Abstract

The biblical healings by Jesus and the primitive Church, the liturgical development of the Roman Rite of Exorcism, and the current practice of exorcists reflect a relationship between exorcism and the medical healing arts. Since mutuality characterizes all healer–sufferer interactions, informed consent is a central concept in physician–patient and exorcist–energumen relationships. Informed consent requires adequate information, decision-maker competence, and freedom from coercion. The determination of freedom from coercion is a particular challenge in exorcism, and guidelines for its assess­ment are discussed. While proxy decision making in medical care is generally driven by concerns over competence, foreseeable periods of demonic coercion will necessitate establishing proxies in exorcism. This places a moral duty on the exorcist to establish a substitute decision maker even in cases where the energumen would be considered competent. Discussion of this need through the process of informed consent builds the trust necessary for mutual decision making.