ST. LOUIS, Oct. 29 (UPI) — The Catholic archdiocese of St. Louis spoke out Thursday against a live exorcism that will be broadcast on cable television, warning that the “dangerous” event has not been sanctioned by the church.
Destination America is broadcasting the event, titled Exorcism: Live!, on Friday. It will take place in the St. Louis home that was the site of a purported Satanic possession that inspired William Peter Blatty’s book The Exorcist, made into an Oscar-winning film in 1973.
“No exorcism can take place without the authority of the local Roman Catholic ordinary,” auxiliary bishop emeritus Robert Hermann said in a statement.
The program will exorcise the actual home, not any person, where a young boy known as “Roland Doe” was the reported subject of a possession in 1949. Catholic priests performed a series of exorcisms to free the child from Satanic grip in the notorious case.
“No one has ever attempted to rid the lurking spirits and demons that inhabit this home — until now,” Destination America said in promotional material for the program.
The exorcism is said to be the first ever broadcast live, but the St. Louis archdiocese said such an extreme measure should not be treated as mere entertainment.
“Any attempt to use the solemn Rite of Exorcism as entertainment exposes all participators to the danger of future hidden satanic attack,” Hermann said. “We cannot play games with Satan and expect to win.”
Thursday’s news release by the Archdiocese of St. Louis contains rare public remarks about exorcism from the Catholic Church, which rarely discusses the practice. In the release, Community Relations Specialist Gabe Jones called Friday’s event a “dangerous endeavor” and said the archdiocese feels it necessary “to educate and warn the public about the dangers of participating in such activities.”
Jones also said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson has not granted any priests or bishops the necessary permissions to perform the televised exorcism. However, the network has said it’s retained a member of the church to preside over the event.
“We’ve enlisted a qualified and trained Bishop to perform the actual exorcism of the house,” Destination America, which is owned by Discovery Communications, says on its website.
“Anyone involved in this production who claims to be a member of the Catholic clergy is not affiliated with the Archdiocese of St. Louis nor are they operating under the authority of the Vatican,” Jones said. “Any purported exorcism … for the purposes of entertainment trivializes this ancient rite of the Roman Catholic Church and the very real danger of evil.”
Exorcism: Live!, which will offer several different camera angles of the event, will air on Destination America Friday at 9 p.m. EDT.
