What’s Up with this Exorcist Stuff?

You may have come across some stories this past weekend about the U.S. Bishops hosting a conference on exorcism. In particular, the conference was organized by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, IL…yes, my brother. How he ended up coordinating that event, I don’t know, other than maybe the bishops figured that growing up in a family of 9 children, he and his siblings had a little “devil” in us! 🙂

Seriously, though, I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the matter of exorcism. Obviously, the media loves stories like this and the general public eats it up. In general, however, the sensationalism comes from popular portrayals such as the movies The Exorcist and the Exorcism of Emily Rose, which, by the way, are both very good movies that have pretty good portrayals of Catholic priests. The Church, for the most part, is very low key about the issue and the conference was basically a pastoral response, preparing more priests to be able to do the thorough discernment that is needed when an individual requests an exorcism.

While some see the conference as part of a larger attempt to “turn back the clock,” others see it as an out and out embarrassment to the Church. The truth is, however, we must all pause and remind ourselves that exorcism is an integral part of our celebration of Baptism. The Rite of Baptism for Children includes a Prayer of Exorcism (Rite of Baptism for One Child, 86) and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults includes Minor Exorcisms as part of the Rites belonging to the Period of the Catechumenate (RCIA 90-94) as well as a Rite of Exorcism (RCIA 144, 154, 168, and 175) as part of the Scrutinies that are celebrated on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent for catechumens. Bottom line is, if you’re Catholic, you’ve been exorcised.

An exorcism is basically a prayer of deliverance from evil, something that we pray for every time we conclude the Lord’s Prayer, “but deliver us from evil” and something that the priest prays for at each Mass we celebrate, “deliver us Lord from every evil.” In other words, we Catholics believe that evil is very real and that we must be vigilant and pray fervently to be delivered from it. May the power of Christ compel us!

About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*