‘The Exorcist’: Troubled Priests and Satanic Power Cults — A Real Priest Comments

In its latest plot twist, Fox’s Friday-night supernatural drama “The Exorcist” unveiled a satanic power cult involving a bishop and members of the committee planning to welcome Pope Sebastian to Chicago.

As Catholic storylines go, it’s disappointingly more Dan Brown than Father Brown, especially in a show that’s actually — for a secular production — turned out to be interesting and layered in its portrayal of priests helping a Chicago Catholic family facing demonic possession (and it’s actually demonic possession, no hedging there).

Here’s some of what I said at the Faith & Family Media Blog, weighing the pros and cons of letting teens in your family watch the show:

It’s not every day you see a rosary and hear the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” and “The Blood of Christ compels you!” in a primetime network TV show.

So, “The Exorcist” says that evil is real, and that Christ is real, that prayer has power, and that exorcist priests are warriors in the fight for human souls.

All this is good.

…

But if you can teach your young people to discern that, while the story says some positive things about the power of prayer and faith, it’s also a yarn meant to entertain and titillate, you’re giving them skills that will serve them well as they navigate our confused culture.

All this still bugged me, though, so I turned to Father Vince Kuna, C.S.C., a Holy Cross priest with a background in moviemaking, who graduated from USC’s film school, and will soon be teaching film-related courses at Notre Dame University.

Here are my questions and his answers (edited, with his permission, for clarity):

In a recent episode, it was revealed that a bishop and members of the papal welcoming committee are actually involved in a satanic power cult. Obviously, this is for dramatic effect, but as a priest, what did you think of this plot twist?

I did not see the satanic power cult as a plot twist per se. Kirsten Fitzgerald, who plays the rich Catholic benefactor Maria Walters, gave off an odd vibe in an earlier episode, so it did not surprise me when the show revealed her to be part of the cult. Also, the showrunners placed the story in Chicago and as almost every major city hosts a satanic power cult or two, I predicted it would eventually become part of the plot.

I know satanic power cults exist for sure, both inside and outside of the Church. Usually, a city’s cult would count believers and non-believers alike, in their numbers. Whether one is an observant Jew on Saturdays or practicing Christian on Sundays (or anything at all), they would gather together and profess their ultimate allegiance to Satan. The cult would operate as an old boys club: members would look out for each other as they ascend in the city’s leadership: politics, medicine, business, the law, etc.

Whether they exist inside the Church or not, what do you know about cults like this, that attempt to exploit the power of evil for their own benefit?

I know of  a case where an outlying parish experienced a break-in and vandalism. Oddly enough, the vandals did not steal from the collection box or walk off with the Apple computers, but rather tore out the Passion account from the Gospels and desecrated the Blessed Sacrament. In short, they knew exactly what they were going after. The pastor thought it should have been a slam-dunk case, seeing that the town population was tiny and gossip tends to pass quickly. The vandalism was classified as a hate crime, and the FBI swooped in. The Feds quickly ascertained the alleged vandal and, on the day they were to arrest him, he was found dead in his home. They suspected the deceased’s friends did not want him exposing the satanic power cult, and that the vandalism was some sort of initiation rite.

The show emphasizes that evil — and giving in to it — is not pretty or glamorous, and that prayer to Christ has power against it. Why is this important for people to know?

I would say the show emphasizes that evil is not ultimately glamorous. It rightly, however, contextualizes the allure of evil. The possessed girl, Casey, played Hannah Kasulka, invites in the devil to help fend off her drunken assailants while riding on the L train. Also, one of the “benefits” satanic power cults push are the promise of polyamorous relationships, best realized in the orgy scene of Stanley Kubrick’s movie “Eyes Wide Shut.” However, those initially seduced by satanic power cults can always resort to prayer in hopes of escaping.

Obviously, Chicago priest Father Tomas — who’s having an affair with a married woman — and disgraced exorcist Father Marcus — who has personal difficulties and conflicts with the Church — have some big issues. If you were to advise each of them right now, what would you say?

Fathers Tomas and Marcus do have their issues, although they differ in both degree and kind. First off, it’s important to differentiate the efficacy a priest has when praying a sacrament (Mass; confession) versus a sacramental (exorcism.) The efficacy of a sacrament (provided a valid priestly ordination) is not dependent on the priest’s personal sanctity, level of belief or lawful administration of said sacrament.

An exorcism operates in the reverse. The power to cast out demons is dependent on the priest’s holiness, belief, and that the exorcism ideally be approved by the local prelate. For instance, Jesus Christ only needed to pray an exorcism once, He being sinless and of perfect faith.

That Father Tomas currently engages in an adulterous affair renders his prayers almost useless. That Father Marcus offers prayers without the approval of his bishop is of lesser importance. Sometimes, wishy-washy bishops get it wrong, and it takes a rebel priest to successfully pray the exorcism.

If you could give one note to the producers of “The Exorcist” right now, what would that be?

The priest characters and those possessed or previously possessed (a previous plot twist linked the show directly to the original movie) were well-thought-out by the writers and producers. It seems, though, other characters stand by innocently.

For example, I think there’s a lot they could do with the agnostic, older sister, Kat, played by Brianne Howey. She seems to just look pretty and concerned all the time.

Also, a good exorcism team includes a faith-filled Catholic lay woman. When a demon possesses a female, it will use sexual temptation against the priest … thus, a female must witness that nothing improper occurred during the exorcism.

So, if Kat could use her sister’s experience to move from indifference to faith, I think it would be a great character arc. I looked Howey up on IMDB and saw she graduated from Catholic high school in real life, so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for her to play.

The next episode of “The Exorcist” airs tonight, Friday, Nov. 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Image: Courtesy Fox

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