The president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), Monsignor Jesús González de Zárate, reported that the country has 33 priests authorized to perform exorcisms, reported Lara’s Press.
exorcisms
Between February 15 and 18, the first formation assembly was held, following which another 22 priests were authorized for these procedures. These are added to 11 that already had permission from the Catholic Church, for a total of 33.
“The priests with authorization to exorcise began their path of arduous study and until now had only manifested having a special spiritual charisma, or had had experiences as assistants to exorcists,” said González de Zárate.
He added that there are 44 dioceses in the country, but most do not have exorcists, unlike what happens in other countries.
“There is no denying reality. Here a good part of society is moved by the curiosity of having contact with evil forces, the esoteric search, a certain preponderance of the devil, of spiritism and rites of the Venezuelan magical-religious culture. That is why the interest of this group of priests, who, with the consent of the bishop, seek training to know how to act when cases of possessed persons arise, “said the priest.
He asserted that “the devil exists, but he only acts when he is allowed to act.”
According to canon 1172 of Canon Law “only pious, learned, prudent bishops and priests with integrity of life have the capacity to perform exorcisms.”
