Friday, January 17, 2025

List of 10 clarifications on how to perform exorcisms correctly published

The International Association of Exorcists has released a set of 10 clarifications on how to perform exorcisms correctly.

In a new article published on 6 January on its website, the association, which has around 900 members, explained that the purpose of the note was for the “faithful (clerics, consecrated persons and lay people) [to] be able to know these observations to avoid attitudes and ways that do not correspond to the authentic action of Christ the Lord, a model for any exercise of the ministry of liberation from the extraordinary action of the evil one”.

The note explains that in recent years, the number of people seeking out exorcisms has increased due to them being “convinced that they are victims of an extraordinary action of the devil, in one of its various forms (vexation, obsession, possession or diabolical infestation)”.

The need for the note arose in light of “certain pastoral practices, which, instead of offering a service to the wounded body of Christ, increase suffering and cause disorientation”.

It refers to the fact that exorcisms have been enacted “by people who, without any specific training in the matter and without a mandate from the competent ordinary, act inappropriately, causing confusion among the people of God”.

The website’s note described exorcism as “following the example of the good Samaritan, to pour ‘oil and wine’ (Lk 10, 34) on the wounds of those who find themselves experiencing, among so many forms of suffering, some torment due to the extraordinary action of the Evil One.”

“This note is intended to offer the necessary clarifications so that good work can be done to distribute divine Mercy through the Ministry of Exorcism,” the note explained. 

The 10 clarifications are as follows:

1. Disapproval of improvisation and sensationalism

The association warns those who are not official exorcists against taking “arbitrary paths” and condemns those who discourage those seeking exorcism from going to the official exorcist in their own diocese in favour of “more powerful exorcists”. 

2. Centrality of the Gospel not the devil

The association condemns those who “instead of announcing the Gospel of Jesus Christ that frees man from the slavery of evil and sin, focus their attention exclusively on the presence and work of the devil,” leading those seeking exorcism to believe that “liberation depends solely on a compulsive repetition of prayers and blessings,” when the peace of Christ “can only be obtained through a life of charity, nourished by the word of God, through prayer, through frequenting the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession, and through an authentic devotion to the Immaculate Virgin.”

3. Negligent discernment

The note warns against the actions of “some priests, sometimes unfortunately also some exorcists, [who neglect] the serious and rigorous discernment prescribed by the Praenotanda of the Rite of Exorcisms, use criteria foreign to the Catholic faith, endorsing concepts of esoteric or new age origin. This approach is unacceptable and contrary to the faith and doctrine of the Church.”

4. Superstitious practices

The note condemns “superstitious practices” such as “asking for photos or clothing to recognise possible evils, touching certain points on the body of the faithful in order to “diagnose the presence of evil entities” or to “expel negativity”, or suggesting improper use of the res sacrae (water, salt, blessed oil, etc.).” It says that such practices “damage the dignity of the body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and encourage a magical use of blessed objects”.

5. The participation of inappropriate people

The note explains that it is “unacceptable that some priests or pastoral agents collaborate with those who are considered ‘psychics’ or supposedly charismatic, directing the suffering faithful towards them, instead of putting them in contact with someone who has received a peculiar and express mandate from the local Ordinary to exercise the Ministry of exorcism”.

What is even worse, the note says, is when the diocesan exorcist himself delegates to others rather than fulfilling his ministry “which requires him to take charge of the suffering of others and not omit the personal, regular, scrupulous and, in some cases, burdensome time of discernment necessary to verify the eventual extraordinary action of the exorcist. demon and accompany those who are truly his victims”.

6. Exclusion of medical and psychological sciences

The article warns against ignoring the opinions of medical professionals when they “could help to understand the origin of evils that are not necessarily of preternatural origin”. “The Ministry of exorcism,” the note clarifies, “like every sacrament, is at the service of man”.

7. Reckless and harmful statements

“The desire to want at all costs to identify an extraordinary demonic action as the triggering cause of a situation of suffering, whose origin is unknown, having omitted a prior serious discernment, in addition to being useless, can cause damage,” the note says, pointing exorcists towards the International Association of Exorcists’ guidelines which “constitute an excellent help and an indispensable reference”.

8. Witchcraft

The association notes that although the practice of witchcraft has become increasingly widespread, one must guard against seeing it as the root of all evils and misfortunes that befall people, but rather to concentrate on “the remedies of grace offered by the Church and on the Christian path to follow”, teaching the certainty that “God does not abandon his creature who is going through a trial but in some way suffers with him and at the same time supports and consoles him with his grace.”

9. Intergenerational healing 

The note warns against “intergenerational healing”  carried out by some priests “as a sine qua non, without which it is impossible to hachieve healing or liberation, without realizing the damage they do to their faith and that of other people, as well as the consequences that the latter can suffer on an existential level.” 

“Various local Ordinaries and Episcopal Conferences have already intervened in this area, giving doctrinal motivations that demonstrate how such practices do not have biblical and theological foundations.”

10. Banishing fear

The note explains that “the exorcist must lead the tormented faithful to receive the peace that comes from Christ.” 

To do this, the exorcist himself must reject all forms of fear and educate those he accompanies with his Ministry to combat it. 

“Because fear, whatever the reason that provokes it, when cultivated, leads to the weakening of faith and the loss of trust in God,” the note states. 

“A priest who was afraid of the devil in the exercise of his Ministry or in his daily life could not exercise the Ministry of exorcism without exposing himself to serious dangers for his spiritual life, especially if, instead of cultivating trust and total abandonment of himself in the merciful hands of God, he tries to face it with more or less superstitious practices.”

The note concludes by stating that the practice of exorcism “is impregnated with a deep joy”.

“One is an authentic witness of the power of the Risen Christ, who illuminates the darkest darkness and frees us from the most terrible sin. The intercession of the Immaculate Virgin, first of all, of the Saints and Blessed in Heaven, of the Angels, faithful servants of the Most High, which is noted during exorcisms, demonstrate how disruptive the Communion of Saints is.”