Bishop Paprocki also said if you believe in angels, then you should also believe in devils because a devil is a fallen angel. He also said it is good to have a healthy fear of the devil, "but remember that Jesus is more powerful than the devil."

About 150 people attended the program in Little Flower School's auditorium. YAM has occasional Theology on Tap programs in Springfield bars and has a Mass every Sunday at 8 p.m. in St. Viator Chapel in the diocese's Catholic Pastoral Center. While the ministry targets people between the ages of 18 and 35, all are welcome.

The program was billed as one in which the bishop would talk about exorcism, a topic that has gotten him into the national news. That occurred when Bishop Paprocki, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, put together a conference on the liturgical and pastoral practice of exorcism in November 2010 in Baltimore. More than 60 priests and 50 bishops attended.

Bishop Paprocki drew upon his expertise to speak about issues related to exorcism:

• Every priest does many "minor exorcisms" because, for example, one occurs at every baptism when the people respond to the question, "Do you reject Satan?" And laypeople have a role, for example, saying "Deliver us from evil" every time they say the Our Father.

• A major exorcism is rare because possession of the devil is rare. A person who thinks he or she is possessed most likely is not, the bishop said. So when there is a concern about possession, a person first undergoes physical and psychiatric exams to rule out all possible natural possibilities for what is happening to the person.

• A priest can perform an exorcism only with the permission of his bishop. Every diocese should have its own exorcist, but that is not the case in the United States.

• Possession is the extraordinary work of the devil, so exorcism is the extraordinary response. Possession is a relationship in which a person has surrendered to the devil; it is a "relationship gone bad," perhaps after a person had responded to the devil's invitation to pleasure, riches or sensuality. A person without loving relationships can actually invite the devil into his or her life after being tempted, which is the devil's ordinary work, the bishop said.

• An exorcism's official rite is only in Latin. There are English translations, but those are not to be used during an exorcism.

• Sometimes an exorcism has to be repeated over a period of days, weeks, months or years, and this can occur for several reasons. Not every exorcism is at first successful. The possessed person might not let go of the devil, or there might be more than one demon involved.

Besides talking about exorcisms, the bishop often returned to the topic of the devil's ordinary work and the church's ordinary responses. The church offers the sacraments to help keep the devil away, the bishop said, adding that sacramentals such as medals, scapulars, rosaries, devotions and litanies are other ordinary ways of fending off the devil.

The devil definitely does not like holy water, crosses or other ordinary means of spirituality offered by the church, he added.

For more information about YAM, go to www.springfieldyam.com.