Issue 04 - The Pilgrim - April 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

The Pilgrim April 2012
Focus on faith
Exorcism: What really happens
Anthony Hopkins played
a priest carrying out
exorcisms in the
2011 movie The
Rite. The film is
based on the
experiences of
American priest
Fr Gary Thomas.
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What happens if someone feels
they are possessed by an evil
spirit The exorcist for the
diocese of Southwark explains.
Because of the
nature of his ministry,
he prefers to remain
anonymous.
Before God made
human beings, He made
spiritual beings whom we call
angels. Some of these became
proud and rebelled against
God: we call them devils,
demons or evil spirits.
From the Bible, we can see
that these evil spirits have the
power to influence human beings
in various ways: for example, by
entering the person’s body, controlling
its movement and even
the person’s speech.
By His power, Jesus cast these
devils out, and He gave power to
His disciples to do the same. This
work of casting out devils is continued
in the Church today
through the ministry of exorcism.
If a person thinks that they or
another might need the ministry of
exorcism, they contact the office
of their local bishop, who puts
them in touch with a diocesan
exorcist.
The first thing the exorcist does
is listen. He gives the person the
opportunity to tell their story:
what sort of things do they experience
that make them believe they
are under the influence an evil
spirit When do they experience
these things How often When did
it all start
The exorcist tries to get as full a
picture as possible, so as to discern
what is going on. If the exorcist
believes that the person is
possessed by an evil spirit, then,
with the permission of his bishop
and after preparing himself spiritually,
he can perform the Rite of
Major Exorcism.
The Rite of Major Exorcism is
only performed when someone is
possessed by an evil spirit. But,
the most experienced exorcists
will tell you that this is very rare.
When a person comes to him,
believing they are troubled by an
evil spirit, the exorcist has to try
to diagnose what the problem is.
The process of discernment is very
important, because the problem
that is presented may have a
purely natural explanation: for example,
there are psychological
disorders that make those who
suffer from them hear voices or
feel they are being touched by
some invisible presence.
If the cause of the problem is
purely natural, either physical or
psychological, then the exorcist
refers the person to their GP or to
a psychiatrist.
If the problem is supernatural,
or has a supernatural element,
then the exorcist has to determine
in what way and to what extent
the person is afflicted.
Even if the person is not possessed,
they might be subject to
other, lesser influences, such as
persistent and violent temptations;
oppressive feelings of tiredness
and discouragement; or the
feeling of an evil presence.
For these lesser influences, a
Minor Exorcism is performed,
which might consist of prayers
selected from the Rite of Major
Exorcism.
The manner and degree in which
a person is afflicted by an evil
spirit can depend on the general
spiritual strength of that person
and on their weaknesses.
A person who is spiritually
healthy is very resistant to being
possessed, whereas an unchaste
person is very vulnerable to violent
and persistent temptations
of a sexual nature.
Therefore, the best way to
combat these attacks is to weedout
our vices and to become spiritually
strong, through prayer,
frequent reception of the sacraments
of Confession and Holy
Communion, and living a good
moral life in accordance with the
law of God and His Church.
Only a priest specially chosen
and appointed by his bishop can
be an exorcist. He learns his job
by reading suitable books and by
being an understudy to an experienced
exorcist.
Obviously, he should be a person
of prayer, striving to live a
good, holy life. In his ministry,
however, he does not act alone;
he is supported by the prayers
and sacrifices of other people.
All the prayers we say, sacrifices
we make, and sacraments
we receive, can be offered up for
this ministry. So, even though you
are not an exorcist, please pray
for this important ministry: pray
for exorcists, and those poor, afflicted
people who need their
help.
For a better understanding of
exorcism, read Exorcism by
Jeremy Davies, published by CTS
Publications.
In his book The Last Exorcist Fr Gabriele Amorth, exorcist of the diocese of Rome, claims that Pope
Benedict XVI carried out an exorcism in St Peter's Square in May 2009 on two men who were possessed.
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