Charisms and Healing

CHARISMATA, HEALING
and DELIVERANCE MINISTRY

The Good Samaritan0

“Deliverance ministry” is a phrase used in the Catholic Charismatic Movement to describe practices intended to free persons from the influence of evil spirits. In February, 1967 several students and a professor (William Storey) at Duquesne University in Pennsylvania experienced “Baptism in the Holy Spirit” while attending a Cursillo Retreat, and subsequently formed the nucleus of the Catholic Charismatic Movement. Some members experienced “charisms” or “Gifts of the Holy Spirit,” that had previously been associated with American pentecostal churches. Among these charisms were glossolalia (speaking in tongues), prophecy, discernment of spirits and the “gift of healing”. Prominent in the Catholic Charismatic Movement movement from the late nineteen-sixties until his death in 2020 was Francis MacNutt, a Dominican priest who left the priesthood in 1980 in order to marry. In his writings (Healing, 1974; Deliverance From Evil Spirits, A Practical Manual, 1995) he came to associate the charismatic “gift of healing” with what has come to be known as “deliverance ministry.” A similar approach was taken by Michael Scanlan, TOR, in his book Deliverance from evil spirits : a weapon for spiritual warfare Scanlan and Cirner (Servant Books, 1980).

More recent texts on “deliverance ministry” in the Catholic Charismatic Movement include: Unbound, A Practical Guide to Deliverance from Evil Spirits, by Neal Lozano (2003) and Deliverance Ministry (2017), published by the Doctrinal Commission of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services. The teachings practices and theological assumptions of those involved in this ministry have expanded beyond the Catholic Charismatic Movement to include clergy and laity authorized by their bishops to investigate alleged supernatural occurences. Their practices and underlying theological assumptions of those involved in this ministry is the book Hauntings, Possessions, and Exorcisms, by Adam C. Bly a layman who describes himself as Peritus of Religious Demonology and Exorcism (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2007)

While the Catholic Magisterium has been tolerant, even welcoming, of many aspects of the Catholic Charismatic Movement, the issue of “deliverance ministry” is more controversial. The term “deliverance ministry” has never been used in any official document of the Catholic Magisterium (teaching authority). The approved liturgical text that contains ceremonies associated with forgiveness, healing, and formal blessings of persons, places, and objects is The Roman Ritual. Additional prayers and ceremonies authorized by the Catholic Magisterium are found in the Roman Missal and Liturgy of the Hours. The only ceremony of “deliverance from evil spirits” approved by the Catholic Magisterium is the Rite of Major Exorcism, which is reserved exclusively for cases of demonic possession, the most extreme form of spiritual affliction. The use of this ritual requires the expressed permission of the diocesan bishop, and without such explicit authorization neither Catholic clergy nor laity are permitted to use any part of this rite for any reason, in public or in private.

In the American Pentecostal tradition the practice of exorcism, "casting out evil spirits" is widespread and less regulated than in the Catholic Church. The ceremonies involved and the criteria for employing them are less well-defined among Pentecostals than in classical Catholic manuals of spiritual theology, such as Prou, Tanquerry, and Aumann. During the nineteen-seventies and -eighties some Catholics prayer groups began employing prayers intended to obtain freedom from demonic influence (ut liberatio obtineatur ab influxu daemonum) emplying forms of prayer they believed might be legitimately employed without explicit ecclesiastical approval. These included the Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels that had been promulgated in 1890 by Pope Leo XIII. (May 18, 1890 Exorcismus in Satanam et angelos apostaticos AAS 743-746, esp.745-746) In his capacity as Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope Benedict XVI, promulgated in 1985 a Letter to Ordinaries Regarding Norms on Exorcism, intended to specifically address issues associated with "prayer groups in the Church aimed at seeking deliverance from the influence of demons." He reminded the Catholic bishops of the world that (1) only priests specifically authorized by their bishops may perform exorcisms; (2) that the Christian faithful are not permitted to use the exorcism published by Pope Leo XIII; and (3) without episcopal authorization neither priests nor laity were permitted to "conduct meetings during which invocations to obtain release, are uttered in which demons are questioned directly and their identity sought to be known." (AAS 77 (1985) 1169-1170).

Catholic Fraternity Of Charismatic Covenant Communities And Fellowships was approved as an association of the Christian Faithful by Pope John Paul II in 1980

Maurer, Susan A..; The Spirit of Enthusiasm : A History of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, 1967-2000, (Univ. Press of America, 2010)

The Origins of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States: Early Developments in Indiana and Michigan and the Reactions of the Ecclesiastical Authorities, Valentina Ciciliot, Studies in World Christianity, Volume 25 Issue 3, Page 250-273, ISSN 1354-9901

Prayer, Interview, “Encounter with Jesus” (Act of Faith); Repentance; Forgiveness of Others; Renouncing works of Satan; Word of Command (Spirit of ..., I command you to cease afflicting) Prayer for Infilling of the Holy Spirit; Concluding Advice, Concluding Prayer

The Roman Ritual, Book of Blessings, (ICEL, 1987) Book 1, Chapter 2; 1. Blessing of the Sick A. Blessing of Adults (§380-398) & Blessing of Children (399-406); 2. Blessing of a Person Suffering from an Addiction (§407-429); 3. Blessing of a Victim of Crime or Opression(§430-450) (1989, pp, 121-148)

The Roman Ritual, Pastoral Care of the Sick (ICEL 1983), Part One, Chapter One (Visits to the Sick§ 54-61, pp, 30-39) and Part Two, Visits to a Sick Child (§62-70, pp. 41-47)

MacNutt: Deliverance From Evil Spirits, A Practical Manual, (Chosen Books, Baker Publishing Group 1995; 2nd ed. 2009)ISBN 978-0-8007-9460-6. Ch. 13, How to Pray for Deliverance,

1. “In the name of Jesus Christ …” 2. “… I command you …” 3. “… you spirit of ________ …”4. “… to depart …” 5. “… without doing harm to ________ [name the person by first name or entire name] or anyone else in this house, or in her family, and without making any noise or disturbance …”

The Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships is a Pontifical Association of Christ’s Faithful recognized by the Holy See according to Canon Law. In requesting such a recognition, the Communities of the Catholic Fraternity were motivated by the desire both to assure a greater dialogue and collaboration among themselves and to deepen their communion with the Successor of Peter as an element of their Catholic identity.

In granting this recognition, the Pontifical Council for the Laity encouraged all members of the communities belonging to the Catholic Fraternity to commit themselves to giving renewed vigor to the Catholic expression of the renewal in the Spirit. In addition, the Council expressed its great hope that the recognition of the Catholic Fraternity would intensify the apostolic activities and the response of its member communities to the appeal of the Holy Father for a new evangelization of the world.

In its statutes, the Fraternity “identifies itself with the graces of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and is a structure for the Renewal” and “is called on to establish bonds of fraternal charity and collaboration with the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services for the good of the charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church.”

Currently, there are 116 member communities or fellowships in over 220 countries throughout the world organized into continental Regions. There are 15 members and 14 associate members in the North American Region that includes Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The United States members are: Alleluia Catholic Fellowship (of the Alleluia Community) in Augusta, Georgia; Christian Community of God’s Delight in Dallas, Texas; City of the Lord Covenant Community in Tempe, Arizona; Community of God’s Love in Steubenville, Ohio; Comunidad A.M.A. Association in Brownsville, Texas; Comunidad Católica Hispana Deleite de Dios in Dallas, Texas; Comunidad Incienso Vivo in Dallas, Texas; Glory to God Covenant Community in Topeka, Kansas; Mother of God Community in Gaithersburg, Maryland; Mt. Zion Catholic Community in Montrose, Michigan; New Creation Community in Virginia Beach, Virginia; People of God Community in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania; and YAI Community (CIVI office) in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships (CF) is a Pontifical Association of Christ’s Faithful, serving member Communities arising from the Catholic church in the current of grace of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal - present in over 220 countries worldwide. One of its specific services is to link these Communities to the Bishop of Rome, through the CF ’s close relationship with the Pontifical Council for Laity.
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Today, there are 100 full member Communities, 2 communities in the process of becoming full members and 16 are associated members.

The CF was founded by Brian Smith, from Australia, and Bob Cavnar, from the USA. It has legal status according to art. 322 of the Code of Canon Law and was officially inaugurated on November, 30, 1990.

The only recent academic publication on the history of the Catholic charismatic movement is Susan A. Maurer, The Spirit of Enthusiasm. A History of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, 1967–2000 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2010).

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