The Roman Catholic Church was highly critical of "Exorcism Live," a TV programme supposedly about a "real exorcism rite" conducted at a house in St. Louis, Missouri on the eve of Halloween.
Rev. Thomas Petri, vice president and academic dean at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C., said the programme aired by the Destination America network was "wrong in so many ways."
He clarified that the filmed exorcism was "just for show." However, he wanted to remind people that "demons are real," according to Newsmax TV.
"It's really silly what this television network and this programme is doing," he said. "First of all, this house in St. Louis is not what inspired 'The Exorcist' movie... and this person who's doing this exorcism of this house (Bishop James Long, the founder of the Kentucky-based Paranormal Clergy Institute)... he's not part of the Catholic Church. He's not a Catholic priest. This is really just for show, it seems to me," he said.
"He was the national Elvis impersonating champion in the 1990s," Petri added. "He's not a priest and has no connection to the Catholic Church."
Petri said the Catholic Church still performs exorcisms, but the ritual has been reformed and renewed by the Vatican over the past 10 years or more. He added that the church "takes a cautious view" in performing exorcisms and checks those who claim to be possessed first to make sure that they are not suffering from any mental illness or "psychological disorder."
"The right of exorcism really is about praying for the deliverance of a person from the oppression of the Devil and all of his evil spirits, his minions," he said. Pope Francis, Petri said, "actually preaches about Satan and the Devil much more than even Pope Benedict did."
"Interesting to note the archdiocese of Washington also has an exorcist team," he said. "So perhaps there's also a lot of spiritual activity going on in our nation's capital."
