...continued on page 3
I was practicing one of my vices
the other day, scrolling through
Twitter. I read some Catholics raise
concern about what many people
name—celebrity exorcists.
For those of you who do not
know, a celebrity exorcist is usually,
though not always, a Catholic
priest who uploads videos and/or
podcasts on one or more of various
platforms and addresses issues
regarding demonic inuence. One
of the prime problems with their
teachings is similar to the old game
“Telephone”. They say something
and eventually others quoting them
take their words out of context and
say things like “Father (Exorcist)
warns you can be possessed by
watching horror movies,” and
similar statements.
I lived with an exorcist and I
never heard of this from him. In
any case, this causes an undo and
inaccurate focus on the power of
the devil and not enough focus on
the ways of God. The devil, I am
sure delights in this.
Note what I am writing. I am not
saying the exorcist says this, I am
saying that others say the exorcist
says this. I believe this is a problem
for the Church and really do wish
that so called celebrity exorcists
stopped posting on YouTube and
other venues.
I believe the devil is real and I
believe sin is real but I also believe
that we have a mission to focus
people on the will and power of
God. It is not the role of any priest
or even Catholic minister of any
type to get people to focus on
the demonic even in the name of
avoiding it.
One of the things I teach is
something exorcists taught me, the
most powerful form of exorcism is
the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I
also explain that no one does movies
about this potent rite because it just
does not work in story form.
I learned from an exorcist who
studied the case on which the book
and movie were based of helping
people renounce those attachments
that become openings to sin and
the demonic. This is exactly what
the sacrament of reconciliation
does. Someone comes into the
confessional and confesses their
sins. Their confession is actually
renouncing their unhealthy
connection to that which is against
will of God. This is why the rm
intention of amending their life is
so important because it is a form
of renunciation and breaking the
bonds of sin. Unfortunately, many
do not teach this and just proclaim
the rules of a good confession and
not the reason for the rules.
When you help people understand
the work of the grace of the
sacrament you can see just how
powerful it is. You can also see just
how powerful all the sacraments are
because they are a source of God’s
grace.
Unfortunately, they rarely come
with fireworks but fireworks sell
movies, TV shows and books.
People forget that the Rite of
Exorcism is a sacramental and it is
not as powerful as one confession
because that is a sacrament. The
whole of the sacrament is that one
has an encounter with God Himself
and it is God that initiates it.
We understand no one enters a
confessional unless they are guided
there by the Holy Spirit. So, we
know this is all manifestations of the
Father’s love expressed through the
priest In Persona Christi.
Several years ago, I wrote an article
which I linked to the Catholicism
subreddit on Reddit which is literally
one of the most popular forums on the
platform. I explained that someone
who may feel they are possessed
needs to see a neurologist. I added
that my experience shows that people
would rather learn they are possessed
by thousands of demons than they
need to see a medical professional.
Many of the faithful do not know
that some of what people feel are
demonic manifestations are actually
neurological issues. One symptom
of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy can be in
Be Careful of Those Who Quote Celebrity Exorcists - By Fr. Robert J. Carr, Boston Fraternity
The Visitation
A monthly publication of the Fraternity of Priests, Inc.
MARCH 2023
VOLUME XXXII
ISSUE 4
"The Visitation" is now digital! Visit fraternityofpriests.org to sign up to receive this newsletter via email and to access our
online donation form. This will help the Fraternity of Priests be more efficient and to simplify costs as we enter the new year.
!
Page 2 Fraternity of Priests Newsletter • March, 2023
Conference
goes June 12-
16, but we
will gather on
the 11th and
meet and pray
together on the
12th before the
PDS begins. If
you are able
to come on
Sunday, when
registering
on the Franciscan Conferences website
(steubenvilleconferences.com/events/pds),
use promo code FOPHousing-2023 to
waive the fee for the Sunday overnight.
If you fly in, please fly into Pittsburgh
International Airport. More information will
be coming about travel reimbursement and
Brotherhood Award nominations.
When I think about 40 years of gathering,
praying, praising, teaching, listening to the
word… I wonder at God’s goodness … and
also what He has in store for the next 40
years. Remember, we were made for this
time. May the Holy Spirit continue to move
in our hearts, to minister us and through us
to the people of God.
Grace and Peace,
Fr. Von DeRosia
Dear Fraternity Brothers and Friends of the Priesthood
L
ast year at our Fraternity
gathering in Tucson, we
were reminded that the
Fraternity is celebrating 40 years
this year. When I think of all God
has done through the Fraternity
over these years – what graces!
Fraternity priests helped form me
and nurtured my vocation to the
priesthood, and they also led me to
a greater acceptance of the power of
the Holy Spirit working in my life.
When it was suggested that we
go back to the Priest, Deacon,
Seminarian Conference (PDS)
at Franciscan University of
Steubenville – where we were began
– for the 40th Anniversary, I thought
it was a great idea. I’ve been to the
PDS Conferences several times
and have always found them to be
fruitful and a good time of gathering
with the brothers.
The Conference office told me
that, due to the national focus on
Eucharistic revival, they will be
focusing more on the Eucharist.
Of course, I was delighted to hear
that, as we all know how central the
Eucharist is, not only to Catholic
spirituality in general, but in a
special way to priestly spirituality.
Jesus invites us to intimacy as we
receive the Eucharist, but when we
preside in persona Christi capatis,
the Lord invites us into a special
intimacy. Every time I celebrate the
Mass, I am reminded of the great
call to holiness and intimacy with
the Lord (even though I often fail
miserably).
I pray that many from the Fraternity
will be able to join us for the PDS
Conference and Fraternity Meeting
at Franciscan University. The dates
are June 11-16, 2023. The PDS
EPISCOPAL
ADVISORS
Bishop Sam Jacobs
Houma-Thibodaux, LA
Bishop Mark O’Connell
Boston, MA
DIRECTORS
Fr. Volney DeRosia
Manchester, New Hampshire
Chairman
Fr. Robert Carr
Boston. MA
Fr. Dwight Merrick
Trinidad
Fr. Joseph Meagher
Newark, NJ
Fr. John Kiley
Boston, MA
Fr. Sylvester Nankpi
Wa, Ghana
Fr. Tom Galvin
Pittsburgh, PA
One of the objectives for
the Fraternity of Priests is to
inform our donors about the
ongoing nancial health and
details of the organization.
We thank those many faithful
benefactors who help make
our service possible. Thank
you!
Monthly Budget:
$4,750.00
Actual Donations:
$2,892.00
Budget Decit:
$1,858.00
Current as of
January 31, 2022.
Fraternity Financial
Report
Editor’s Note: Please send articles, comments, and
photos to the our editor, Fr. Bob Carr, via e-mail
to [email protected]. Newsletter material
from all Fraternity members is gratefully accepted.
Page 3 Fraternity of Priests Newsletter • March, 2023
I always explain to people the
words of St. Alphonsus Liguori
who taught to speak to Jesus as you
would a good friend. I also add that
he said it is those who pray who are
saved. I also remember the words of
St. James, resist Satan and he will
ee you.
These are the messages people
need to hear in a world where the
words of celebrity exorcists can be
ubiquitous. Again, I am not implying
any malicious intent on their part
but they have no control over their
words once they leave their video
channel or podcast and those words
can lead people on a path they do
not belong.
Many years ago an exorcist sent
me out to check out a case, a woman
seemed to act strange and speak a
strange unknown language. I prayed
with her and her family but also
encouraged the family to take her to
the emergency room. I learned later
that the doctor took one look at her
and said she was possessed. He did
not have the training or ability to
make that diagnosis. One exorcist
explained to be the two things he
despised: priests who immediately
dismissed such cases as medical and
doctors who immediately dismiss
such cases as possession. A full
evaluation is in order.
I later spoke to a pharmacist,
and anonymously described the
symptoms and asked if this could
be caused by a bad interaction of
medicines. She said, yes. That was
my original suspicion by the way.
Help your people to understand
the power of the sacraments and to
warn them from taking the words
of celebrity exorcists at a higher
level than even the teachings of the
Church.
Please send us your prayer intentions:______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
...continued from page 1
fact seeing demons or angels.
As one exorcist told me, if
someone has a brain tumor and you
treat him or her for possession the
patient will die of a brain tumor.
However, people in the forum
complained about “these priests who
will not simply go over and bless
someone.” You can see the problem
with not understanding the issue
more holistically.
Exorcism is reserved to the bishop
and he has to authorize it. The
reason is, according to exorcists, the
devil only recognizes the authority
of the bishop. So if someone starts to
perform one without his permission,
the devil will say “The Church is not
here,” and the exorcism will fail.
The danger with this focus on
exorcism is by default the podcasts
and videos can encourage people to
be prideful in their knowledge on the
workings of the demonic. Whenever
I hear of an exorcist boasting of
his successes I really get nervous.
A prudent exorcist will be humble
and careful of any form of boasting.
Many years ago, I learned the
lesson that we do not ght evil hence
the reason why we do not cast out
demons, God does.
Malachi Martin in his book
Hostage to the Devil tells a story
of someone who attempts just that.
Instead of speaking in the name of
Jesus, he spoke in his own name
and was thrown against the wall. We
do not have the power to ght evil
directly only God does so we ask
him to battle for us. When people get
caught up in the drama of ministries
of deliverance or exorcism they can
be lled with their own power and
this is dangerous.
We are currently in the period of
Lent and many people focus on sin
and try to turn away from it. There
are many who will share ways to
turn from sin that focus on the work
of the devil in unhealthy narratives.
We need to call the faithful to the
power of the sacraments and instruct
them on this rather undramatic but
potent avenue of grace and healing.
I would not necessarily call
people to reject the teachings of
celebrity exorcists but I would
encourage them to have a more
complete understanding of all that
Lord gives us to lead us to eternal
life.
One of the disciplines we have
in the Fraternity of Priests is daily
prayer and many members pray the
rosary daily. These are powerful
weapons against evil. In my own
life, I’ve prayed a holy hour since
the seminary and I know it is an
essential part of my priesthood. We
also have a call to the Sacrament
of Reconciliation on a regular
basis. These are powerful tools for
our own priesthood but they are
also powerful tools for all sincere
Catholics.
During the Covid lockdowns, I
encouraged people to use YouTube
or other video services to stream live
Eucharistic Adorations that Catholic
parishes and shrines oer on a regular
bases. What I found fascinating is
some of these streaming forms of
adoration come from well know
devotions such as the Divine Mercy
Shrine in Vilnius, Lithuania, The
Maximilian Kolbe Shrine in Illinois
and so many others. These are great
tools even now for the laity to use to
assist in their prayers and to deepen
their faith.
It also leads people to focus on
Christ.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR A PRIEST EACH DAY!
A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
O Jesus, Eternal High Priest, live in (name of priest), act in him, speak in and
through him. Think your thoughts in his mind, love through his heart. Give
him your own disposition and feelings. Teach, lead and guide him always.
Correct, enlighten and expand his thoughts and behavior. Possess his soul,
take over his entire personality and life. Replace him with yourself. Incline
him to constant adoration and thanksgiving; pray in and through him. Let him
live in you and keep him in this intimate union always.
O Mary, Immaculate Conception, Mother of Jesus and Mother of priests, pray
and intercede for (.....). Amen.
Dear Fr. Von DeRosia,
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