Well…can they? This is a very good question. There are two kinds of exorcism that have been defined by the Church: major (or solemn) exorcisms and minor (or simple) exorcisms.
In 1673 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a major exorcism is defined as one that “can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop.” This is in reference to the Rite of Exorcism, which is a sacramental of the Church. The Rite of Exorcism may only be performed by a priest who has been appointed and given faculties (or written permission) by the local bishop. This priest is called an exorcist. It is the only form of exorcism that may be used on those who are fully possessed by an evil spirit.
Minor exorcisms, on the other hand, do not always require a priest to perform them, nor do they require written permission from the bishop. On the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Web site, two examples of these are given: minor exorcisms performed by a priest during a person’s Baptism at the Easter Vigil, and special prayers that may be used by the faithful or laymen.
These “special prayers” are called deliverance prayers.
Furthermore, the only reference in canon law concerning exorcisms reads:
“Can. 1172 §1. No one can perform exorcisms legitimately upon the possessed unless he has obtained special and express permission from the local ordinary.”
Notice that exorcisms cannot be performed “upon the possessed” unless “express” (or written) permission has been gained from the bishop. This wording is very important to our work as deliverance counselors. There are many different degrees of extraordinary diabolical influence that we may encounter in the world. Possession is the most severe of them, and the Rite of Exorcism is reserved for just those situations.
So having said that, we, as Catholic laymen, must only abide by two restrictions, according to this canon law statute:
· We may not perform a major (or solemn) exorcism because it requires that we be a priest who has been given written permission from his bishop. The Rite of Exorcism is, therefore, forbidden. (It should be mentioned here that, because the formula for the Rite of Exorcism includes directly questioning the possessing demon to learn its name and characteristics, laymen are therefore forbidden from conversing with demons in this fashion, as a result. They may only rebuke an evil spirit and order it to depart, which is not the same thing as talking with it.)
· We may not perform any kind of exorcism prayer upon those who are fully possessed.
This only leaves us with the option of performing minor exorcisms. Of course, the first kind of minor exorcism, which is performed solely by a priest during the Easter Vigil, is obviously outside our purview as laymen. That means deliverance prayers (those “special prayers” that I mentioned earlier) are the only exorcism prayers available to a Christian. They can be used on any person who is showing symptoms of obsession, oppression, infestation, vexation, or any other “lesser” degree of diabolical influence that might be caused by a demon. But deliverance prayers may not be used on someone who is fully possessed: that condition is dealt with exclusively by the Rite of Exorcism.
In fact, this is one of the reasons why laymen refer to minor exorcisms as “deliverance prayers,” so as not to create confusion about what forms of “exorcism” they can or cannot perform. Usually in the field, when a person says “exorcism,” he means the Rite of Exorcism for the possessed, but when a person says “deliverance,” he means special prayers permitted to the laity that can be used to deal with a wide-range of lesser issues stemming from a demonic origin.
Still not convinced? Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in the Diocese of Rome who practiced and mastered spiritual warfare directly under the oversight of several popes, wrote in his excellent book, An Exorcist Explains the Demonic, “After exorcism, the most effective means in the struggle against the demon are prayers of deliverance and healing…. Do not be surprised if I speak of laymen. In the Gospel of Mark, before ascending to heaven, Jesus says: ‘And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons’ (Mark 16:17). Jesus gave this power first to the twelve apostles and then to the seventy-two disciples. This fact indicates that He intended to extend it to those who believe in Him. This is the scriptural foundation for carrying out prayers of deliverance and healing. Whoever it is [praying deliverance]…matters little. What matters is faith. The power to drive out demons comes directly from Jesus. No one can deny it or take it away.”
So, who can say prayers of deliverance? Any believer in a state of grace who is spiritually prepared for such an undertaking and who has been properly trained can perform a minor exorcism (or a prayer of deliverance). It is well-known that many famous saints performed minor exorcisms during their lifetimes, such as St. Catherine of Sienna, Blessed Catherine Anne Emmerich, St. Padre Pio, Luisa Piccarreta, and others. It is not just a practice that we, as Christians, can participate in, but it is a work of mercy that we are called to perform by Christ, who gave us the authority to help those truly poor and afflicted in spirit.