Colombia’s Catholic Church Puts Exorcism Under Closer Scrutiny

The Catholic Church in Colombia is tightening the way exorcism is approached, placing greater emphasis on discernment, professional training and the protection of people who seek help believing they may be experiencing demonic influence.

The new emphasis emerged from the third national formation course for exorcists, held in Bogotá under the title “Liberate and Care: The Ministry of Exorcism from a Culture of Care.” The meeting held last week in the Colombian capital brought together over 80 priests and representatives from ecclesiastical jurisdictions across the country, with contributions from national and international specialists.

Rather than presenting exorcism as an immediate response to unusual or disturbing behaviour, the Church is insisting that priests first determine what may actually be happening.

Father Carlos Guillermo Arias Jiménez, director of the Department of Doctrine of the Colombian Episcopal Conference, explained that exorcism forms part of Catholic doctrine but that not every unusual situation should be interpreted as possession or demonic influence.

Before an exorcism is considered, there must be a process of discernment and a moral certainty that a possible malign influence exists. That assessment can involve psychological and psychiatric professionals, reflecting the Church’s insistence that spiritual questions should not automatically eclipse medical, psychological or social explanations.

The distinction is central to the new approach.

The course addressed the need to avoid premature spiritual interpretations of circumstances that may have psychological, psychiatric, medical or social dimensions. It also examined possible abuses in the use of the ritual and stressed the importance of theological and canonical training, prayer and interdisciplinary work.

For Monsignor José Mauricio Vélez García, auxiliary bishop of Medellín and president of the Episcopal Commission for Doctrine, the priest who performs an exorcism also requires protection and support. “We must not only value the figure of the exorcist, but also care for him,” he said.

The exorcist, according to the Church, is not an independent religious practitioner. He is a priest appointed by the bishop and authorized to exercise the ministry. The Church therefore wants greater clarity about who is legitimately authorized to perform exorcisms and who is not.

Monsignor Rubens Miraglia Zani, an exorcist from the Diocese of Bauru in Brazil and one of the international speakers at the Bogotá meeting, emphasized the institutional nature of the ministry. “We do not act in our own name, but in the name of the Church, and therefore we must follow what the Church itself asks of us,” highlighted the official.

That warning has practical significance. The course noted that people seeking immediate answers to distressing experiences can be vulnerable to individuals who present themselves as exorcists without having received authorization from the Church.

The emphasis on vulnerability was one of the strongest themes of the meeting.

Father Iván José Ruiz Vidal, delegate for the Ministry of Exorcism of the Archdiocese of Cartagena, said that incorporating a culture of care into the ministry can help prevent people from being harmed again. “To the extent that we adopt care within our ministry, we avoid becoming involved in re-victimization,” emphasized Ruiz.

The concept of care extends beyond the person seeking an exorcism. The Church is also examining the responsibilities of the teams that accompany exorcists, including their selection, formation, discretion and understanding of the limits of their role.

Father Gabriel Londoño Sepúlveda, an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, described that responsibility as operating in two directions: caring for those who come seeking assistance and caring for the minister himself. He stressed truth, love, sound doctrine, listening and pastoral accompaniment as essential elements of the work.

The training also addressed the risks associated with practices of occultism and certain alternative therapies, arguing that education and prevention are necessary so that Catholics can develop their own criteria for distinguishing between different spiritual practices.

At the same time, the Church is seeking to discourage protagonism and self-referential behaviour among exorcists. The priest’s physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing was included in the discussion, along with the importance of maintaining communion with the bishop and the wider Church.

The latest course continues a process begun through two previous national training programmes focused respectively on exorcism and prayers of liberation, and on discernment and spirituality as foundations for the priest and his team.

Eight working groups organized according to Colombia’s ecclesiastical provinces examined practical challenges, canonical norms and areas of competence. Their conclusions will subsequently be systematized by the Colombian Episcopal Conference.

For Ruiz, the process points toward continuing education and a larger pool of properly trained priests.

“It is important that we continue to train ourselves, and hopefully we will also have the possibility of continuing to train a greater number of priests,” he said. He stressed that the ministry cannot be reduced to an exclusively spiritual understanding of the situations affecting people, but must also take into account their social circumstances and human dignity.

The Church’s message is therefore less about expanding the practice of exorcism than about establishing boundaries around it. In Colombia, the Ministry of Exorcism is being presented as a specialized pastoral responsibility requiring authorization, formation, discernment and interdisciplinary cooperation.

At its centre is a principle that extends beyond the question of whether demonic influence exists: people who arrive seeking help must not leave more vulnerable than when they came.

For the Colombian Episcopal Conference, the future of its Ministr of Exorcism rests on a culture of care — combining spiritual and doctrinal formation with canonical responsibility, professional discernment and protection of human life.