| feature story |

“We are a new society. To our knowledge,

this is the first time that a Society of Dioc-
esan Rite that does exorcisms has ever been
established,” said Father Chad Ripperger.
A Society of Diocesan Rite is an order
that is invited by the local bishop and
established to perform a specific mission.
The priests of SMD, also known as the
“Doloran Fathers” from the Latin word
for “sorrow,” now work in cooperation
with Bishop Slattery to provide assistance
to some of the most spiritually afflicted
souls. Because a good deal of prayer is
required to support their challenging mis-
sion, their life is semi-contemplative.
“We help people in spiritual need,
which includes deliverance and exorcism,
but also deals with spiritual combat and
other issues. We meet people who think
their issues are diabolical, but in fact they
have just had trauma in their life, so we
help them process their issue and give
them educational and psychological in-
sight,” explained Father Chad Ripperger.
Since the ministry of Christ, the
Church has been involved in the mission
of deliverance from the demonic. Unfor-
tunately, there is widespread misunder-
standing among the faithful, as well as
the larger society, surrounding diabolical
activity. Father Ripperger believes that
these misconceptions have been largely
perpetuated by Hollywood.
“The movie ‘The Exorcist’ is fairly close,”
he said. “‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ is
The priests of the Society of the fairly accurate, although there are some
Most Sorrowful Mother are, from historical inaccuracies because it is based
left, Father Daniel McEhleron, on a book rather than the actual case. Most
Father Chad Ripperger and Father have little resemblance to reality, though.”
Frank Parrinello. “One misconception is that most people
think the exorcist goes in scared of this
Bringing the deliverance powerful demon. It is the opposite. The
demon is scared of the exorcist because he

of Christ to the afflicted knows he is going to take a rather severe

beating through this process and it is going
to be painful for him. In the end, he is going
Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother to be humiliated and defeated. It is opposite
of how it is portrayed in Hollywood.”
established in Diocese of Tulsa Moreover, Hollywood portrayals of exor-
cism are often exaggerated and tend to-
By Mason Beecroft, Photography by Dave Crenshaw ward the sensational. Father Ripperger says
that such extreme cases of possession are

O
n Friday, March 27, Bishop Edward J. Slattery celebrated a rare. In fact, in some 150 interviews the
SMD conducted last year, only three were
Solemn Pontifical Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa found to be cases of demonic possession.
in celebration of the official founding of the Society of the “(Possession) is exceedingly rare, but it
Most Sorrowful Mother (SMD) as a Society of Apostolic of does exist,” stated Father Ripperger. “And
Diocesan Rite. when it does exist, you witness things

14 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic | September 2015 | [Link]

that are outside of human capacity. Pos- Our obligation is first to pray and then
sessed people will speak languages they help other people. When we maintain our
have never learned. You may see levita- prayer life, the diabolic attacks are insig-
tion, which is rare. The possessed may nificant at best. Prayer life also allows us to
change shape or have cult knowledge that pray for the people we are working with so
is beyond our capacity. We are not talking that they can be delivered more rapidly,”
about something that is purely natural. said Father Ripperger.
However, when you start talking about When Father Ripperger entered the
certain types of diabolical influences, you priesthood, he never imagined that he
have to reassure the faithful that it is rare.” would serve the Church as an exorcist. He
The SMD goes through a rigorous and performed his first exorcism 10 years ago.
prayerful interview process with each person Bishop Edward J. Slattery presents a decree At that time, there were only 10 exorcists in
who comes to them for assistance to deter- to the priests of the Society of the Most Sor- the entire country. Now there are 75 to 80.
mine the exact nature of their affliction. rowful Mother. “This is not the type of work that you
“The first contacts and initial discus- would choose. If you did, I would wonder
sions help you determine if there is a spir- about you,” he laughed.
itual issue,” explained Father Ripperger. know exorcists who have been working on Several years ago, Bishop Slattery
“You ask them if something preternatural cases for years. The average case, if there is contacted Father Ripperger about a pos-
is occurring. You ask about their past his- such a thing, usually lasts two to 10 months, sible case of possession. After making
tory and any psychological issues. There is depending on how much they pray and how his diagnosis, he sent Bishop Slattery a
a vetting process that takes place. If there often you are able to meet.” letter indicating that the case would take
may be something wrong, we immediately “They have to fight the demons,” he an incredible amount of effort, which he
ask them to say a certain set of prayers. continued. “I tell people that 90 percent didn’t have because of his parish respon-
If the person is unwilling to pray, then of the work is theirs. They have to fight sibilities. Father Ripperger agreed to come
we know they are not serious. If they are their way out through prayer. Ten percent to Tulsa to offer his expertise and train a
willing and the problem persists, then it of the work is mine, although it is rare local priest. It was at that time the idea for
helps us with our diagnosis. What we will that people are liberated without the rites the SMD was first raised.
do then is continue having discussions. If of the Church. Unless they do their part, “We discussed starting something like
it is something spiritual, then we make an it is not going to go anywhere.” this society,” recalled Father Ripperger.
appointment for them to come to us.” Father Ripperger has found that there “When I returned to Idaho, I sent Bishop
When a person goes to see the Doloran has been a rise in the number of cases Slattery a letter asking for permission and
Fathers, they go through a three-day evalu- of possession and an overall increase in he responded positively.”
ation consisting of further interviews and diabolical activity in our culture. In August 2014, Father Ripperger and
periods of prayer. After this evaluation, they “I think it has to do with the fact that, Father Frank Parrinello moved into their
are usually able to make a diagnosis of the let me put it bluntly, the culture is very motherhouse, located on a 116-acre
person on four basic levels: psychological sinful, he stated. “Mortal sin opens the farm that used to be a bed and breakfast.
illness, diabolical oppression, diabolical door to demons and that is why we are Father Daniel McEhleron joined them this
obsession and diabolical possession. seeing more and more people having dia- past October.
Explaining the different types of bolic influence.” They are currently renovating the
diabolical activity, Father Ripperger said, One of the missions of the society is chapel to make it suitable for the Blessed
“There is temptation, which everyone is to educate the faithful about diabolical Sacrament and changing the cabins into
subject to. There is oppression, obsession activity. Father Ripperger believes that long-term residences for the priests.
and possession. Possession is rare, but once people are educated, then diabolical There will be five hermitages and rooms
diabolical obsession is increasing because activity is demystified and there is less for guests, along with the necessary space
of the rise of the occult in our culture. skepticism. Moreover, it should provide to support their ministry.
Oppression is more common because of confidence and security for Catholics. “We prefer that people go to their local
issues around finances, relationships or “Don’t be concerned about diabolical exorcist. Normally, people should be cared
life circumstances.” activity if you are leading a good Catholic for locally but if they can’t, then they can
In the rare instance when a person life by going to Mass on Sunday and on come to see us,” said Father Ripperger.
is diagnosed as demonically possessed, days of obligation, going to Confession, “Christ will bring people to the exorcist.
the ministry of the exorcist consists of saying prayers and avoiding mortal sin,” My attitude is that Christ will send me
sessions of formal rites of exorcism and assured Father Ripperger. the cases He wants me to work – no more
prayer established by the Church. The The semi-contemplative nature of the and no less. I also find that He tailors my
time it takes to complete an exorcism society is primary to their mission. The cases based on how much time is avail-
depends on each case. Doloran Fathers spend three to four able. Christ controls every facet of the
“It can really vary,” said Father Ripperger. hours in prayer every day. spiritual battle,” he concluded.
“It can be one or two sessions of saying minor “Our prayer life is tailored to provide For more information about the Society of
exorcisms over people, or it can be years. I us protection for the work that we do. Our Sorrowful Mother, visit [Link].

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