International Association of Exorcists
The International Association of Exorcists is a Roman Catholic organization which was founded in 1990 [1] by six priests including the world-famous exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth and Father Jeremy Davies.[2][3] Its statutes were approved by the Roman Catholic Church on June 13, 2014.[4]
History
Although the membership is restricted and exclusive, by 2000 there were over two hundred members, who meet bi-annually in Rome. The association sends out a quarterly newsletter where members can tell of particularly interesting or difficult cases. An exorcist priest must have the permission of his bishop to join.
Within the Roman Catholic Church a priest may only do an exorcism with the express consent of his bishop or local ordinary,[5] and only, to the extent necessary, after an examination of the patient by doctors and psychiatrists in order to determine that the affliction has no natural origin. A priest is required by canon law to be devout, knowledgeable, prudent, and possess integrity of life.
Father Amorth began the organization in the hopes of increasing the number of official exorcists worldwide and to alert more dioceses about the problem, which he believes has been ignored or suppressed by some priests and bishops. Today Father Amorth is the honorary president of AIE. His successor as president was Father Giancarlo Gramolazzo, who died in November 2010 and was succeeded in turn by Capuchin father Cipriano de Meo (born January 5, 1924), and then by Fr. Francesco Bamonte, the current president.
References
- ↑ Exorcism. Date Line Zero. September 29, 2011.
- ↑ Exorcism enters a new age. BBC News, April 27, 2000.
- ↑ Exorcism. Salt Lake Tribune. September 23, 2000.
- ↑ A Santa Sé aprovou os estatutos da Associação Internacional de Exorcistas. Zenit News Agency. July 02, 2014.
- ↑ "Can. 1172", "Code of Canon Law"