EXORCISM

The act of driving out or warding off demons or evil spirits from persons, places, or things that are, or are believed to be, possessed or infested by them or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice. According to Catholic belief, demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God. Excluded from friendship with God, they retain, nevertheless, their natural power of acting upon men and the material universe for their own evil purposes. This power is limited by Divine Providence, but it has been given wider scope in consequence of the sin of mankind. Exorcism is nothing more than a prayer to God (sometimes made publicly in the name of the Church, sometimes made privately) to restrain the power of the demons over men and things. This article summarizes the history of and present practice of the church in regard to exorcism, then adds some theological points.

History. The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians as well as other ethnic groups sometimes attributed certain diseases to demoniacal possession, and they believed in the efficacy of magical charms and incantations for banishing the demons. In the Old Testament, the Book of Tobia relates a devil that was said to have killed the seven husbands of Sara (6.14). Subsequently, "the angel Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt" (8.3).

Acknowledging the reality of demonic possession, Jesus drove demons out of their victims, not by collusion with Beelzebub, the prince of devils, but by the finger of God (Mt 12.22–30; Mk 3.22–27; Lk 11.14–26). Christ also empowered the Apostles and Disciples to cast out the demons in His name (Mt 10.1; Mk 6.7; Lk 9.1). He committed this same power to believers, generally (Mk 16.17), but the exercise of such power was subject to certain conditions, namely, prayer and fasting (Mt 17.20; Mk 9.28). The Acts of the Apostles records how Paul drove a divining spirit out of a girl who brought her masters much profit by soothsaying (16.16–18; cf. 19.12). No doubt, the other Apostles exercised this power too.

After the apostolic age, the primitive Christians continued to exercise demons. Justin Martyr (100?–165?) speaks of numberless demoniacs throughout the whole world, who were exercised by Christian men in the name of Jesus Christ even though they could not be exorcised by those who used incantations and drugs (2 Apol. 6). Tertullian (160?–230?) complains of the ingratitude of

the pagans, who called the Christians enemies of the human race, even though the Christians exorcised the pagans without reward or hire (Apol. 37). Origen (185?–254?) remarks that the name of Jesus expelled myriad evil spirits from the souls and bodies of men (Contra Celsum 1.25). Lactantius (d. beginning of the 4th century) writes that the followers of Christ, in the name of their master and by the sign of His passion, the cross, banished polluted spirits from men (Instit. 4.27). Cyril of Jerusalem (315?–386?) notes that the invocation of the name of God scorches and drives out evil spirits like a fierce flame (Catech. 20.3). These remarks are typical of the attitude of the early Church, for which an exorcism was an invocation of God against the harassment of devils. Frequently the invocation was accompanied by some symbolic action, such as breathing upon the subject, or laying hands upon him, or signing him with the cross. The invocation might be expressed by calling upon the name of Jesus, or cursing the devil, or commanding him to depart, or reading a passage from Sacred Scripture.

Not only did the early Church exorcise demoniacs, but it also subjected catechumens to exorcism as a preparation for baptism. Catechumens were not considered to be obsessed as demoniacs were; but as a consequence of

original sin (and of personal sin in the case of adults), they were subject more or less to the power of the devil, whose "works" and "pomps" they were called upon to renounce. This exorcism preceding baptism may be explained then in two ways: it was a symbolical anticipation of deliverance from the power of the devil through baptism, and it was a means of restraining the devil from impeding the reception of the Sacramant (cf. St. Thomas, Summa theologiae 3a, 71.2). Cyril of Jerusalem describes one manner of exorcism before baptism by which the catechumen was stripped and anointed with exorcised oil from head to foot (Catech. 20.3).

Present Practice. Today the Church maintains its traditional attitude toward exorcism. It recognizes the possibility of diabolical possession, and it regulates the manner of dealing with it. The Code of Canon Law allows authorized ministers to perform solemn exorcisms not only over the faithful, but also over non-Catholics and those who are excommunicated (c. 1152). A solemn method of exorcising is given in the Roman Ritual. In most of the Eastern and Western rites, exorcisms continue to serve as a preparation for baptism. Exorcisms also form a part of the blessing of such things as salt, water, and oil; and these, in turn, are used in personal exorcisms and in blessing or consecrating places (e.g., churches) and objects (e.g., altars, sacred vessels, church bells) connected with public worship or intended for private devotion. In exorcising and blessing these objects, the Church prays that those who use them may be protected against the attacks of the devil.

Bibliography: j. forget, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al. (Paris 1903–50) 5.2:1762–80. a. rodewyk, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 3:1314–15. h. leclercq, Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq, and h. i. marrou (Paris 1907–53) 5.1:964–978. a. stenzel, Die Taufe (Innsbruck 1958). l. bouyer, The Paschal Mystery: Meditations on the Last Three Days of Holy Week, tr. m. benoit (Chicago 1950).

[e. j. gratsch]

Theology. The New Testament's witness to Christ's decisive victory over the powers of evil, a victory proclaimed by the Savior Himself in word and deed (cf. Lk 11.20; Jn 12.31), is the foundation for any theology of exorcism. The authority and ability to cast out devils was entrusted to the Twelve (Mk 3.14–15; cf. Mt 10.1; Lk9.1), though all "those who believe" are also envisioned as sharing this power (Mk 16.17; Lk 10.17–19; cf. Origen, Contra Celsum 7.4). Satan's loss of power is, in fact, a continuing sign of man's Redemption (1 Jn 5.18). This conviction is echoed by the Fathers (e.g., Tertullian, Apol. ; Hilary of Poitiers, In Ps. 64.10) and by the schools of the Middle Ages (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae 2a2ae, 90.2).

In the performance of an exorcism it is always the Church that prays through the instrumentality of the exorcist, so that the efficacy of the rite is analogous to that of the sacramentals. At the same time, it is obvious from the Gospels themselves that the exorcist's faith and integrity play a determining role in the outcome of the exorcism (Mt 17.14–20; Mk 9.13–28; Lk 9.37–43). For this reason the Church exercises the greatest caution in authorizing clerics who have received the power of exorcism through Holy Orders to put it to use. This is not true, of course, of the exorcisms employed during the rite of baptism, but of those uses of the power that an apparently authentic instance of possession has required. Of those cases of possession against which exorcism proves to be ineffective, one can only say that an error of judgement has been made as to the true nature of the phenomenon or that for reasons of His own, God has withheld the rite's efficacy. Recourse to this latter explanation should be infrequent, to say the least, since the question of the Church's ability to carry on the essential work of its founder and master is at issue.

See Also: baptism (liturgy of); diabolical obsession; diabolical possession (in the bible).

Bibliography: Satan, ed. bruno de jÉsus-maria et al. (New York 1952). l. cristiani, Evidence of Satan in the Modern World, tr. c. roland (New York 1961).

[l. j. elmer]

Liturgy. In liturgy and theology an exorcism is the Church's prayer that the power of God's Holy Spirit free a person from sin and evil and from subjection to the devil, the spirit of evil. In popular understanding exorcism generally refers to the driving out of a demon who has possessed a person. The Church, however, is reluctant to admit a supernatural possession in particular cases, since most apparent cases can be explained by pathological conditions. Both modern biblical scholarship and current psychological theory and practice are inclined to admit a supernatural explanation only when a natural explanation has been proved impossible. A practical indication of this reluctance is the 1972 abolition of the office of exorcist with the other minor orders (Paul VI Min-Quaedam).

Exorcisms in the form of prayers for protection from evil do remain in the baptismal rituals. The Rite for Infant Baptism (Ordo Baptismi parvulorum, May 15, 1969; second editio typica, June 24, 1973), for example, contains a prayer of exorcism at the end of the prayer of the faithful and litany, prior to (optional) anointing with the oil of catechumens (which functioned historically as an exorcism). But where the first edition spoke of freedom from the power of darkness (a potestate tenebrarum ), the second speaks rather of "original sin" (ab originalis culpae labe, BaptCh 49).

More elaborate exorcisms may be found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Exorcism is described as showing the "true nature of the spiritual life as a battle between flesh and spirit" (Chr InitAd 101) and the formulas (ibid. 113–118; 373) speak of preservation from sin and evil. The scrutinies, intended to purify and strengthen the candidate (ibid. 154), contain rites of exorcism whereby "the Church teaches the elect about the mystery of Christ who frees from sin. By exorcism they are freed from the effects of sin and from the influence of the devil, and they are strengthened in their spiritual journey and open their hearts to receive the gifts of the Savior" (ibid.156). The ritual's formulas (ibid. 164, 171, 178, 379, 383,387) reflect this understanding.

Similarly, the blessing of baptismal water in the rituals and the blessing of water at the beginning of the order of Mass in the Sacramentary no longer contain an exorcism of water (or of the salt, use of which is optional).

Scepticism regarding demonic possession and deemphasis of exorcism in no way imply denial of the power of evil customarily spoken of as the devil or Satan.

Bibliography: r. bÉraudy, "Scrutinies and Exorcisms," in j. wagner, ed., Adult Baptism and the Catechumenate. Concilium 22 (1967) 57–61. j. cortÉs and f. gatti, The Case against Possessions and Exorcisms (New York 1975). l. mitchell, Baptismal Anointing (London 1966). r. woods, The Occult Revolution (New York 1971).

[j. dallen]