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Vatican banishes
the Devil from its exorcisms
By Victoria Combe, Religion Correspondent, and Bruce Johnston in Rome
THE image of the Devil as a beast with tail and pitchfork was cast aside by the Vatican yesterday as it sought to provide a "more subtle and sophisticated" interpretation of evil.
The Vatican declared at a conference in Rome that the Devil was a "harmful influence" which was exercised through "deception, falsehoods, lies and confusion" throughout humanity.
The definition of evil as a pervasive force which tricks people, rather than a demon which possesses people, was given by Cardinal Jorge Medina. It follows the decree earlier this month which said God the Father was no longer to be imagined as an "old man with a white beard".
As Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, the Cardinal launched a new formula for exorcism which takes into account a modern understanding of evil. The new rite acknowledges that psychological disturbances and illnesses such as epilepsy and schizophrenia have often been misinterpreted as diabolic possession and recommends clergy to take guidance from psychiatrists before performing exorcisms.
"One must be very careful", said the cardinal yesterday, "since ordinary people tend to confuse psychosomatic and psychological problems with demonic ones".
Bishop Corrado Balducci, a well-known exorcist, has reported to the Vatican that from his experience only five or six cases in every thousand were genuinely possessed. The great majority were mentally disturbed.
Under the new ritual, priests will be asked not to refer to "the Prince of Darkness" or "the Satanic Power", but to keep to looser terms such as "the cause of evil".
Both Old and New Testaments refer to Satan, Beelzebub and the Devil depicted as Lucifer, the fallen angel who set himself against God. In Genesis, the Devil is described as a serpent, in the Gospel of Matthew he is "the Evil One", in Peter a roaring lion and in Revelation "an old snake". The Gospels describe Jesus Christ casting out demons and being "tested by the Devil" during the 40 days and nights in the wilderness.
The new rite is a revision of 21 exorcism rituals which were approved by Pope Paul V in 1614. Central to the ritual is the priest laying hands on the victim and repeating: "I exorcise you." The decision to update the ritual for the Millennium followed concern about the rise in satanic cults, fortune-telling, tarot cards, magic and witchcraft.
The new rite has precise instructions for the priest, telling him to place the end of a stole on the victim's neck and to keep his right hand on the victim's head to "impede diabolic disturbances". It begins with sprinkling of holy water and the priest invokes the Holy Spirit and shows the victim a crucifix representing the power of Christ over the Devil. It lists criteria for demonic possession including "speaking with a great number of words from unknown languages" and a "vehement aversion towards God, Our Lady, the Cross and holy pictures".
Cardinal Medina reassured yesterday's conference that the Church still believed in the existence of Satan and evil spirits and that there were no "radical changes" in teaching. "Catholic doctrine teaches us that demons are fallen angels as a result of their sin, and that they are spiritual beings with great intelligence and power," said Cardinal Medina, "The whole world moves around the Devil."
Rather than coming via spectacular apparitions, said the cardinal, the Devil fooled men by making them think that happiness was found in "money, power, and in carnal concupiscence". "He tricks men by persuading them that that they have no need of God, and they are self-sufficient, without need of grace and salvation."
The revised rite was welcomed by Fr Brendan Callaghan, a priest and psychologist at Heythrop College, London, who claimed it showed a new understanding of the evil within people.
"It is tempting to externalise and personify evil and so to shift the responsibility away from ourselves," he said. He believed that priests should turn to a psychologist or psychiatrist as a "first port of call" before agreeing to perform an exorcism.
