But deliver us from evil;: An introduction to the demonic dimension in pastoral care

"Exorcism, Christian exorcism that is, is the Church's compassionate response to people (and places) needing spiritual surgery when, acting with Christ's authority, the Church, through individuals -- makes his victory real in a particular situation." With these words John Richards sounds the keynote of his unusually penetrating and informed inquiry into a subject some say is talked and written about entirely too much: the demonic in general and exorcism in particular. Father Richards makes an entirely unique contribution to the continuing discussion of the nature and practice of exorcism by concentrating on its role in the healing ministry of the Church. Although he provides a thorough survey of the many manifestations of the occult, he insists that his book is "more about God and about people then it is about the demonic." Healing, he notes, is the dominant theme of the "Good News." As writers from biblical times to the present have agreed, the human condition is one of sickness and the Church exists to mediate God's answer to that sickness. Drawing upon the experiences of many priests, ministers, and lay people who have shared their insights with him, Richards shows his readers that exorcism, properly understood, takes its place with prayer, confession, Holy Communion, laying-on-of-hands, and Anointing with oil by means by which the Church can render aid to people afflicted with physical as well as mental illness. Deliverance from evil, as our Lord's life so clearly shows, is part of the Gospel and essential to the work of his Church.