Breaking Luther: Luther's failed exorcism and the Catholic priest that was called to fix his problem

The following comes from Matthew Olson of Catholic Analysis:

Martin Luther’s Failed Exorcism

The Jesuit Fr. Louis Richeome “related a story of Luther attempting to exorcise a woman and failing”.  When it became clear that he could do nothing the family called upon the Catholic Church to perform the exorcism.  Needless to say the family came back to the One True Fold of Christ and few if any Lutherans speak of this matter outside of the belittleing of superstitious peasants and their papist healers.

The reference can be found below but it is in an old French dilect that is very hard even for today's Frenchmen (like my Priest) to read or outright translate, so google translate will not do.

(Sarah Ferber, Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France, p. 34, ISBN 0-203-65227-4)

Transcribed from p. 203-204 of Richeome’s “Trois discours pour la religion catholique les Miracles, les Saincts, les Images"

"Il fe fouuenoit aufsi de plus freche date que l’an1545. Luther ayant entrepins en la ville de Vvitemberg de coniurer es diables, qui poffedoyent vne ieune fille de Mifne, fut prins aux toiles, & charge de coups, & de confufion comme apres nous reciterons. La memoire de ces chofes luy donna fcrupule pour penfer a fa confcience, & hardieffe de s’excufer de femblable efcrime, & faire la couard, referuant fa charite a autres exercices moins dangereux. La refte de la refponce qu’il faict, difant qu’il ne faut croire aux diables, & qu’ils colludent auec les exorciftes, eft en partie l’efcume de la vieille herefie d’Arrius, partie de la nouuelle de Caluin."

Transcribed from p. 481-482 of Florimond de Raemond’s “L’anti-Christ et l’anti-papesse" [link]:

"Luther preuoyant ue fon miracle n’auoit pas de nez, duuel il auoit fait tant de cas contre le Roy d’Angleterre, qu’vn pauure Moine comme luy euft affuiecty a fon Euangile l’Allemagne, voulut entrepredre d’exorcifer vneieune fille de Mifme poffedee du Diable. Mais il n’en rapporta que des coups, & tous les affiftan auffi. Comme celuy dont fainct Gregoire parle: Ie fuis content taire le furplus du conte, par-ce qu’il fent trop mal, pour l’infortune qui aduint au pauure Luther, femblable a celle de l’Empereur Copronyme fur les fonds du Baptefme. Qui fera curieux de fcauoir le difcours de cefte farce, l’aille voir chez Staphile, lequel eftant pour lors fon difciple, affifta a tout ce myftere, & auec vne hache enfonca la porte pour efchapper: car le Diable empechoit que la clefne peuft ioiier, & tenoit Luther tout tremblant au collet."

Monsignor Pope on Exorcism Prayers in the Baptismal Rite, and how they might be reinstituted

I saw this in BadgerCatholics twitter feed and thought it was interesting because I had said something about it a month ago on a message board and was rebuked for even entertaining the possibility that the removal of the exorcism as it had been done in the old rite was foolish and that it should be re-instituted into the whole sacramental rite.

A short snippit:

 Most significant among the changes in the Rite that occurred in 1969,(And what I like to concentrate on here) was the removal of the exorcisms, four in all. And these were not mild exorcisms at all! They were weighty and imperative (i.e. commanding). The devil is really given his walking papers; he is commanded in no uncertain terms that he must depart, recognizing his sentence as having been defeated by Christ who claims this child now for his own.Critics at the time argued that the prayers seem to treat the infant as though he or she was possessed. And for this, and other reasons, the exorcisms were removed from the baptismal rites of the Church. The new right does feature a prayer that is technically referred to as an exorcism. But the prayers is so mild-mannered, really more in the form of a mere blessing, that I doubt the celebrant of baptism really thinks of it as an exorcism, (let alone any demons understand that they are being commanded to leave). Here’s the current prayer that is, in the rite, referred to as the exorcism:
Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son in to the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness, and bring him into the kingdom of light. We pray for this child: set him free from original sin, make him a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Read the rest HERE