The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered a conference on exorcism before their 2010 meeting in Baltimore. Increasing requests for exorcism and a lack of trained exorcists contribute to the Vatican's attention to casting out Satan in the United States.
Increasing Requests for Exorcism in the United States
In the modern area, most people turn to science and logic, rather than the supernatural, to explain the unexplainable. Indeed, the Catholic Church's stance on science encourages scientific evidence and critical thinking through the lens of faith in understanding the world today. Catholics today are less likely to credit Satan with an unexplained illness or turn of bad luck than a medieval person trained to believe that all the unexplained must be evil.
When asked why more Americans request exorcism, the Catholic ritual for casting out demons, from Catholic priests and bishops, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill credited an increased interest in spirituality and the occult (Associated Press, "Catholic Bishops, More Exorcists Needed"). As people seek answers from the spiritual, rather than science, Satan again figures into their worldviews.
What is an Exorcist in the Catholic Church
An exorcist is simply any Catholic priest trained to perform the rite of exorcism, a Catholic ritual based on Jesus' ministry in the Bible. Jesus frequently commanded demons to leave inflicted people throughout the Four Gospels. A Catholic exorcist will cast out, or command demons out of a possessed individual, in Jesus' name.
Why United States Has Few Exorcists
The American Catholic Church has very few trained exorcists due to the small number of exorcism requests that warrant the actual rite. Fr. James Labar, exorcist for the Archdiocese of New York, only performs between twenty and twenty-five genuine exorcisms a year, according to Miller in "Reality of Evil."
In twenty-five years of discerning exorcism requests for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Bishop Paprocki never approved one request for an exorcism. Paprocki is not alone among Catholic clergy who have never seen an exorcism or performed the exorcism ritual. Few priests have even seen a copy of the Church's 1999 exorcism rite, "Of Exorcisms and Supplications," the first time the Church revised the little-used rite since the 17th century. Around ten exorcists currently serve in the United States, and they can no longer keep up with the demand for requests, according to the Vatican.
How Catholic Church is Training Exorcists
Any priest can perform an exorcism with training at the request of his bishop. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's 2010 conference on exorcism will train clergy in the following:
- How to counsel believers convinced the Devil has possessed them or a loved one;
- How to discern whether an exorcism request is the cause of another condition, such as mental illness or medications (a doctor's and psychological exam help rule these out);
- The proper procedure for addressing an exorcism request at the parish and diocesan level;
- How to use the exorcism rite and the prayers, scriptures, and sacraments of the Church for exorcism when warranted; and
- The scriptural basis of the rite of exorcism and power of evil in the life of the Church.
In a post-modern world, many people view religion as unhelpful because science can explain everything. With demands for exorcisms on the rise, more people in the United States are seeking a spiritual, rather than scientific, answer to the unexplainable.
By training its clergy in the exorcism rite, the Catholic Church in America stands ready to share spiritual wisdom and support to those believing that Satan is possessing them, and all who seek answers science has yet to explain.
Sources:
Associated Press. "Catholic Church, More Exorcists Needed." November 13, 2010.
Marrapodi, Eric. "Catholic Clergy Confer on Exorcism Ritual." CNN's Belief Blog, accessed November 2010.
Miller, Peter W. "The Reality of Evil." Seattle Catholic: A Catholic Journal of News and Views, 27 November 2002.
Melissa Roberts - A trained hospital chaplain, Melissa is a freelance writer, teacher, retreat leader, and spiritual director.
