Archdiocese issues 'Protocol for Exorcism'

August 25, 2022
St. Louis King of France

Protocol for Exorcism

(See related story below)

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has established a protocol to deal with situations of extraordinary malice and assaults of the devil and the other demons, of either a person or a place. The protocol consists of three phases: preparatory, investigative and observatory. The time frame for each of these phases can vary. God allows us to be tested for our own growth in faith. Quick fixes are not in our best interest. Growing in holiness is more important than getting the demons out. Time varies in each healing and deliverance ministry.

► Preparatory Phase: The pastor, along with his vicar or deacon, engage in the very hard work of assisting the afflicted individual to engage in all of the ordinary spiritual tools to obtain the sufficient grace of God to fight the good fight. These tools are principally: Mass (every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation), both Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and Anointing), Scripture, the rosary, the crucifix, holy water, asceticism (prayer, fasting, almsgiving), the Our Father, the St. Michael Prayer and the Works of Mercy (Corporal and Spiritual). In addition to these tools, if an individual is cohabitating, in an invalid marriage, not living the moral code (the Decalogue and Beatitudes) or engaged in occult practices, then these too must be addressed. As a rule, when all of these things are employed, diabolic malice and assaults are sufficiently deflected. In addition to this, the pastor, his vicar or deacon, may administer the Minor Exorcisms from the RCIA ritual: 71, 94, 102, 153, 168, 175, 180 and 224, adjusting the wording as necessary. This phase is by far the most difficult of the three phases.

► Investigatory Phase: This phase may begin when all of the steps have been taken in the Preparatory Phase and have proven to be insufficient; then the pastor would contact the Archbishop, who in turn would assign one of his appointed exorcists to investigate the situation more thoroughly. The exorcist would look at the following factors: psychological (say paranoia, schizophrenia, bi-polar); physiological (epilepsy, diabetes, hypertension, hormones); anthropological (exercise, sleep, eating habits); cosmological (electronics, wind, temperature, shadows); diabolic (rousing of the senses, rage, malice, obstinance, arrogance, deceptions and lies); angelic (namely the guardianship of the angels); and lastly theological (namely discernment between the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, in contrast to the Adversary, the Evil One, following the Rules for the Discernment of Spirits, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola). Diagnosis from a physician and a psychiatrist, along with counseling and spiritual direction, are requirements. If the exorcist determines with moral certitude that indeed there is extraordinary diabolic malice and assaults, he will seek authorization from the archbishop to administer the Rite of Exorcism, of a person if an individual, or of a place, if say a home or apartment.

► Observatory Phase: The pastor, his vicar, deacon and the exorcist keep tabs on the case to ensure that they are staying the course and maintaining all of the tools to remain with God’s sufficient grace. The Rites of Exorcism are not magic, and if the individual returns to old patterns and behaviors, diabolic malice and assaults can easily return. That is why Jesus says to stay vigilant. All of the ordinary tools in the Preparatory Phase must be maintained long term.

Promulgated by Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans on August 25, 2022.
 

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The movies paint an exaggerated picture of exorcism

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald
Primarily for financial reasons, Hollywood has sensationalized the casting out of demons through the Roman Catholic Rite of Exorcism, but both the Old and New Testaments as well as millennia of church teaching and theological tradition have recognized the reality of the devil and other demons in our lives, says one of the priests appointed by Archbishop Gregory Aymond to serve as an official exorcist.

The identity of those local priests appointed by the archbishop to administer the church’s two official rites of exorcism in the Archdiocese of New Orleans remains confidential so that the afflicted person works first with his or her own pastor throughout a preparatory phase.

“In 99% of the cases, that phase is more than sufficient to deflect the assault of the devil and other demons,” the priest said.

Two exorcism rites
One exorcism rite is used to rid an object or a place from the devil and other demons, and the other rite is used to expel the devil and other demons from a person.

Possession by the devil and other demons has been sensationalized in the movies with spinning heads and other out-of-body experiences.

“These manifestations are real but deceitful, which is a primary tool of the devil and other demons,” the priest said. “They can assume corporal matter to make it appear the head is spinning, but that cannot happen in reality.”

The cinematic theatrics may lead people to believe the devil and other demons are an incredulous fairy tale, but the exorcist says the devil is real.

“Not only are people pretty much oblivious to the devil, they’re also oblivious to the angelic element, the angels,” he said. “St. Thomas Aquinas would maintain that when God created the universe, he created the angelic world, which are what we call pure spirits. They have intellect and will, whereas human beings have intellect and will with a body. We human beings are a different order of reality from the angels.

“But when God created the angels, some fell, and we call those the demons. Most of the angels remained loyal and are in the service of God. The fallen angels, the devil and other demons work in conjunction against God, the good angels and human beings. But a lot of people don’t even recognize angelic reality – both the good and the fallen angels.”

Jesus exorcised demons
Scripture is filled with passages referring to the reality of the devil and demons, and Jesus himself exorcised and confronted the devil and other demons throughout his ministry. The priest said St. Thomas Aquinas in his “Summa Theologica” and St. Ignatius of Loyola in his “Spiritual Exercises” reflected on angels, demons and the discernment of spirits.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” also speaks explicitly about the creation and fall of the angels. The catechism goes into detail on the final two petitions of the Our Father, where Jesus says to ask the father not to “lead us into temptation” and to “deliver us from evil.”

“The original Greek would suggest the ‘Evil One’ as the last words of Jesus in the Our Father,” the priest said. “Both petitions deal with the devil and other demons.”

Adam Blai, an expert on religious demonology and exorcism for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, trains Catholic priests across the country on how to perform exorcisms. Blai came to the Tulane Catholic Center in February to address the increase in requests for exorcisms and how people interact with the spiritual world. Blai will present a workshop on exorcism at the Louisiana Priests’ Convention later this month.

The devil is real
As for those who might consider any notion of the devil and demons as “medieval nonsense,” Blai told the Tulane audience that doing so would mean rejecting both the Old and New Testaments, the words and actions of Jesus and the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church.

“There are 27 questions and answers on the USCCB website (usccb.org) affirming that this is real and has to be dealt with,” Blai said. “So, in the end, (if you say the devil is not real), you’re going to be in a corner of the room, alone, and all of the church and all of history is going to be on the other side. You’ll have to deny all of that. It’s actually a difficult place to morally and ethically be, if you want to take on this issue. These creatures are a universal human problem.”

Popular films have sent the wrong message about the assaults of the devil and other demons, the New Orleans priest said. What have the movies gotten wrong?

“Many things,” the priest said. “The movies have all these lights, animations and music and loud, loud sounds. All of that’s theatrics, and it really causes a lot of damage. Sometimes they’ll say this movie is based on a real event, but according to our Catholic faith, we’re not supposed to publicize any of this, and to do it on film is even more damaging. The devil and other demons have the ability to make people think their head is spinning around on their neck, but that’s not a possibility. The films are designed to create fear. They’re not designed to help.”

On Aug. 25 – the feast of St. Louis King of France – Archbishop Aymond promulgated an archdiocesan protocol (see page 3) dealing with “situations of extraordinary malice and assaults of the devil and the other demons, of either a person or a place.”

Go to parish priest first
According to the new protocol, anyone who feels he or she may be experiencing an assault from the devil or other demons should first contact a parish priest for a confidential, preparatory assessment.

The priest will recommend as spiritual aids the efficacy of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, penance and the anointing of the sick; studying and praying with Scripture; reciting the rosary; praying with the crucifix; blessing themselves with holy water; practicing asceticism (regular prayer, such as the Our Father and the St. Michael Prayer, along with fasting and almsgiving) and performing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

If it is apparent that these “ordinary” spiritual means have not had the desired effect, the pastor would contact the archbishop, who would assign one of his already appointed exorcists to conduct a further investigation. This is called the “investigatory phase.”

The exorcist would examine many factors – including psychological and physiological – and that would require a diagnosis from a physician and a psychiatrist, counseling sessions and spiritual direction.

Incremental spiritual care
Such a careful, step-by-step approach is important, the priest said.

“The whole idea behind it is that it’s just like your medical care, where you have a primary care doctor that you go to see every six months to get blood work and blood pressure taken,” the priest said. “If there’s something wrong with your heart, your primary care doctor is going to send you to a cardiologist. But the cardiologist is only going to do the bypass surgery and then release you back to your internist.

“So, for regular spiritual maintenance, a Catholic should go through their parish and pastor. If the pastor feels the normal spiritual tools like the sacraments and the rosary are not working or are not sufficient and there’s something foreign or diabolic that’s attacking them – not just psychological, not something from other human beings, not just something electronic – then the pastor has to call in the ‘cardiologist.’ He has to call the bishop, and the bishop assigns one of the exorcists to get involved. The bishop is the only one who possesses the authority to do this.”

The priest said St. Thomas Aquinas would not use the terms “possession,” “obsession” or “oppression” – as many exorcists do – preferring to refer to the reality as “the assaults and malice of the devil and the other demons.”

“They are always malicious, and they always seek an evil end,” the priest said. “They can assault us. If the assaults are just once in a while, no big deal. But if the assaults are persistent and constant and debilitating – what I would call more to the extraordinary level opposed to the ordinary level – then I would say they probably would be eligible for the Rite of Exorcism.”

Authority rests with bishop
According to the protocol, “if the exorcist determines with moral certitude that indeed there is extraordinary diabolic malice and assaults, he will seek authorization from the archbishop to administer the Rite of Exorcism” of a person (if an individual) or of a place (if a home or apartment).

After an exorcism is performed, the pastor, the bishop and the exorcist will provide vigilance to ensure that the person is “staying the course and maintaining all of the tools to remain with God’s sufficient grace.”

“The graces come from Christ,” the priest said. “The normal sacraments, like going to Mass every Sunday, are not negotiable. The way the devil and other demons operate is on people who have stopped going to church or they’re doing other things (contrary to church teaching) and they think, ‘Oh, we’re going to come get rid of the devil, and then everything’s going to be fine.’”

In the case in which a person feels the manifestation of the devil or other demons is occurring inside the home, the priest will meet with the person and a family member there, but he never goes alone.

“I’ll always ask the pastor to be with me or another priest to do the investigation,” he said.

If the manifestation happens inside the house, the exorcist will use the rite to rid an object or a place from the devil and other demons.

Family members involved
If the Rite of Exorcism of a person is called for, the exorcist and the pastor normally will meet both with the person and a family member.

“The reason we want a family member there is because a person who’s being afflicted often isn’t quite clear about what’s happening to them,” the priest said. “The family member who’s close to that person can give another perspective. When you’re suffering with any illness, it’s hard to be objective about it. It’s like that even when you go see your doctor.”

If an individual needs the major Rite of Exorcism, it normally would be performed inside a church with the doors locked. For additional confidentiality, another church that is not the person’s parish church might be used. The priest usually asks two other priests plus a family member to be with him when the rite is administered.

Meticulous discernment
The exorcist said it is challenging to discern if a person is suffering from mental, emotional or physical problems versus intense spiritual struggles.

“You have to realize that the devil can attack the physical, physiological and psychological parts of our bodies,” he said. “Only God alone – not even the angels and definitely no other human being – can access our intellect and will. Those two aspects of the soul are sacred to God. The Lord alone can probe the mind and test the heart. However, the devil and his demons can observe our actions and our decisions and present images in our minds. That could easily be the devil and other demons. The human body plus our psyche are all susceptible or vulnerable to diabolic stuff happening.”

The priest said some dioceses and archdioceses, such as New Orleans, have an appointed exorcist or may have more than one. Some dioceses appoint a priest to serve in that role on an ad hoc basis.

Two resources the priest recommends are a small booklet published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops entitled “Prayers Against the Powers of Darkness” and Pope Francis’ book, “Rebuking the Devil.”

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