Catholic Archdiocese: That Live Exorcism on TV Tonight Isn’t Real, but It Might Tempt Satan

Later tonight, Destination America will stage a live exorcism at the same St. Louis location that inspired the movie The Exorcist.

I should back up a second: Destination America is a TV channel.

Okay. Now we’re all caught up.

Variety explains what’s going on:

According to producer Jodi Tovay, the main event won’t involve trying to save a possessed person, but rather will encompass an attempt to cleanse spirits from the house itself — which supposedly remains “hot” — in a ritual she describes as “a hybrid of an exorcism and a blessing.”

So… still really dumb. Nothing’s going to happen. Spirits aren’t real, so “cleansing” them is meaningless.

But what’s incredible is that the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis felt compelled to issue a public statement warning viewers that this is not a legitimate exorcism.

Any purported exorcism by spiritualists, paranormal investigators, mediums, or non-Catholic clerics for the purposes of entertainment trivializes this ancient rite of the Roman Catholic Church and the very real danger of evil.

“Any attempt to use the solemn Rite of Exorcism as entertainment exposes all participators to the danger of future hidden satanic attack,” said [auxiliary bishop emeritus Robert] Hermann. “We cannot play games with Satan and expect to win.”

I was just waiting for Hermann to add, “Fake rituals are our thing,” but it never came.

If you’d like to watch a show about nothing, Exorcism: Live! airs tonight at 9:00p (ET).

(Image via Shutterstock)