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THE Catholic archbishop of Ottawa thinks the
nation’s capital needs at least two exorcists; but Victoria’s
bishop doesn’t think British Columbia’s capital needs any.
“We do take the devil very seriously,” said
Victoria Catholic Bishop Richard Gagnon. “But we do not have an
office of exorcist at this point.”
The Catholic church has an official rite of exorcism,
which regularizes the efforts of clergy and their lay supporters to expel
demons from the humans they possess.
It was updated in 1999 with the addition of warnings
that those suspected of being possessed be thoroughly vetted by doctors and
psychologists first.
“Prudence is a virtue the church needs to
practice in such cases,” says Gagnon, who implied that there have
been no cases of possession brought to the church’s attention on
Vancouver Island.
The Ottawa diocese reported a half dozen claims of
possession a year but only one genuine possession in the last 15 years,
according to newspaper reports.
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“Cases of possession are relatively rare,”
says Gagnon. If any arise the diocese will deal with it, he says, noting
that evil will be vanquished by “the light of Christ.”
The Catholic church has never taught that exorcisms are
a sure thing. Manuals from the Renaissance period, when exorcisms were
frequent, indicate the belief that the moral character and spiritual
strength of the exorcist and his supporters are a factor.
Such manuals warned would-be exorcists against entering
into conversations with the possessing demon. But during the religious wars
of 15th century France, Catholic exorcists carried on extended exorcisms
during which the demons made anti-Protestant com-ments that became
ammunition for propaganda. Thus, some modern secular historians believe
possessions were concocted.
Some Protestants evangelicals believe demons are
responsible for addictions and expel them.
– Steve Weatherbe
May 2008
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