Ask the ExorcistAbout
Fr. Dan Reehil
Fr. Dan Reehil is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Nashville, serving as a pastor and as an appointed exorcist for the diocese. He speaks frequently on spiritual warfare and the sacramental life, and hosts Battle Ready on Radio Maria USA.
Listen to Ask the Exorcist live every Friday on Radio Maria USA.
His work in deliverance ministry is ordinary priestly ministry carried out under the authority of his bishop: assessment, catechesis, confession and the Eucharist, referral for medical and psychological care, and, where the bishop judges it warranted, the Church’s rite.
What an exorcist is
An exorcist is a priest given faculties by his diocesan bishop to assess cases of suspected demonic activity and to celebrate the Church’s rite of exorcism. He does not act on his own initiative; he acts with permission, in the name of the Church.
A priest becomes an exorcist by appointment, not by election or reputation. The bishop ordinarily chooses a priest of mature judgment and settled prayer, who then receives formation in the Rite of Exorcism, in the discernment of spirits, and in distinguishing spiritual affliction from medical and psychiatric illness. A thorough medical and psychological evaluation always comes first.
Frequently asked
Recommended reading
The Liber Cristo Method
Dan Schneider
An Exorcist Explains the Demonic
Fr. Gabriele Amorth
An Exorcist Tells His Story
Fr. Gabriele Amorth
Interview with an Exorcist
Fr. José Antonio Fortea
Spiritual Warfare
Fr. Paul Duffner
Deliverance Prayers
Fr. Chad Ripperger