Priest to speak about exorcisms at Theology on Tap’s Halloween program

By Sean Gallagher

Halloween is a day for children and adults alike to dress up lightheartedly as ghosts and other ghoulish characters.

But, throughout its history, the Catholic Church has taught that the demons that people might joke about on Oct. 31 are real and can, under certain circumstances, take possession of a person’s soul.

Although this belief isn’t a core doctrine, the Church has, over the centuries, developed a ritual exorcism to help people in this spiritual condition.

Father Vincent Lampert, pastor of SS. Francis and Clare Parish in Greenwood, will speak about exorcisms at the next meeting of Theology on Tap, which will begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 at Vito’s, 20 N. Pennsylvania St., in ­­­Indianapolis.

Father Lampert gained a new perspective on society’s interest in the dark corners of the spiritual world when he was given a Borders gift card and visited the bookstore to find a book on exorcisms.

“All I could find were books on witchcraft, on casting spells and putting hexes on people,” Father Lampert said. “And I thought, ‘That’s rather interesting that we have all that there, but yet there isn’t anything about the Christian approach to all of that.’ ”

During a sabbatical in 2006, Father Lampert spent time with a priest who is an official exorcist for the Diocese of Rome.

He learned from the Roman exorcist that actual exorcisms are rare, happening only about once in every 5,000 people who may consult him about possible cases.

Nevertheless, Father Lampert said that the possible evil effects of the spiritual world upon us should not be discounted.

“A lot of people today just question the whole presence of evil,” he said. “Haven’t we become more enlightened in our more modern society, if you will?

“One of the challenges of exorcisms is how you balance the notion of evil with an understanding of mental health. Are you dealing with something of a mental condition or is it in the spiritual dimension?”

Gabrielle Campo, a young adult member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis, helps organize Theology on Tap programs in Indianapolis, and said she is looking forward to Father Lampert’s presentation.

“It’s Halloween, and everyone is geared up for being scared and spooky,” she said. “And so everybody should be ready to hear him.

“Even if it weren’t Halloween, people are fascinated with the whole concept of exorcism. I even have co-workers that aren’t Catholic, and they’re coming because they’re fascinated by it.”

Ultimately, Father Lampert said that learning more about the spiritual world and about exorcisms should lead Catholics to grow in their own life of faith.

“It’s a call for people to deepen their own commitment to their faith and their relationship with Christ,” he said.

Theology on Tap is a young adult faith formation program that started in the Archdiocese of Chicago in the 1980s.

Working with Catholic young adults in their area, dioceses around the country, including the Archdiocese of ­Indianapolis, have begun their own Theology on Tap programs.

It is called “Theology on Tap” because its sessions ordinarily occur in bars where young adults often gather. And it is often organized around a set of six presentations, a “six pack” given over a 12-week period.

Father Lampert’s upcoming presentation will be the second in the current set sponsored by Theology on Tap in the archdiocese.

(For more information on Theology on Tap in Indianapolis, log on to www.indytheologyontap.com or call

317-506-9557.) †