Why this Catholic priest objects to the 'private exorcist' trend
Denver, Colo., Aug 5, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A recent article in the Economist has some disturbing news about the rise of so-called “professional exorcists” in France and elsewhere, according to one Catholic exorcist.
“It almost seemed like the main focus was on entertainment,” Fr. Vince Lampert of the International Association of Exorcists told CNA, speaking on one of the problems with the phenomenon.
“For the purpose of any exorcism, one of the steps would be for the person to re-connect with their faith or to discover their faith for the first time. It almost seemed like people there were just thinking of evil as something that you can kind of play around with.”
Fr. Lampert is the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, having functioned as such since 2005. While the identities of most exorcists are kept secret, Fr. Lampert often gives talks on the subject.
The Economist piece details the practice of “private exorcists” independent of the Church, claiming that the reason for a rise in popularity is two-fold: a perceived lack of interest from the Church and the benefits customers believe they receive from the “rituals.”
As far as lack of interest from the Church goes, Fr. Lampert responded that in his view, this is not the case. Rather, the Church simply wants to be cautious with cases potentially involving demonic activity, rather than rush to a quick judgment as some may want.
“The Church always wants to move very cautiously,” he said.
He described times when he has seen people who seem to desire a quick-fix to their problems or a superstitious solution, such as those offered by sangomas, a sort of shaman in South Africa that Fr. Lampert believes may be connected to the French phenomenon due to immigration.
“I will say that oftentimes I encounter people that really don’t want any connection with faith,” said Fr. Lampert.
“They just want to treat the priest-exorcist as a shaman as well. ‘There’s evil in my life, make it go away; I don’t really want there to be any responsibility on my part to pray or to grow in faith for the Church.’ They don’t want to change any aspect of their life, they just expect the priest exorcist to make all this go away.”
The business of “private exorcists” can be booming. The Economist article references one of these “professionals” as claiming to make €12,000 (over $14,000) a month from the business. True exorcisms conducted by the Church, however, never have monetary costs associated.
“The Church does view exorcism as a ministry of charity, so she helps anyone who’s in need,” said Fr. Lampert.
Additionally, the perceived positive effect of these “rituals” may actually be dangerous.
“If it’s evil at work, then somehow evil is giving the illusion that somehow what they’re doing is being efficacious, if you will, as a way to continue to play and toy with the people that somehow believe that they can combat the forces of evil independent of the presence of God,” Fr. Lampert said.
These “professionals” mistakenly seem to claim that it is through their power that they exercise their supposed spiritual authority, Fr. Lampert noted.
“Certainly, I didn’t hear any reference to Christ. It almost seemed like it was the individual who was the one casting out evil. But certainly from a Catholic perspective the exorcist would be operating within the name and the power and the glory of Christ. It’s not any power or authority that I possess on my own.”
He describes how this functions in a true exorcism.
“Ultimately, Christ would be the exorcist, because you’re calling on his name, his power, the authority that comes from Christ, and then the priest, the exorcist then, is an instrument that Christ is using.”
Furthermore, these fake rituals can do more harm than good for the person desiring them if they have issues arising from sources other than the demonic, he added.
“The Church could end up causing more harm than good if it labels a person as being possessed, and that label doesn’t allow the person to get the true help that they need, perhaps from their medical doctor or from a mental health professional. You could have these professionals who are just preying on people’s misery, and they could actually be making things a lot worse.”
Fr. Lampert described the process which someone who suspects that demonic activity has entered their life should go through.
“The number one place where people should always begin is with their local pastor, so if they’re Catholic they should talk to the local parish priest who can listen to their story. If you just call somebody blindly and say, ‘I think I’m possessed,’ you might get a non-favorable response from them. But if you go in and you say, ‘OK, there are certain things go on that I can’t figure out, can you help me?’ then that priest is going to be better equipped to make the connection between the exorcist of that diocese and that person.”
He compared this to going to a doctor for physical ailments.
“It’d be like if you need to see a medical professional, a cardiologist, you don’t just walk in and see one; you go through your family doctor who then makes the connection for you. A person should always rely on their local pastor.”
Fr. Lampert also listed a desire for “immediate gratification” as well as resistance to following Church procedures on exorcisms as reasons people turn to unqualified professionals.
If someone seeking help isn’t a practicing Catholic, “then people have to be willing to follow the procedures and the protocols that the Church has in place. Sometimes, people don’t like that, and that’s when they can turn to these so-called professionals because they will give them immediate gratification, if you will.” The Church often assists non-Catholics with these problems.
Many dioceses have an exorcist assigned within them by the local bishop. For safety purposes, their information is usually not made public, hence the need to consult first with a local pastor.
In a piece first published in the National Catholic Register in March, Fr. Lampert noted that demonic activity and the need for exorcist services in the U.S. is on the rise as well.
“The problem isn’t that the devil has upped his game, but more people are willing to play it,” Father Lampert said in reference to pornography, illegal drugs use, and the occult. “Where there is demonic activity, there is always an entry point.”
“As the acceptance of sin has increased, so, too, has demonic activity,” said Msgr. John Esseff of the Pope Leo XII Institute, which trains priests “to bring the light of Christ to dispel evil.” Msgr. Esseff was quoted in the Register article.
Fr. Lampert in the March piece noted that while true possessions are rare, exorcists also assist in the case of demonic infestation, vexation, and obsession.
According to the register piece, “(h)e explained that demonic infestation happens in places where things might move and there are loud noises. With vexation, a person is physically attacked and might have marks such as bruises, bites or scratches. Demonic obsession involves mental attacks, such as persistent thoughts of evil racing through one’s mind.”
However, he cautions against the faithful focusing too much on the devil. “The focus should be on God and Jesus Christ,” he said in the Register piece. “When I remind myself that God is in charge, it puts everything in perspective, and the worry and fear dissipates.”
“If people would build up their faith lives, the devil will be defeated.”
Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/why-this-catholic-priest-objects-to-the-private-exorcist-trend-15464/
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.2Thess 2:10..because they received not THE LOVE (Agape)of the truth, that they might be saved. 11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
123’s of true Christianity v popular & damnable heresies
#1 “ONE” not triune: ……PART 4 & 5 HOW MANY GODS ARE THERE FOR THE ONE GOD TO TALK TO?? Who was Jesus praying to??!?…. The real question should be … How does having multiple different persons keep this one God/being/entity from praying to himself?! (The trinitarian “schizophrenic” “god-head”) The Trinitarians want to have their cake and eat it too as the saying goes. On the one hand they need to say they only worship one indivisible God being/ entity but on the other hand they feel the need for some reason to keep Jesus or God from praying and talking to himself by dividing him up into different persons!?! It never occurs to them that that since there is only one indivisible God to pray too and Jesus is that indivisible God come in the flesh that he would need to talk to himself as to show us how to live, suffer, pray and die for our/ flesh) benefit not his!?!….. So while Trinitarians are quick to complain that God was not talking to himself at Christ baptism or in Gen “let us” they ignore the logical demands of their own theology! If Jesus is the ONE GOD in flesh and the Father is the SAME ONE GOD in heaven then Trinitarianism demands THE ONE GOD is talking to HIMSELF the same “being”! Claiming that God is multiple different persons as the reason for why God is not talking to himself (because God is three different “selfs”) only demonstrates that what they really worship is in fact not a ONE GOD who talks to himself but three different god “selfs”/ and they all talk to each other! When they speak about who God was talking and praying to, they are quick to say “the other person, NOT HIMSELF!” But if you ask them how many gods do they pray to then they will say “ONLY ONE”!?! They expect you to believe that those three different persons are THE ONE GOD-BEING” which is like calling three different cars “THE ONE VEHICLE” (they are text book examples of prov 26:12)
Mark 12:28…Which is the first commandment of all? 29. …Hear, O Israel; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: 30. And ………..this is the first commandment….. 31. And the second is….. IF YOU CAN’T GET THIS “FIRST OF ALL COMMANDMENTS” RIGHT, ALL THE REST OF YOUR “FAITH” AND PREACHING ON LOVE & SIN IS MOOT
PART 6: THE ANTI CHRIST….WHERE? WHERE?….EVERYWHERE!!! …..IT”S YOU O TRINITARIAN!
“WHO” it was (what person) that came “IN THE FLESH”, IS THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “ANT-CHRIST”! Even Islam claims Jesus was the Jewish messiah/Christ who was to come in the flesh) they all deny “WHO” it was (what person) that came (to be the Christ) in the flesh!?!…….To deny the father is to deny the son because they are one and the same person that came in the flesh!
JOHN 14: 8-20 ….Note Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: …: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, … the everlasting Father ….The son, father/Holy Spirit are all the same person, NOT like two different persons working together even as “one flesh” ….The “oneness” between Christ and the father is not comparable to a man & his wife, for only a fool would say “When you have seen me you have seen my wife, how sayest thou then, Shew us your wife?” Notice they asked to see THE FATHER and the response was Jn 14:9 ..“HAVE I BEEN SO LONG time with you, and yet hast THOU NOT KNOW ME, Philip…..Now image some fool trying to claim that statement if you asked to see his wife!?!!? You want to see the FATHER but have I been with you but you don’t know me!?!?!
Jn 14 continued….…………..17. Even THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH; (Jn 14:6 I AM the way, THE TRUTH,) whom the world cannot receive, .. for HE DEWLLETH WITH YOU, (present tense/standing next to them in the flesh) and SHALL BE IN YOU… (future tense “In them”) 18. I will not leave you comfortless: I WILL COME TO YOU (future tense “In them”) Note: The spirit of Christ is the sprit of God and the holy spirit that is why Christ said “I will come to you” (to comfort them, because Christ is the comforter). The spirit was standing next to them in flesh… ….latter it would come to them to be inside of them (inside of their flesh as the spirit we are given)…..that is why. he would send the spirit…… However, Jesus himself here makes the point that the same person who was the HOLY SPIRIT that would come was standing next to them but lets them know “I will come to you again to be Inside of you”
The whole point to Gal 3:20.a mediator is NOT A MEDIATOR OF ONE, (HEIS) but GOD IS ONE. (HEIS) again, point blank, identifies the number of persons of God! The “but” points out the contrast between multiple persons in a mediation party v the “one” of God. God is not like a mediation party with multiple different persons. …..”the express image of his person” ( the person of God; singular not plural).Any attempt to lay claim otherwise is willful ignorance and delusional nonsense
TRINITARIANS CONFESS JESUS /THEY ARE NOT POLYTHEIST BUT ARE MONOTHEIST LIKE A LIAR & THIEF WHO “CONFESS” THEY DO NOT LIE OR STEAL The simple fact is that just because you confess or deny that you are in an adulterous relationship and denounce all forms of adultery has nothing to do with whether or not it is in fact adulterous! .. …A rose by any other name is still just a rose AND calling it a water lily does not change the definition of what a water Lilly or a rose is either!…No, Trinitarians confess & preach literally …”ANOTHER JESUS” 2 Cor 11:4
- Like a thief in your house caught stealing your things insisting he was not there stealing “I CONFESS I am NOT stealing”. You just do not “properly understand” what he is doing/saying. Further, since you never had a “proper understanding” of what he is doing/saying you have no business accusing him since you do not even know what you are talking about in the first place. It is with and in your own ignorance that you base your “false accusations” & “ad homonym attacks” against him…… Ridiculous of course it is ……2Thess 2:11; Titus 1:16; 2Tim 3:5;
…… should have given you a hint, harking back to Satan in The garden…God said you will die…Satan comes along and states no you will be more WISE……today .God said He is one; but Satan’s children come along and say no three is more WISE and humble in the face of God’s grandeur only “a mystery” that can be understood “in faith”. God uses head and right arm to explain the distinctions between father and son.. However, the Trinitarian heretics say to the effect: “NO, that is just a figure of speech, or that is not what God really means. What God is really saying is that God is three different persons”. Fools, hypocrites and blind guides, God said he was One and by your traditions and vain imaginations have taken the words of God and made them of no effect, refashioning God into your image!
You can download the complete FREE book from
https://www.scribd.com/doc/305367608/The-Trinity-Heresy
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https://www.academia.edu/23463667/THE_TRINITY_HERESY
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http://www.globethics.net/gtl/10920799 THE TRINITY HERESY
#2 SECOND COMING Thou Fool! “I come quickly” so “Hold fast
till i come”… NOT …“in another 2000 yrs I might be coming soon any time now, so hold fast”!?! …those that deny the second coming of Christ in the war of AD70 are practicing a damnable heresy in denying the lord that bought them ( 2Peter 2:1-2 ;2Tim 4:8/ you cant love an appearing you deny& the context is the 2nd coming not the first)… Mat 7:23..”I NEVER KNEW YOU” …..Mat 10:33. But whosoever shall deny me before men……..sound familiar?…. If I said I am coming to your house in this generation when these things happen but no one knows the day or hour what fool would think I might be coming in 2000 years latter!?!? ..2 Tim 4: 4. And
they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be TURNED UNTO FABLES.
2Thess 2: 11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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https://www.academia.edu/23464127/REVELATION_THE_FIRST_GOSPEL_OF_THE_KINGDOM
#3 There is a sharp contrast between THREE groups :
(1) “PREDESTINED DAMNED” who were NEVER written in the book of life ………..Rev 17: 8 WHOSE NAMES WERE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, …as contrasted …EPH 1: 4. According as he hath CHOSEN US in him BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
(2) “MANY CALLED”= ONLY and ALL SAINTS (those who come to Christ) are written in the book of life … Philippians 4:3… ……Rev 21:27; (Only saints are Called and elect; Rom 1:6-7 et al) This is THE CHRUCH and ONLY these can have their names blotted out of the book of life ….….Heb 12:23 to the general assembly and CHURCH of the firstborn … WHICH ………are WRITTEN in heaven,
(3) THE FEW CHOSEN: Those saints who were alive in group #2 who are now physically dead. They died “faithful” these are the FEW that were chosen faithful…….Rev 3:5. ……; and I
will not BLOT OUT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, (Ps 69:28) …. These are the FEW that are CHOSEN and now that they have died and are saved then “once saved THEY CAN NEVER BE LOST”
Predestination….its true..its all true…download here
https://www.scribd.com/doc/306868420/Most-True-Christians-Go-to-Hell
http://www.globethics.net/gtl/10920800 Most true Christians go to hell
https://www.academia.edu/25217564/Most_True_Christains_Go_to_Hell