Church not doing enough exorcism; Vatican, bishops & priests must step up fight against devil

 Catholic Church doesn’t seem to be doing enough exorcism to stop the devil or demons from taking people away from God. Many from the laity and even clergy still doubt whether exorcism is given its due importance in the Catholic Church.

 However, that’s not the case in many denominations. “In some denominations of the 
Protestant church, exorcisms are still practiced frequently and fruitfully,” wrote late Fr Gabriele Amorth, the official exorcist of Rome, in one of his books.

 Satan or devil or demon is not a concept. It’s an active force, a living, spiritual being that is perverted and that perverts others. It is a terrible reality, mysterious and frightening. We must destroy them to save souls for God.

  While the people – including Christians -- across the world are swimming in a sea of sins, there’s hardly any exorcism done in parishes or dioceses. Priests general avoid talking about the manipulations done by Satan in their sermons. There’s a general reluctance to accept the fact that devil is active in the world, the latest example being the coronavirus pandemic raging across the world. “I must point out that too many churchmen are totally disinterested in these problems (created by Satan), and so they leave the faithful defenseless,” Fr Amorth wrote.

 Whatever exorcism is done happens in Catholic retreat centres where charismatic preachers cast out devil from people. Catholic Church can do much more, especially at a time when more and more people are rampantly indulging in a sinful life.

 However, there are priests who refuse to believe that devil or Satan is a spiritual being with a personality. Their argument is that devil is just an evil power. All this shows that Catholic seminaries should ramp up their curriculum and empower priests in a better way to loosen the grip of Satan/           

 Devil does exist and he’s moving around like a roaring lion. If you give him millimeter of space to him, he will barge in and destroy you and take you away from God. In Bible, we can find several instances when Jesus Christ cast out demons from people. Jesus has given that right to His Apostles, and through them to the priests over centuries.   

 Vatican should spread the message about the need to eliminate the growing influence of devil on people. Bishops across many countries haven’t done anything to strengthen the ministry of exorcism. “Bishops must realize that this ministry is entirely entrusted to their care; it’s only they who can practice or delegate and exorcism. Sadly since most bishops have never performed an exorcism, they are seldom aware of the extent of the need,” said Amorth who performed thousands of exorcism over several decades.

 The first Pope to write about the danger posed by Devil in recent times is Pope Paul VI. “We know that this dark disturbing being exists and that he is still at work with his treacherous cunning; he is the hidden enemy who sows errors and misfortunes in human history… This matter of the Devil and of the influence he can exert on individuals as well as on communities, entire societies or events, is a very important chapter of Catholic doctrine which should be studied again, although it is given little attention today,” Pope Paul VI wrote in 1972.

 “The Christian must be a militant; he must be vigilant and strong; and he must at times make use of special ascetical practices to escape from certain diabolical attacks,” he says.

  It’s very important to get an awareness of evil if we are to have a correct Christian concept of the world, life and salvation. We see this first in the unfolding of the Gospel story at the beginning of Jesus Christ’s public life. Who can forget the highly significant description of the triple temptation of Christ?

 Vatican should lead from the front. Let’s hope and pray that Pope Francis will enlighten and empower people in the fight against devil and demons. Bishops and priests across the world should become warriors of the Lord and increase the awareness among people about the traps being laid by the evil ones. Let’s hope that they will step up their fight against the evil ones and lead people to salvation.