Does the Catholic Church still endorse the medieval practice of Exorcism?
No, the Catholic Church endorses the biblical practice of exorcism. Catholics have been casting out demons ever since Jesus and the Apostles did it. Modern psychology says that most of the people who had demons cast out of them were probably miraculously cured from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. But their cures were still miracles. The Catholic Church believes that real demonic possessions are rare but possible, so they keep a few exorcists around just in case. The Church has guidelines in place to take great care to exhaust psychological options before calling in an exorcist. For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1673: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2s… Anglicanism, several Protestant denominations, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Judaism, Hinduism, Scientology, and Islam also practice some kind of exorcism.
