Dear Anne:

There is nothing wrong with Part 1 of Neal's book. That section is no different than the two books written by Fr. Amorth, former Chief Exorcist of Rome, or the Spanish exorcist Fr. Fortea's book, or that of Fr. Syquia, exorcist of Manila.

Part 2, on the other hand is a problem. Neal is telling ordinary people to do deliverance on others and to use techniques, such as laying on of hands, that is quite dangerous. The information given in Part 2 should not be attempted by anyone unless they have been called to deliverance work and have been thoroughly trained. Therefore, I cannot recommend Part 2, and seriously caution anyone from using the information in Part 2 to attempt deliverance on anyone. (See information below about the apostolate of deliverance and the need for calling and training before attempting).

I also think it was bad judgment for Neal to have Francis MacNutt to write the forward (see article about this).

I would recommend reading Onward Catholic Soldier by John LaBriola. He has been interviewed on EWTN about his book. The book is a good overview of the issue of Spiritual Warfare, including the the issue of laity conducting deliverance, something that Jesus Himself authorized in Mark 16:15-18.

The only aspect of deliverance that is restricted by the Church is solemn exorcism, which can only be performed by a priest appointed by the bishop and only with the bishop's express permission.

What is commonly called deliverance can be done by anyone. But, as St. Paul taught, just because one can do something does not mean they ought to do it.

While the apostolate of deliverance can be done by anyone, no one should attempt it unless they have been called by God to do so, and have been trained.

We have an Academy to train deliverance counselors that is the most extensive in the world. To get through our program takes about 3-4 years, plus another 3 years "residency" before going out on one's own. No one, Catholic or Protestant, has such an extensive training program.

To do this work requires a lot more than knowing how to say a few prayers. Our students are taught all Church teaching relevant to this issue, angelology, demonology, philosophy, science, physics, critical and logical thinking, psychology, psychiatry, how to do spiritual direction, how to do catechetics and apologetics, spiritual counseling, clinical issues, and more. Our students undergo practicums and a one year internship.

All these subjects are required, in our opinion, to be able to do deliverance counseling at the highest competence.

We have had exorcists and dioceses refer people to us that needed deliverance and not exorcism. One of our students is a deacon who has been given permission by his bishop to be our student, to do deliverance in his diocese, and to use our materials.

But...

We do not advise that anyone conduct an apostolate of deliverance without training and discernment of calling.

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of damage done by apostolates who are not well trained or not trained at all. Charismatics have done the greatest damage since many of them think they are qualified to do this work by the mere fact that they are Charismatic. Being in the Charismatic Renewal, in-and-of-itself, does not qualified a person to do squat. I have had to pick up the pieces of more than one person harmed by Charismatic priests.

As to individuals commanding demons, this too is permitted and, I would suggest, is a duty to do in some instances. For example, if demons are attacking one's children, the parent better start commanding demons to leave. Any parent not doing so is neglecting their children and placing them in harms way.

Such prayers that are allowable to the ordinary person are found in our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog, linked below.

The idea that people should not rebuke or command demons comes from people with false notions commonly passed around about the subject, and by people who teach this fallacy who are not qualified to teach on this subject.

For example, there is a common fallacy among many Catholics and others that we should not mention the name of Satan as that gives Satan power. WRONG. Just the opposite is true. Satan wants to stay in the shadows. To mention his name in the context of education and prayer is to HAVE POWER OVER HIM.

God tells us in the Bible that names are significant. Adam was given dominion over all creatures by the power given to him to "name" the creatures. In solemn exorcism the priest forces the demon to reveal his name as once known the priest has power over the demon.

Now, we are not to be asking demons for their names nor are we to converse with them in any way. But, we may refer to demons by their attribute (demon of lust, anger, greed, etc) and we may rebuke and command them with imperative prayers ("I rebuke you," "I commend you to leave" type prayers), or with deprecatory prayers (of the style, "Father in heaven please rebuke this demon of anger...")

The only type of prayer we are not allowed to say is the imprecatory prayer, which are prayers that curse or brings down malediction upon the demon. This is to be done only in solemn exorcism.

The prayers mentioned by people like Fr. Amorth, Fr. Fortea, Part 1 of Neal Lozano, and us are permitted.

Now, I agree that these books can be misused by people. Sometimes I wish the books were not made public since some people read them and then think they know something about the subject.

Physicians have the same headache. People read medical information on the Internet and then think they know something about medicine. I know for a fact that some doctors wish that information was not on the Internet.

But, the information can be helpful to many people. We cannot be held hostage to the few who are arrogant and abuse the information.

There is some specific information, however, that absolutely should not be made public. I am asked those sorts of questions every time I do a speaking engagement, and sometimes here on this Q&A. I refuse to answer when those subjects come up. The Deliverance Counselor Manual that we have produced for our staff is not made public.

With that said, the faithful need to know the schemes of the devil as the bible says we are to know that. We are to resist the devil, as the bible says we are to do that. We cannot follow those biblical instructions without the proper knowledge and weapons. Those weapons include the Sacraments, the Bible, Church teaching, sacramentals, devotions and appeals to the Saints, devotional prayers, and spiritual warfare prayers.

These are the weapons God has given us. We are not to avoid using them, but we are to use them properly.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary