Exorcisms - Part 4. Sorry..It doesn't add up..

 

Monday, 23 December 2024

Exorcisms Part 4. Sorry. .. It doesn't add up....

 The publicity on television and in the newspapers was all about "Illegal Exorcisms".

It was said that an "expert" was coming from Rome to hold an investigation into the "Illegal Exorcisms". The fact is that we may never know why the Apostolic Visitation was called. It may be disappointing for the people who thought it was indeed about the "Illegal Exorcisms", but the facts do not seem to add up to that being the reason at all. It could have been a 'smoke screen' for something else. It could be that the people complaining were a convenient occasion.

For the world it looked to be about "Illegal Exorcisms". But "Illegal Exorcisms" are not difficult to decide. Legal or illegal Exorcisms are a simple matter of arithmetic. You simply count the Faculty Letters issued by the local ordinaries and match them with the people who received the Rite of Exorcism. That does not take two months of Apostolic Visitation to sift.

The fact is that the Apostolic Visitator never asked any member of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer any questions about Exorcism. 

The Apostolic Visitator never asked to see any paperwork at all, about anything at all. He wasn't interested either in asking questions or receiving answers.

Concerning Exorcisms this is all that came back from Rome:

"Exorcisms
The Bishop of Christchurch has put a stop to all unauthorized exorcisms. Some exorcisms performed by FSSR priests in the past may have been approved but other seem not to have been."

Comments:

1. The first sentence makes no sense at all: How can authority put a stop to what is unauthorised? If it is unauthorized, it means that authority was ignored in the first place. So if authority is ignored, how could authority put a stop to what was, and would always be, excluded from? 

2 The second sentence concludes nothing at all. It is not arithmetic. "some... may have... other seem not." This was a question of straight arithmetic. The answer was easy to find. Certainty was possible.

We had headlines! We had TV exorcism graphs on the map! Experts. Unfortunately it produced nearly two lines and thoroughly concluded nothing when a conclusion was certainly possible. Whatever it was all about, it certainly wasn't sincerely looking into Exorcisms and finding the truth about them. Nor was it about anything we were questioned about.

Believing the experience of the Apostolic Visitation was a sincere event in our lives is proving to be a challenge. 

   

 

at December 23, 2024 No comments: 

 

 

Exorcism Part 3 - Prolonged Exorcisms...What does the Church say?

 

Exorcisms Part 3 - Prolonged Exorcisms.... What does the Church say?

 The newspapers and Internet accused the exorcisms performed by the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer as being "prolonged". 

The accusation of "prolonged" exorcism means that the priests performing the exorcisms were abusive and in the wrong from the get-go. They were "prolonged" therefore they were certainly abusive.

What does the Rite of Exorcism itself say about the length of exorcisms?

Standard 17.

Standard 17 has the answer:

"17. He will pay attention as to what words in particular cause the evil spirits to tremble, repeating them the more frequently. And when he comes to a threatening expression, he recurs to it again and again, always increasing the punishments. If he perceives that he is making progress, let him persist for two, three, four hours, and longer if he can until victory is attained."

The sessions that our priests conducted were usually as follows:
Preparation: First Holy Mass was offered for the person receiving the Rite of Exorcism.
Rubric 1 of the Rite says in red:
The priest delegated by the Ordinary to perform the office shall have gone to confession, or at least elicited an act of contrition, and offered the holy sacrifice of the Mass, if it was convenient to do so; he ought, moreover, to have implored God's help in devout prayer. Vested in surplice and purple stole, and having before him the person possessed (in fetters if there is any danger) he traces the sign of the Cross over him, over himself, and the bystanders, then sprinkles them with holy water. Kneeling down he prays the Litany of the Saints exclusive of the prayers that follow it, with the others making the responses. Thereupon he says:
Antiphon. Ne reminiscaris...

Session 1 Then the priest reads the Rite as prescribed 60 - 90 minutes.
Refreshment Break 30 minutes. (Priest and assistants have been fasting from the night before).
Session 2 Ususlly shorter than 60 minutes.

The Rite of Exorcism as laid down by the Roman Ritual is the law and the standard by which all judgments should be made.
By the Rite of Exorcism a 90 minute session could in no way be considered to be "prolonged" since it does not hit the two hour base line.

The Rite itself encourages a session to be 3 or 4 hours long, and even longer. (cf Standard 17 above)

Conclusion:

The traditional Rite of Exorcism sets the standards.

Anyone asking for the traditional Rite must expect it to be 

according to the standards and the rubrics.

The priests worked within the time line structures of the rite.

The statements made about "prolonged" exorcisms indicates ignorance of the Rite. 

at December 23, 2024 No comment

Exorcisms Part 2 - The Roman Ritual (continued) - report from Christchurch, New Zealand.

Please see previous recent posts from Christchurch, New Zealand, for full story of Bishop's harsh treatment of the 'Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer F.ss.R'  You may wish to express your feelings to the RC Bishop of Christchurch.     Editor 

Exorcisms Part 2 - The Roman Ritual

Coat of Arms of Pope Paul V 

The Rite of Exorcism is found in the Roman Ritual promulgated as law by Pope Paul V in 1614.

Understanding the Roman Ritual is therefore important in evaluating the Exorcisms that the local ordinary asked the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer to perform when he issued faculties for the Rite.

Through the centuries there were many different Rites. With the advent of printing it was decided by the Council of Trent to review and publish them in one book for the Latin Church. It was not immediate. It was only in 1614 that Pope Paul V brought into being, the book we know as the Roman Ritual, or in Latin the Rituale Romanum.

Pope Paul V  (1550 - 1621)

The Roman Ritual contains the sacred and authentic rites of the Church that are to be observed in the administration of the sacraments and other ecclesiastical functions so that they should be carried out according to a public and fixed standard by following the rubrics.

What are Rubrics?
The rubrics are the directions that govern the rites. It is important to note that rubrics are laws, they are not creative suggestions. They have full legal force. Rubrics bind as law in the same way that Canon Law binds. They emanate from the Pope and impose upon the priest an obligation to obey them. With the Rubrics the Pope also set out the 21 Normae, the standards to be observed

TITULUS Xll

The Rite of Exorcism is Titulus XII in the Rituale Romanum made law by Pope Paul V in 1614.

1952 edition of the Rituale Romanum

The Rite of Exorcism underwent no change in the 1952 edition photographed on this post.

All questions concerning the Rite of Exorcism should reference the rubrics and standards of the Rite as set out by the Church through Pope Paul V in 1614. 

Conclusion:
Any questions about the Rite of Exorcism 

should be answered by:
What does the Rite direct?

Did the priest follow the directions?

Was he obedient to the Pope's Rubrics and Standards?

 

at  December 23, 2024 No comments: