“Many people evangelized by Catholic Charismatic Renewal
soon become aware of their inner resistance and of unresolved issues. They come
to see that there are spiritual bonds holding them captive and experience the
difficulty or even an inability to free themselves from this burden. Charity
inspired by the Holy Spirit gave rise to a desire within the Charismatic
Renewal, right from the outset, to pray for the release of these men and women
from their spiritual bondage and to help them with the inner struggle that was
oppressing them. The light that comes from prayer, prudent discernment and
experience have shown that in some of these cases the spiritual bondage
that plagues people is due to the direct influence of the devil. It is
precisely here that the ministry of deliverance belongs. This is a gift of
the Holy Spirit present since the time of the early Church.
Deliverance ministry, although it differs sharply from major
(or public) exorcism reserved to a bishop and the priests appointed by him and
based on the appropriate ritual brings about an understanding of the immense
healing and liberating power that emanates from the person of Jesus, Son of
God, in whose name the deliverance is invoked. It is also a comforting
rediscovery of the richness of our Baptism as it makes each of the faithful a
member of the body of Christ, a sharer, to some extent, in the divine
prerogatives of Christ the Head. Deliverance ministry, in this respect, helps
to highlight the important role that the lay faithful can and must play in
evangelization, in the maternal mission of the Church to heal the wounds of
humanity and in spreading God's Kingdom everywhere and in every social sphere.
The mission of the seventy-two disciples who were made partakers in Christ's
power to cast out demons (cf. Lk 10:17) prefigures the involvement of all
the lay faithful in preaching the Gospel and delivering people from the
spiritual interference by Satan that afflicts so many souls.”
Excerpt from Cardinal Kevin Farrell
Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge”
2 Cor 2:11 ...so that Satan will not outsmart us.
For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
The widespread abandonment of Christian faith and an and
increasing aggressive secularism have created a spiritual vacuum, which many
people have sought to fill through occult practices, spiritualism, freemasonry,
neo-pagan and New Age spiritual-ities, or even overt Satanism.
At the same time these social changes have been
occurring, there has been a marked silence among Catholics regarding demons and
their real influence in human life. Many priests have been trained in forms of
biblical criticism that interpreted the Gospel accounts of demon-possession as
simply a primitive way of speaking of mental illness.
This silence has created a situation where many
Catholics, including priests, lack an understanding of the devil and his
strategies. (2 Corinthians 2:11)
Paradoxically, the silence has also led to an unhealthy
fear of the demonic realm, especially among people not well educated in the
faith. All these elements of the contemporary situation have led to a vast
unmet need for deliverance from various kinds of spiritual bondage and
oppression. It is tragic that Catholics in some areas seek out help from
spiritualists or shamans for relief from demonic affliction because they do not
believe the Church is able to help them – or in some cases, they seek help from
the Church and do not find it, since they are in need of neither major
exorcism norprofessional medical help, but simply deliverance. In
some areas Catholics turn instead to Pentecostal and independent charismatic
ministries for help. The lack of understanding of deliverance also hinders
evangelization when native peoples are more keenly aware of the power of evil
spirits than Catholic missionaries are in of the liberating power of the
name of Jesus. There is an urgent need for the Church to wake up to this
grave situation.
At the heart of this ecclesial renewal is the entry of
the laity into their full role and dignity as baptized members of the body of
Christ, called to the perfection of holiness and full participation in the
mission of the Church. (Luke 10)
Over the years, as deliverance ministry has matured, many
unsound ideas and practices have been abandoned. But there remains a need for
guidelines, as well as prudent oversight and discernment on the part of the
Church’s pastors.
Deliverance ministry in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
is clearly meeting an immense spiritual need in the contemporary world. Through
it, many people have experienced in a valid personal way, the truth that Jesus
came to set captives free. Just as deliverance was an essential part of
evangelism in the early Church, so it is an essential part of the new evangelization
today. Despite the various problems and challenges, St. Paul’s advice remains
ever valid: ‘”Do not quench the Spirit....but test everything; hold fast what
is good, abstain from every form of evil” 1Thess. 5:19-22
A summary of the Introduction from the Book: Deliverance
Ministry ICCRS
International Charismatic Renewal Services Doctrinal
Commission