Topic:  What is the Catholic Church's stance on sorcery and exorcism?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: February 2, 2004

Moderator who originally posted this source: Fr. Phillip Leach

Question:   I have a question concerning the catholic church and I was hoping you could help me!  At the moment I am reviewing Michael O'Brien's essay "Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children's Culture" for a rhetoric class. My question lies with his claims about Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome. Father Amorth and his opinions are a large basis for the essay.

I wasn't aware that the Catholic church still did exorcisms or that they recognized demons in the way that they were recognized 100 years ago. O'Brien came across as that it was common and a reasonable, common fact in his essay.  What is the Catholic Church's stance on sorcery, sorcery in media/fiction, and exorcism? Thank you so much for your time and patience! I appreciate you getting back to me and helping out a Lutheran who is uneducated on Catholic doctrine :)  Have a wonderful day!  Christine

Answer: 

Thanks for your question.  I haven’t read the essay to which to refer, but I think I get the gist of your question.

The bottom line is this:

As Catholics we believe very strongly in the power and presence of the HOLY SPIRIT.  A corollary to that position that seems to follow for us is this:  While the rational, corporeal world is certainly real, there is also, in a very real way, the world of “spirits” – we tend to call the good ones “angels.” That world of the spirits includes “spirits” that are not good, that are not “of the HOLY Spirit.”  Saint Ignatius of Loyola called the principle one of those spirits, “the enemy of our human nature” or “the counter spirit.”  These are, in more traditional language, the devil and his minions.  They, too – sadly, and God protect us all, you and me specifically, from their malevolent power – are real. 

Every diocesan (Catholic) Bishop has the right and responsibility to appoint a qualified priest to serve as diocesan exorcist for those intractable cases in which the Church determines that the prayerful service of such a competent authority would be useful.  Such determination is not undertaken lightly, nor is it, in virtually all cases, talked about easily or widely.  We tend to believe that we don’t want to give the ‘enemy of our human nature’ or the lieutenants of that one any more “air time,” so to speak, than is absolutely and minimally necessary – so powerful and malicious are the intentions of that one.

So may the good and powerful God protect you and me and all those we love and serve from that one.  (And I would suggest that you move on quickly and prayerfully from this topic to one that is more congenial and less dangerous.)

Blessings,

Father Phillip