A new rite for exorcism is to be introduced by the Catholic Church. The practice of expelling demons from a person has not been of obvious concern to the church authorities for 40 years, and in the matter is a further indication of its retreat to pre-Vatican II preoccupations.
The new rite has been approved by the Pope but must be submitted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Announcing the new rite in Rome yesterday, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estavez explained how demonic possession may be determined. Such a person may be "speaking with a great number of words from unknown languages, or understanding them, making known things either distant or hidden, showing strength beyond one's situation, together with vehement aversion towards God, Our Lady, the Cross and holy pictures".
Catholic doctrine teaches "that demons are fallen angels as a result of their sin, and that they are spiritual beings with great intelligence and power". An exorcism is a ceremony of prayers in which a priest, approved by a bishop, casts out an evil spirit, often calling on it aloud to leave a person. The cardinal said there was "great continuity" between the rites. In the new rite "the language is more sombre and fewer adjectives are used: however, the expression of faith in the power of God to expel the devil is the same".
Canon Law provides for an exorcist being available in every diocese. However, church sources said exorcisms or exorcists had been "few and far between" in Ireland, with none at all in recent decades.
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