lay people, but also among priests, theologians and even bishops, the practical consequences of which are far-reaching.’

On what basis do you judge this mentality to be ‘completely wrong’?

‘On the basis of the Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Fathers, the Councils, and the tradition of the Church. Since the very beginning, the Church has taught that evil, pain, sin, death and hell are not works of God. They are works of Satan. God created everything to be ‘good’. Satan was the most perfect of all angels, but he rebelled against God and became his enemy. Satan corrupted Adam, introducing him to sin and the world of evil, death, pain and illness. God, to repair the break caused by Adam’s sin, sent His only Son Jesus to earth to redeem mankind through His passion, death and resurrection. But the battle continues. Mortal beings, during their experience on the earth, are blessed with freedom. They can choose between good and evil, between God and Satan. Jesus, while He was on the earth, indicated the path towards salvation, and He set up the basis of an organisation, His Church, which is the sure guide towards the eternal Kingdom, and defence against Satan’s attacks. The experience of every person, in his/her spatial-temporal dimension, is a test, a battle, a challenge in order to reach eternal life. Jesus works through His Church, Satan through his empire of evil. Ignoring these simple truths means not having a true awareness. Unfortunately, Christians no longer believe in these things these days. There is a harmful tendency to remove Satan and the other spirits of evil. But in this way, their power is only increased. This is perhaps why, in this day and age, Satan is so powerful and his influence over mankind is so great.’

Some theologians, when they quote the Gospel and Scripture concerning Satan, declare that these are themes which need to be interpreted.

‘See! Even you have discovered how many theologians claim to ‘interpret’ Sacred Scripture about this stinging issue. The reality is too serious, harsh and terrible to be accepted to the letter and so for this reason they turn to ‘interpretations’. Interpretations which are wrong and which go against the Gospel. The existence of the Devil and his wicked influence on people is an indisputable fact of the Church. St. John clearly wrote in his Gospel that Christ descended from Heaven and became man to destroy the work of the Devil. Jesus’ entire life was devoted to this aim. There are numerous concrete examples. The Fathers of the Church have always taught this truth without hesitation. Only in the last few centuries has this doctrine lost its strength: not because of the Church’s teaching, but because of some theologians. Officially, the Church has always affirmed the existence of Satan and his negative influence, but in practice, the clergy have been influenced by theories which question the existence of Satan. Some time ago, a researcher carried out an enquiry among Catholic priests, and the results showed that two thirds accepted, in theory, traditional doctrine about the Devil, but that they rejected the practical consequences. And yet on 29 June 1972, Pope Paul VI explicitly addressed the topic of Satan during Mass at St. Peter’s. He called him ‘the enemy of mankind’ ‘preternatural being’ and accused him of wanting to destroy the fruits of the Council. The reactions of the lay world and of Modernist theologians were violent, but they didn’t intimidate the Pope who on 15 November of the same year returned to the topic clarifying that ‘Satan is enemy number one, he is the tempter par
excellence.

We know that this dark and disturbing being exists for real and acts… he is the sophistic tempter of mankind’s moral equilibrium…’ At the end of his long speech, the Pope categorically stated: ‘Whoever refuses to recognise the reality of the Devil rejects biblical and ecclesiastical teaching.’ There are no doubts of any kind: denying the existence of the Devil destroys Christ’s Redemption. Whoever does not believe in the existence of the Devil, does not believe in the Gospel or in the Church.’

You are the Church’s leading exorcist. How did you begin this activity?

‘By chance. For many years, I carried out my normal role as priest, hearing confessions, preaching, saying Mass, administering the Sacraments and above all, writing books and articles in the spirit of us followers of St. Paul. The Devil and exorcisms only interested me from a theoretical point of view.

‘I was good friends with Cardinal Ugo Poletti former vicar general of Rome. One day, in June 1986, I went to see him and while we were chatting it came out that I knew Fr. Candido Amantini. ‘You know Fr. Candido?’ asked the cardinal. ‘That priest is in need of help because he is very ill, you should help him.’ He began writing on headed paper. I realised that he was assigning me to the role of assistant exorcist and I began to protest. ‘No, I can’t, you know that I’m a rascal, I’m only good at telling jokes and playing pranks’ but to no avail. I left the Cardinal with the role of assistant exorcist to Fr. Candido, and that is how it all began.’

Were you scared of the Devil?

‘Of course, but I also knew that Jesus had beaten Satan and the Virgin had crushed him. So I put myself under the protection of both Jesus and Mary. ‘Wrap me in your cloak,’ I said to the Virgin, ‘and I will always feel safe.’ And in fact, over the years I have performed over 70,000 exorcisms and nothing has ever happened to me.’

What were your first experiences like?

‘There was no time to savour experiences. There was a lot of work to do since Fr. Candido was in poor health. Actually, the most interesting experience was working with him. Each day was a surprise and a new lesson. By his side, I realised that books were pretty useless. Experience is what counts, especially concerning such delicate topics. It is as if a young doctor who had just graduated were given a book on surgery which would explain to him how to carry out open heart surgery. Fr. Candido, with his 36 years of experience, was an incomparable teacher.

‘I realised straight away how important exorcisms were for people suffering from cruel afflictions. And at the same time I realised that these people were overlooked, abandoned and often left to deal with their problems by themselves because of a lack of exorcists. I realised that many bishops and priests didn’t believe that the Devil could cause disease and other physical disturbances in people and, when asked for help, they recommend doctors or psychoanalysts. So I told myself that I needed to inform people and thus I began writing, giving interviews, and participating in TV and radio debates, rousing immense interest. I wrote three books: the first is called An exorcist tells his story (Ignatius Press), and it has been translated in thirteen different languages. The English version is already in its ninth edition. I then wrote New tales by an exorcist (Ignatius Press) and recently Exorcists and Psychiatry (Edizioni Dehonomiane) which still needs to be translated into English.

This popularising activity of mine has helped stir up debate and the indifference and scepticism of certain bishops too. There used to be dioceses without even an exorcist. The situation has now improved considerably.’

What physical troubles can the Devil cause?

‘Various types, ranging from actual bodily possession, to torments, illnesses and possession of your home. Demon-possessed people, that is, those whose body has ‘physically’ been invaded by satanic spirits, are very rare. But there are many people who are disturbed or oppressed by Satan.’

And exorcisms can overcome these troubles?

‘Exorcism is a medicine, a special help. Jesus said to all believers ‘In My name they will cast out demons…’ (Mark 16:17). This power which Jesus gave to all His believers is completely valid. It is a power based on faith and prayer, which everyone can use in their daily lives. But this is only concerning normal cases, daily temptations and minor satanic problems. When Satan, for particular reasons, decides to target a person and take over his/her body, tormenting the possessed one trying to destroy him/her, then a powerful intervention is needed. The Church has established a rite especially for this very aim: exorcism. This involves a special prayer which is carried out in the name of the Church itself, by people entrusted with this role. This is why exorcisms must be carried out exclusively by bishops or priests who have been especially appointed by their diocesan bishop. Lay people can never carry out exorcisms. The results are nearly always positive, and at times, sensational. However, it is essential to have faith, pray a lot and, in certain cases, years may pass before a person is completely freed from demonic possession.’

You mentioned that the Devil can also cause illness?

‘Exactly. The Devil has the power to cause physical and mental illnesses. There have been numerous cases in which I have met people who had spent a fortune going from one specialist to another in an attempt to relieve their suffering. Yet, their doctors, having carried out all sorts of tests, including the most sophisticated, were unable to find anything wrong. And yet these people continued to suffer and feel themselves slowly dying. Such disorders are thus mysterious, but real, causing these people to lose weight, reducing them to skin and bones and making them often bed-ridden.

In such cases, it is possible that the Devil has a hand in it, and thus only prayer and exorcism can produce useful results. I have seen people at death’s door suffering from illnesses unknown to modern medicine who have recovered thanks to the help of exorcisms.’

Who can catch Satan’s eye?

‘Anyone. I have had cases involving people from all walks of life: simple people, housewives, but also professors, doctors and politicians, lay people as well as priests and nuns. It is important to specify that demonic possession and obsession involves the body. Satan can affect someone’s body, but never their soul. He can only become the master of someone’s soul if that person hands it over to him by his/her own free will. Thus anyone can end up in Satan’s grip. There have even been saints who have been seriously disturbed by Satan’s force.’

How can we defend ourselves against the Devil?

‘Above all, by leading a healthy life, devoted to God. Satan is God’s enemy. God is our Father, a loving Father. Those who stick to God through prayer and a life based on justice and truth, through the guidance of the Virgin Mary, the saints and their guardian angels, put themselves in a protected position. Even if, as I have already said, there are incidences of good and holy people who, for God’s mysterious reasons, are put to the test. However whoever lives in indifference, in absent-mindedness, far from God, is open to an easy satanic conquest. Worse still are those who look for experiences beyond the limit and seek out the satanic world. In these cases, it is practically impossible to avoid ending up in the Devil’s clutches.’

What do you mean by ‘experiences beyond the limit’?

‘I refer to those who deliberately seek out the Devil by joining Satanic sects. They are secret groups which are difficult to pinpoint but which exist and operate. They are well-organised, they have meeting places, priests and rites which finish in so-called ‘Black Masses’. Every now and then, you read in the papers that tabernacles have been vandalised and consecrated hosts stolen: acts carried out by worshippers of Satan for their ‘Black Masses’.

Have you ever met anyone who has taken part in these satanic sects?

‘Some. Not many however, because whoever enters these sects finds it hard to get out.’

Why would someone choose to be a follower of Satan?

‘Usually for very base reasons. In order to have immediate benefits, for example: money, pleasure, success and power. They tie themselves to Satan with real blood pacts. I have seen many of these pacts, because when someone tries to escape this situation, he or she brings me the written ‘document’ and we burn it together. These pacts usually read: ‘Satan, you are my god, I give myself to you, I want to be yours for all eternity, I adore you.”

Do these people who tie themselves to Satan obtain the favours they ask?

‘Satan is a liar and a cheat. At the beginning he ensures his followers obtain all they wish for, but then he destroys all of his followers because as the Bible says, he ‘is homicide from the beginning.”

You describe a dramatic image…

‘I’d be a liar if I said the situation was any different. We must have a clear vision of the reality of our lives. Our experience on earth is a test, a battle to reach eternal life. The Church was instituted by Jesus to help people in their struggle against evil. But if the people of the Church, deputies there to help mankind, do not unite themselves with determination against Satan and fight tooth and nail to save their brothers and sisters, then Satan is free to create havoc and destruction with impunity. Satan’s biggest triumph is mankind’s conviction that he doesn’t exist.’

Thirty years ago, the notorious film The Exorcist was released. What do you think of this film?

It’s one of my favourite films! Of course, the special effects are exaggerated, but it is a good film, and substantially exact, based on a respectable novel which is mirrored on a true story. I recommend it. People need to know what we do.’

Demonic Possession in the modern world

http://www.phantasmpsiresearch.com/Demonic.htm

The idea of a malevolent diabolical force having power over the physical body sounds almost medieval in nature when put in perspective with our modern age world, but in reality it does occur in modern times all to often. With items such as the Ouija boards and other occult type paraphernalia becoming more and more accessible, many people young and old and from all walks of life are getting involved with the subject which was not so easily accessed in the past as it is now. With this accessibility one can only imagine what the future will bring for these unfortunate souls, who unknowingly put themselves in harms way of a force that they do not realize cannot be controlled and will ultimately control them in the end.

Psychological viewpoint

There are many types of mental and physical anomalies that can resemble demonic possession. For that reason it is always standard procedure prior to exorcism to have a medical and psychological evaluation performed on the person affected.

This evaluation would be done by a medical doctor and psychiatrist, to rule out any possibility of physical or mental conditions or anomalies that may have been over looked in the questioning prior. The risk of not knowing that someone suffers from an MPD (multiple personality disorder), a schizophrenic problem or some other mental or physical ailment is extremely dangerous for everyone involved, especially the client. Caution is always to be practiced, even if exorcism is not an option for the person at that particular time.

Obsession, oppression and possession

Evil spirits operate in different ways. A particular form is diabolical obsession. This the first initial contact between victim and the demonic where in the demon will gain a stronghold through recognition given it by the victim. But diabolical obsession is not the primary way the demon exerts its influence.

Oppression has sensational features in which the demon in a certain ways takes over the physical powers of the person. However, the demon cannot control the person’s free will and thus cannot cause the person to sin. Nevertheless, the physical violence and dehumanization that the demon exerts over the obsessed person is an inducement to sin, and this is what the demon seeks for absolute and total possession of this poor individual of whom we speak.

In the evaluation of a person who claims to be possessed certain criteria have to be met. The person has to show at least some signs of possession as it is written in the (cf. Code of cannon law 1172). The ritual of exorcism indicates various criteria and signs which allow us to reach with prudent conviction that we are dealing with diabolical possession.

These following signs are a guide for the person doing the evaluation:

Manifestations of the demonic in the possessed

(1) Extraordinary strength, male or female.

(2) The knowledge of hidden things.

(3) Levitation and or bilocation of person.

(4) Physical anomalies such as burns, cuts or bruises.

(5) Speaking in languages not known to person.

(6) Extreme aversion to God, saints or holy objects.

These are only a few of the outward manifestations of demonic possession. There are dozens more which are taken into account before a final diagnosis is reached. It is only then that the authorized exorcist, with the permission of the bishop, can perform the solemn rite of exorcism. This process may take up to a few weeks or a few months depending on the case and on how many times these rites need to be prescribed.

Possession according to the degree

Possession of the first degree:

Mysteriously, the demon can sometimes invade the psyche of a human being, taking the control of his or her body and his or her intentions. The phenomenon lasts until he or she is not annulled by the exorcism, or for established periods previously. In this degree of possession the demon is latent; he or she limits him to alter the attitudes of the possessed one. By his or her reactions to the sacred, it instills in them feelings of desperation and depression.

Possession of the second degree:

At this degree changes of voice manifest in the possessed, also preternatural phenomenon such as glossolalia, levitation and pirocinesi (power to set on fire distance objects) may occur. Holy water also can produce sores on the body of the possessed.

Possession of the third degree:

To this degree the malignant spirit (or spirits) have taken such dominion over the person as to even alter horribly his or her somatic lines (relating to bodily changes) his or her odor, and temperature. This is the most arduous case, and it usually requires numerous exorcisms for the definitive liberation. In effect, the difference among the last three gradations is only a fine line; the range between one degree to the other is without imperceptible change.

Maleficia

(Maleficio) of occult practices to intentionally cause malignancy, injury and or possession.

Anytime a case is to be evaluated for further treatment and a psychological problem has already been ruled out, the person evaluating the victim has to take into consideration the possibility of malice from a physical source intent to induce spiritual, psychological or physical malignancy.

Various types

According to the purpose

Amatory: To favor destroying a relationship of love between two people.

Poisonous: By some physical evil, socially, economically or in personal relationships.

Ligament: To create impediments to the movements or to the relationship of things.

Transference: Transferring: to a person the torments done to a doll or to a photo, etc.

Putrefaction: By inferring deadly evil or inducing a subject material to putrefaction.

Possession: To introduce a diabolic presence in the victim and to indirectly cause possession.

According to the way:

Directly: Contact with the victim through a physical object (for instance, making someone eat or drink something “maleficiato” or “invoiced”).

Indirect: Acting through the finished malefic action on an object that represents the victim (Ex: Curse doll).

According to the operation:

For fracture: With pins, nails, hammer, stung, fire, ice, etc.

For knotting or binding: With drawstrings, knots, bridles, ribbons, bands, etc.

For putrefaction: Burying the object or the animal-symbol after having it “invoiced”

For curse: Directly on the person or on photo, or on a symbol of it.

For destruction with the fire: The practice of burning an object on which the essence of of the victim is transferred (animism), ideally to get, in this, a form of malfice through consumption more so relating to that of “putrefaction” mentioned already in the above.

For satanic rite: A black mass, done for the purpose to harm someone.

According to the means:

With invoices: (Ex: pins, bones of corpses, blood, menstrual blood, animal parts etc).

With objects malefic: (Ex: (gifts) pillows, dolls, clocks, talisman, painting, letter, etc).

Reiki- A Catholic Perspective
A CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL REPORT

http://www.in-unity.org/InUnity_introduction.htm

http://in-unity.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=1
EXTRACT

Evil Spirits
I don’t believe that most Reiki practitioners set out to deliberately use evil spirits. Many don’t believe in the existence of evil spirits, while those who are practicing Christians believe they have protection from these spirits, simply by invoking the name of Jesus. But not believing in something doesn’t make it cease to exist and being a disciple of Jesus Christ also means being obedient to our Heavenly Father.

New Age practices and beliefs … including Reiki … take us into realms forbidden by God.
– It suggests that we can safely open ourselves to occult powers.
– It holds out the promise of occult knowledge.
– It seeks to manipulate occult forces.
– It claims spirit guides.
– It suggests that we have the power within ourselves to become godlike.
– It contradicts the Christian (and indeed the Jewish and Islamic) concept of God the Father.
– It is happy to deny Jesus Christ and some suggest He was nothing more than a Reiki Master.
– It relegates the Holy Spirit to nothing more than an animating force.
– It denies the need for Redemption and offers a panacea to all the problems caused by sin.
– It uses signs and symbols, as if these have power in themselves.
Let’s look at what the Catholic Catechism has to say on this (italics mine):

III. “YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME”
2110 The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.
Superstition
2111 Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary.

To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition.41
Idolatry
2112 The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of “idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.”

These empty idols make their worshippers empty: “Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them.”42 God, however, is the “living God”43 who gives life and intervenes in history.
2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divining what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.”44 Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast”45 refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.46
2114 Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man’s innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who “transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God.”47
Divination and magic
2115
God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117
All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

The Catechism is just reiterating what has been revealed in the Bible, concerning the use of occult methods and powers. Put simply, we owe all our allegiance and worship to the one, true God. We are not permitted to call upon occult powers under any circumstance, not even in order to do good. Yet we see that Reiki does precisely this. When, acting in our human spirit, we disobey God, we are sinning, and God will not bless our sins. If we seek other spirits that are not of God (nothing that God sends will prompt disobedience to Him) then we are seeking the help of evil spirits. Period!

But are there really powers and spirits that are not of God?

Are There Really Powers And Spirits That Are Ungodly?

One of the problems of our times is that we have lost any sense of the presence and operation of evil spirits and powers that run contrary to God’s plan, yet this is not what the Bible tells us. There are countless references throughout the Old Testament, to the existence of “unclean” spirits as well as commands to avoid all those who seek to contact them or use their powers.
Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God. (Leviticus 19:31)

The New Testament likewise warns us that there are other spirits at work that are dangerous to us.
Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
And
St. Paul tells us clearly: ….our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12)

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

Today, even many good Catholics see these things as figments of overly-active imaginations, something belonging to medieval times, yet the Church has recently reiterated and underlined the truth of the existence of demons and their resultant spirits. It has, once again, brought their activity out into the light and seeks to address what is perceived as a growing need for deliverance and, in more serious cases, formal exorcism.

In 1998, Pope John Paul II addressed the role of Jesus as exorcist. According to a Zenit report:

The Pope’s message cast light on a very important, but often neglected ministry: that of the exorcist. This is not the macabre role seen in the movies, but, as the Pope explained, a putting into action of the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat the power of the Devil.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, exorcist for the diocese of Rome, announced several months ago that the role of the exorcist was in crisis. “The reduction of numbers of exorcists is leading many people to seek out ‘wizards,’ Satanic sects, and unscrupulous phonies who simply use others experiencing truly traumatic experiences for their own gain.”

Fr. Amorth pointed out how this phenomenon may indicate that Christians have stopped believing in the “Prince of this world.” The exorcist affirmed that “in the academic preparation of priests, demons have already gone out of existence,” since “for decades this part of dogmatic theology hasn’t been studied in the seminaries and ecclesial universities.” Modern theologians have tried to make the exorcisms in the Bible into mere “cultural language” to symbolize the struggle against evil, using the language of the day.
The Pope‘s speech comes almost as a response to these statements. He confirmed the Church’s tradition on the matter of exorcism, saying, “The three synoptic Gospels stress how, just after His baptism, Jesus was ‘taken by the Holy Spirit to the desert ‘to be tempted by Satan’.” The Pontiff recalled how Jesus’ work as exorcist lasted throughout His whole life. “With Jesus,” he added, “the Devil lost his power in the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

PetersNet has an interview with Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez* on the topic of exorcism and in 1999, the Church published a document, called “De Exorcismus Et Supplicationibus Quibusdam,” to address current needs and to apply strict guidelines.

*See pages 8 ff. and also http://www.petersnet.net/research/retrieve.cfm?recnum=851

http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/st/default.htm
EXTRACT

By Father Jordan Aumann

14. Discernment of Spirits

http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/st/st14.htm

It is indispensable for the direction of souls and for the study of extraordinary mystical phenomena to be able to distinguish the various spirits under which an individual may act or be acted upon. As used here, the word spirit refers to two different types of motivating factors or powers. The spirit of an individual refers to the internal inclination to good or evil, and it manifests itself with such regularity that it must be considered a personal trait. Thus, if a person has a propensity to prayer, he or she is said to possess the spirit of prayer; if there is a tendency to arguments and altercations, he or she is said to possess a spirit of contradiction, etc. Understood in this sense, the spirit of a person is usually the result of both temperament and character.

But it is also possible for an individual to come under the influence of a spirit that is extrinsic to the personality, whether from God or the devil. For that reason it is the function of the discernment of spirits to judge whether a given act or repetition of acts flows from the spirit of God, the diabolical spirit, or the spirit of the individual.

There are two types of discernment of spirit: acquired and infused. Acquired discernment of spirits is complementary to ordinary spiritual direction and can be cultivated by all who use the proper means. Infused discernment of spirits is a charismatic gift or gratia gratis data, which is granted by God to certain individuals. It is extremely rare, even among the saints, but when it occurs it is infallible because it is the result of an interior movement or inspiration received from the Holy Spirit, who cannot err.

Acquired discernment is absolutely necessary for a spiritual director. St. John of the Cross places great stress on the importance of discernment, pointing out that the priest who presumes to take charge of the direction of souls without such knowledge is guilty of temerity.(1) It is therefore important to examine the various means by which one can acquire the art of discernment of spirits.

1. Prayer. This is the most important and fundamental means, Although we are speaking of an acquired art, personal effort would avail nothing without the special assistance of the Holy Spirit through the virtue of prudence and the gift of counsel. Hence it is not only a question of the constant practice of prayer, but the particular petition by which the director requests of God the prudence necessary for the direction of souls and the light to be able to discern the will of God for some particular soul at a given time. It does not suffice to possess a theoretical knowledge of the spiritual life and the ways to perfection; one needs to know the practical and concrete application of these principles in particular cases. It is certain that God will answer these prayers with special graces that he gives to all rightly disposed souls so that they may fulfill their duties.

2. Study. The spiritual director likewise needs a vast amount of knowledge acquired through study. He should be familiar with the general principles of spiritual theology contained in Sacred Scripture, speculative theology, the masters of the spiritual life, and the lives of the saints. He should be especially careful not to restrict himself to a particular “school” or method of spirituality, but should have a broad and sympathetic understanding of the variety of schools and methods of the spiritual life.

3. Personal experience. Self-knowledge is a basic requirement for any kind of direction of others. While it is true that each person has unique traits and characteristics, there is also a common pattern possessed by all and, unless one understands oneself, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to understand others. Under this same heading we may include that sympathy or rapport that enables the director to place himself in the position and circumstances in which others find themselves, according to the statement of St. Paul: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Moreover, if the spiritual director himself has not attained some degree of virtue and self-mastery, it is not likely that he will be able to understand their condition, especially when they enter upon the higher stages of the spiritual life. Holiness of life is of inestimable value in acquiring the art of discernment of spirits.

4. Removal of obstacles. Under this heading we may place all the defective qualities that are an impediment to the understanding and direction of souls. One of the greatest obstacles is the spirit of self-sufficiency, which prevents the director from seeking the advice of those who are more learned or more experienced than himself. Secondly, the director must avoid at all costs an excessive attachment to the one he is directing, for this attachment will cloud his judgment and cause him to be too sympathetic. He must strive to be as objective as possible and avoid the inclination to judge according to purely human standards. He will never be precipitous in his decisions but will subject them to mature reflection.

Types of Spirits [http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/st/st14.htm#tos]