For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church believed in the existence of ghosts, demons, evil spirits, and exorcism. Then for a period of time Bishops within the Church and priests with little spirituality denied the very existence of these things and even the Devil's existence was denied. Now, as the real world encroaches upon the turn of the Roman Catholic Church to psychology, the Church has had to rethink its position.
In 1999, the Church revised the Ritual on Exorcism and began to appoint priests to the office of Diocesan Exorcist. It is difficult to understand why the Church would have ever lost the office. Every priest must first be ordained to the office of acolyte and then exorcist followed by subdeacon, deacon, and then priest. What does one do if one is appointed as an exorcist? Nothing apparently. The Church leaves to an official diocesan exorcist the office.
Exorcism is an ancient gift that came to all believers. In the longer ending of Mark its says: "These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons..." Mark 16:17. So, originally every person in the church could cast out demons. Then, apparently, the true believers became fewer in number, the church found it necessary to ordain people to the office of exorcist. It is presumed that they chose people who already had demonstrated that they were true believers by casting demons. Eventually, the Church came to see that those who could cast demons already were anointed by G-d to the office of Priest. The Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus says: "If any one among the laity appear to have received a gift of healing by a revelation, hands shall not be laid upon him, because the matter is manifest." Part II, Section XV. As exorcism has always been seen as a form of healing, the person who acted as an exorcist was therefore already ordained as a priest, not by laying on of hands, but by the gift of G-d. So the church began to acknowledge that a priest should be an exorcist and an exorcist was already a priest. As the time passed, and fewer and fewer of the priesthood had an actual spiritual calling to the Priesthood, it became necessary for the Bishops to appoint a specific person of renowned holiness to perform the acts of an exorcist. Eventually, with the advent of psychology, the Church trained its priesthood in psychology and not exorcism.
Eventually, psychologists began to see that exorcisms worked on their patients. See Historical and Folk Techniques of Exorcism: Application to the Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, by Jean Goodwin, M.D., M.P.H., Sally Hill, M.S.W., Reina Attias, Ph.D. They, following the teachings of Dr. William James, the father of Religious Psychology, began to use exorcism as a technique of healing again.
Now it appears that the Roman Catholic Church has come full circle. According to Reuters and AP, the Roman Catholic Church is holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the Rite of Exorcism. The Church has signed up 56 Bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop that began on Friday, seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the Church currently has on its books. Catholic Church law stipulates that only properly trained priests can perform the rite -- and then only with the permission of their bishops.
Having performed over 100 exorcisms in the last 38 years, I would suggest that the norms that Rome is setting down are ridiculous. First of all, every believer has this gift, if called to use it. Apparently, there are not many believers in the huge Roman Catholic Church. Second, only people with the gift can perform exorcisms. The intervention of the Bishops to choose someone they want to do the exorcisms will avail them nothing. The book Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, by Father Matt Baglio demonstrates not only the ineptness of Roman exorcists who allow gross activities to occur during exorcisms despite the commands of the Rite, but it also shows that the persons who are chosen do not have sufficient spiritual development to accomplish the task. Third, if a person has the gift, it does not take an act of Rome or anyone else to make a person an exorcist. Fourth, there is no scriptural requirement that a Bishop be informed or be involved in an exorcism. I think this attempt on the part of the Church will fail, falling flat on its face.
The reality of demons is real. The reality that there are few qualified to expel them is also real. The certainty that the people appointed to perform exorcisms must have the supernatural gift of G-d before they attempt to perform exorcisms is also a certainty. I hope that the priests involved do not get harmed by this inept and foolish attempt to circumvent G-d's methods.
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