COLUMN: Times have changed, but Satan hasn't

From Andrew Exum's, "Perilous Orthodoxy," Fall '99 From Andrew Exum's, "Perilous Orthodoxy," Fall '99Remember the last time you tried to sell back a textbook? You walked up to the bookstore cashier, book in hand, only to find out that the same text you bought for $85.99 at the beginning of the semester was now "obsolete" because of a "new" edition soon coming out. The clincher came last week. The Vatican has announced that it is recalling its 1614 manual on exorcism in favor of -- you guessed it -- a new edition of the same guide. It seems to me that when it comes to demonic possession, not much should change over the years. The Holy See, however, has finally gotten around to acknowledging that many of the "possessed" people they exorcised in the past may have just been suffering from mental illness, not diabolic occupation. As a result, the new manual encourages men of the cloth to first seek out help from psychoanalysts and therapists before attempting divinely-assisted intervention. From that perspective, this new manual doesn't seem so bad after all. If anything, it's refreshing to hear the Vatican fess up about past errors. Just last March, under the leadership of Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy, the Vatican released a formal apology for its ineffectiveness in combating the Holocaust, or "Shoah," more than fifty years ago. The decision is commendable. An acknowledgment of the Church's shameful inactivity in the years leading up to war in Europe was long overdue. The statement by the Vatican not only goes a long way in patching up strained Judeo-Christian relations, but it also honors the many Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, who fought against the horrors of the Third Reich -- and in many cases were martyred -- largely without any support from Rome. But apparently, the new exorcism manual is more than just a response to errors in the previous version. Cardinal Medina Estevez, who heads up all Vatican affairs concerning liturgical rites, was quoted in USA Today as boasting that "the new text does not mark a radical break with the past. What is new is the style, which is more sober and more in tune with the language of today." In tune? Language of today? Excuse me, I thought this revised edition was supposed to reflect a modern understanding of mental illness, but to hear Cardinal Estevez tell it, the new edition instead marks a new papal flirtation with contemporary vernacular. If I didn't know better, I would think that the holiest of holies was making an attempt to be -- gasp! -- hip. Other aspects of the revised edition support this view. Gone are such medieval titles as "Accursed Dragon" to describe Satan. No longer will the biggest demon of them all be labeled the "Prince of Darkness." It seems such labels are politically incorrect in this day and age. Speaking of Lucifer, the USA Today article states that "the new rite of exorcism largely does away with the representation of Satan as a goat-like figure wielding a pitchfork and inhabiting the souls of mankind." But perhaps I'm being a bit too alarmist when I make the Vatican out to be yet another slave to the advances of the secular world and its modern language. Despite the new language and streamlined ritual, the Catholic Church isn't about to renounce the existence of Satan nor the evils of the world. In reality, a lot of folks admire the Vatican and the Pope precisely because of their strong ties to the past and equally strong faith in a thousand-year old religion. Don't take my word for it -- ask the millions of people who've greeted the Pope as he's toured North America these past few days. The Vatican will always be in the precarious position of balancing the old with the new. Old tradition countered with new revelation. Ancient scripture versus modern language. In time, the legacy of the John Paul II will ultimately be measured by how well he walks the tightrope between an old-world religion and a technological age. The recent revision of the 1614 text seems to suggest the Vatican is ready to dive into the 21st century. Thankfully, though, another sign indicates that the Vatican is still very much connected with the past. That "revised" and "modern" text? -- it's still written in Latin.