The service in Springfield was held at approximately the same time that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was signing the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act into law, making Illinois the 16th state in the nation to legalize “same-sex” marriage. The law is scheduled to take effect on June 1, 2014.
After the Scripture readings that began the service, Bishop Paprocki said in his homily that he didn’t relish controversy, but said that thought and prayer “has led me to the conviction that God is calling me to speak out and conduct these prayers.”
The bishop explained that it is not “hateful” to say an immoral action is sinful.
“The most compassionate thing we can do is help people to turn away from sin,” he said. “To ignore another person’s wrongful act is a sign of apathy or indifference while fraternal correction is motivated by love for that person’s well-being, as can be seen by the fact that our Lord Jesus himself urged such correction.”
The bishop said that it is misleading to think that stressing God’s mercy means that sins are no longer sins. “On the contrary,” he said, “God’s mercy is a great gift of grace precisely because sins are sins and they call for repentance and forgiveness.”
Bishop Paprocki explained that he chose the format of an exorcism not because he thought anyone involved in the redefinition of marriage was possessed, but to counteract the work of the devil in the world.
“Our prayer service today and my words are not meant to demonize anyone, but are intended to call attention to the diabolical influences of the devil that have penetrated our culture, both in the state and in the church,” he said.
After the homily, the bishop, in Latin, led the prayers for Supplication and Exorcism Which May Be Used in Particular Circumstances of the Church, taken from the appendices to the 2004 Rite of Exorcism. In the name of Jesus, and calling on the intercession of saints and martyrs, he prayed that the powers of darkness “cease deceiving human creatures and offering them the poison of eternal perdition.”
“Be gone, Satan,
Father of Lies,
enemy of human salvation.
Give way to Christ in whom you found
no trace of your works.
Give way to the one, holy, catholic
and apostolic church, which
Christ himself won by his blood.”
After the service, in remarks to news media, Bishop Paprocki noted the Catholic Church has often been at odds with the secular culture.
“The church began in the midst of the Roman civilization,” he said. “The first Christians were Jews and others who chose a new way of life. Two thousand years later, we’re still countercultural.”
For the complete text of Bishop Paprocki’s homily, see his column in this issue of Catholic Times. Or, visit the diocesan website at www.dio.org.