Exorcism in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church authorizes the use of exorcism for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. Initial guidelines were issued in 1614. In Catholicism, exorcism is a sacramental but not a sacrament, unlike baptism or confession. Unlike a sacrament, exorcism's "integrity and efficacy do not depend ... on the rigid use of an unchanging formula or on the ordered sequence of prescribed actions. Its efficacy depends on two elements: authorization from valid and licit Church authorities, and the faith of the exorcist." The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism."
The Catholic Church revised the Rite of Exorcism in January 1999. The traditional Rite of Exorcism in Latin remains as an option. The ritual assumes that possessed persons retain their free will, though the demon may hold control over their physical body, and involves prayers, blessings, and invocations with the use of the document Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications.
Solemn exorcisms, according to the Canon law of the Church, can be exercised only by an ordained priest (or higher prelate), with the express permission of the local bishop, and only after a careful medical examination to exclude the possibility of mental illness. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) enjoined: "Superstition ought not to be confounded with religion, however much their history may be interwoven, nor magic, however white it may be, with a legitimate religious rite." Things listed in the Roman Ritual as being indicators of possible demonic possession include: speaking foreign or ancient languages of which the possessed has no prior knowledge; supernatural abilities and strength; knowledge of hidden or remote things which the possessed has no way of knowing; an aversion to anything holy; and profuse blasphemy and/or sacrilege.
The first official guidelines for exorcism in Catholicism were stablished in 1614, whereas grimoires were widely known and used since the Ancient period. Those guidelines were later revised by the Vatican in 1999 as the demand for exorcisms increased. In the 15th century, Catholic exorcists were both priestly and lay, since every Christian was considered as having the power to command demons and drive them out in the name of Christ. These exorcists used the Order of Saint Benedict's formula "Vade retro satana" ("Step back, Satan") around this time (this prayer is inscribed on the Saint Benedict Medal sacramental). By the late 1960s, Catholic exorcisms were seldom performed in the United States, but by the mid-1970s, popular film and literature revived interest in the ritual, with thousands claiming demonic possession. Maverick priests who belonged to fringes took advantage of the increase in demand and performed exorcisms with little or no official sanction. The exorcisms that they performed were, according to Contemporary American Religion, "clandestine, underground affairs, undertaken without the approval of the Catholic Church and without the rigorous psychological screening that the church required. In subsequent years, the Church took more aggressive action on the demon-expulsion front. The practice of exorcism without consent from the Catholic Church is what prompted the official guidelines from 1614 to be amended. The amendment established the procedure that clergy members and each individual who claims to be impacted by demonic possession must follow. This includes the rule that the potentially possessed individual must be evaluated by a medical professional before any other acts are taken. The primary reason for this action is to eliminate any suspicion of mental illness, before the next steps of the procedure are taken. Since demonic possession, according to Catholic teachings, is extremely rare, and mental health issues are often mistaken for demonic possession, the Vatican requires that each diocese have a specially trained priest who is able to diagnose demonic possession and perform exorcisms when necessary."
According to the Vatican's guidelines issued in 1999, "the person who claims to be possessed must be evaluated by doctors to rule out a mental or physical illness". Most reported cases are not seen as requiring an exorcism because twentieth-century Catholic officials regarded genuine demonic possession as an extremely rare phenomenon that is easily confused with mental illness. Demand for exorcisms increased in the early twenty-first century and the number of trained exorcists increased. Prior to the late twentieth century, exorcists were mainly anonymous, and the performance of exorcisms remained a secret. Some exorcists attributed the rise in demand of exorcisms to a rise in drug abuse and violence, leading to the suggestion that the two were related. The Church point of view is that some people need only spiritual or medical help, especially if drugs or other addictions are present, and not exorcism. The Church view is that trained priest and medical professionals can work together to help a patient, and to be able to determine if the patient is suffering from an illness or not. Spiritual needs are dealt with by prayers, the laying on of hands or a counselling session. Particular sacramentals, such as the wearing of a cross necklace or usage of blessed salt, are believed by the Church to offer protection against Satan when used with faith.
What the Church views as signs of demonic invasion vary depending on the type of demon and its purpose, including:
The person subjected to exorcism may be restrained so that, in the view of the Church, they do not harm themselves or any person present. The exorcist then prays and commands the demons possessing the subject to retreat. The Catholic priest recites certain prayers – the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, and the Athanasian Creed. Exorcists use a cross and holy water and follow procedures listed in the Roman Ritual of the exorcism revised by the Vatican in 1999. Seasoned exorcists use the Rituale Romanum as a starting point, not always following the prescribed formula exactly. The official practice of exorcism is governed by the Vatican document De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam. The Vatican offers a course on exorcism, which in 2019 for the first time was opened to members of other Christian denominations. According to Brad Steiger, after the exorcism has been finished, the person possessed feels a "kind of release of guilt and feels reborn and freed of sin."
Samuel J. Aquila views the recital of the Lord's prayer as a small-scale exorcism procedure, as the ending contains the words "deliver us from evil"
Demand for exorcisms has risen globally. This increase has been described as a "pastoral emergency" by the International Association of Exorcists. According to Dr Richard Gallagher, a psychiatrist who works with exorcists, the rise is caused by both an increase of people believing they are possessed when they are not and a trend away from mainstream religions towards the occult. Professor of religious studies, Andrew Chesnut, sees the rise being caused by a rise in charismatic Christianity. Chesnut says that a disproportionate number of exorcists belong to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement. According to exorcist Fr Vincent Lampert, about 1 in 5000 people who believe they are possessed, are indeed.
On this subject, there is the book by journalist Matt Baglio called The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, first edited in 2009 and then in 2010, which inspired the 2011 film The Rite and which mentions Psychiatrist Dr. Richard E. Gallagher, who has also written a book on the subject, published in 2020 by HarperCollins, called Demonic Foes, A Psychiatrist Investigates Demonic Possession in the Modern United States.
An Exorcist Tells His Story (published on March 1, 1999), An Exorcist: More Stories (published on February 1, 2002), An Exorcist Explains the Demonic: The Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels (published on October 20, 2016), Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan (published on November 15, 2018) and The Devil is Afraid of Me: The Life and Work of the World's Most Popular Exorcist (published on January 19, 2020) were some of the books written by Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican from 1986 until his death in 2016 (aged 91) which describes his experiences as an exorcist, which inspired the 2023 film The Pope's Exorcist.
One prominent example of a German exorcism is the 1976 death of Anneliese Michel, for which two priests were convicted of negligent homicide.
In 2008, the Catholic Church approved plans to establish an exorcism centre in Poczernin. In 2018, Poland had 150 exorcists. Their role was seen as fighting the "demons of homosexuality" and the "demons of esotericism."
Piotr Glas is a Polish exorcist. As of December 2017, according to a Polish Church official from Płock, Glas was disqualified from exorcism and from using techniques that are forbidden under the Church's rules of exorcism. Other Polish Church officials stated in 2017 that their informal opinion was that Glas was "not an exorcist" as he was affiliated with the Diocese of Portsmouth, not with a Polish diocese.
In 2004, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the archbishop of Mexico City, held the first National Meeting of Exorcists with the intention of combating Satanism. In 2013, exorcists in Mexico City said that there was "unprecedented demand for their services." One exorcist attributed the rise in need for exorcisms to the rise in the number of followers of Santa Muerte and the decriminalization of abortion.