“What they’re trying to do in restoring exorcisms,” said Dr. Appleby, a longtime observer of the bishops, “is to strengthen and enhance what seems to be lost in the church, which is the sense that the church is not like any other institution. It is supernatural, and the key players in that are the hierarchy and the priests who can be given the faculties of exorcism. “It’s a strategy for saying: ‘We are not the Federal Reserve, and we are not the World Council of Churches. We deal with angels and demons.’ ”
The New York Times released an article on November 12, 2010 explaining the Roman Catholic desire to begin preforming exorcisms again. The priests commenting in the article clearly stated that the Hollywood versions of gorey and bloody exorcisms do not clearly depict what an actual religious exorcism is like, and places the Church under a lot of pressure when considering starting this intense religious practice again.
Their main goal in restoring exorcisms is to give a stronger name to the Church. Years ago, the Roman Catholic Church had much power, often over political views and movements. The Church represented something that people could see as credible, as the Church's efforts religiously created an extreme devotion by its followers. Priests and other members of the Church were seen as divine, as they had the closest connection to God. Often, people's lives depended on prayer and attending church so that they could be enlightened by the Priest's lessons and recieve a closer connection to divinity.
Considering the strength of the Catholic Church in the past, and the many controversies of the Church today, the Roman Catholic members see exorcisms as a way to bring back this devotion and power. Although not many are trained in exorcisms, bishops are holding lessons to teach more priests in this act. Also, not everyone who requests an exorcism recieves one.
Their main goal in restoring exorcisms is to give a stronger name to the Church. Years ago, the Roman Catholic Church had much power, often over political views and movements. The Church represented something that people could see as credible, as the Church's efforts religiously created an extreme devotion by its followers. Priests and other members of the Church were seen as divine, as they had the closest connection to God. Often, people's lives depended on prayer and attending church so that they could be enlightened by the Priest's lessons and recieve a closer connection to divinity.
Considering the strength of the Catholic Church in the past, and the many controversies of the Church today, the Roman Catholic members see exorcisms as a way to bring back this devotion and power. Although not many are trained in exorcisms, bishops are holding lessons to teach more priests in this act. Also, not everyone who requests an exorcism recieves one.
"It's only used in those cases where the Devil is involved in an extraordinary sort of way in terms of actually being in possession of the person. But it's rare, it's extraordinary, so the use of exorcism is also rare and extraordinary," says Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, IL.
Those who can preform exorcisms are not excited to be known for it. They do their best to keep undercover, as exorcisms are a very sacred practice of the Chruch. These acts demonstrate the very traditional and ancient forms of Roman Catholicsm and public reports of them are not necessarily welcomed.
Reverend Richard Vega points out that another call for the rebirth of exorcisms is due to the increase of Hispanic and African Roman Catholic followers, who, culturally, "are more attuned to the experience of the supernatural."
Because the Catholics believe that the Devil is real and can possess a person who, most likely, is not leading a moral and spiritually good life, they feel that exorcisms are an important part of the religion to bring back into the Catholic culture throughout the world. It will be interesting to see if this takes the Church "two steps back" or if it brings them increased religious power and cherishment.
Those who can preform exorcisms are not excited to be known for it. They do their best to keep undercover, as exorcisms are a very sacred practice of the Chruch. These acts demonstrate the very traditional and ancient forms of Roman Catholicsm and public reports of them are not necessarily welcomed.
Reverend Richard Vega points out that another call for the rebirth of exorcisms is due to the increase of Hispanic and African Roman Catholic followers, who, culturally, "are more attuned to the experience of the supernatural."
Because the Catholics believe that the Devil is real and can possess a person who, most likely, is not leading a moral and spiritually good life, they feel that exorcisms are an important part of the religion to bring back into the Catholic culture throughout the world. It will be interesting to see if this takes the Church "two steps back" or if it brings them increased religious power and cherishment.
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