Popular Catholicism

Trends and crazes.
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Thanks to Diane at Te Deum, who sent me a link to Mark Shea's column in that other NCR, I might have thought I'm the only one who thinks exorcists coming out to discuss their work is a bit unusual.  I know we live in an age when not very many people believe there is a devil, while quite a few who do believe he exists, think he's pretty cool.  Of course, most people who believe in God also believe in the existence of the devil - but regardless of their faith, a vast number of people are absolutely titillated by the idea of exorcists and exorcisms.  I came to know of at least one priest who makes sure everyone knows he is an exorcist right off the bat - perhaps to insure his credibility. 
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[In the Roman Church, the order of exorcist was part of the minor orders conferred upon candidates preparing for Holy Orders.  Nevertheless, it is only with the permission of his bishop that an ordained priest can be authorized to perform an official exorcism.]
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"Exorcist groupies"
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Diane coined the term in an email concerning Shea's column - and it works for me.  As she points out, we've lived through several trends in the past few decades.  I consider the Charismatic renewal to have reached cult status at it's pinnacle, just as apparition chasers arrived on the scene.  Actually the apparition followers predate the Charismatic renewal with Neceedah, Wisconsin.  What was before that however?  Communists!  The McCarthy era captured the imagination of Catholic faithful everywhere and coincided with popular piety. 
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I'm not sure how many people today realize that the apparition enthusiasts, currently influenced by Medjugore have the Charismatics to thank for promoting that devotion.  Medjugorje actually unified both groups - to an extent.  Die hard Baysiders stayed with Garabandal.  All too much for you?  It's too much for me to write about, that's for sure.  But I'm just pointing out the biggest trends and crazes I've observed in popular Catholicism.  Not forgetting, as Diane pointed out, neo-angelism, or the angel craze; remember the "Touched By An Angel" TV show and figurines, and John Travolta as a shirtless angel?  Very hot trend.  But I digress - my purpose here was to share with you some of what Mark Shea had to say about the latest trend:
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In a head spin...

What attitude do we take as faithful Catholics when the headlines periodically swell with tales of credulity and incredulity over such matters as demons and exorcists?
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The first thing to remember is St. Paul’s counsel that we “may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). Paul has in mind the various fashions and fads that whip people up with excitement about the Latest Thing.
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Sometimes such fads are conscious deceptions by people out for power or a buck. But more often we are faced with people who think they are telling the truth. So, for instance, while Dan Brown was clearly lying when he told us that The Da Vinci Code was based on fact and careful research, it is not at all clear that the millions of suckers who bought the hype were lying when they repeated it around millions of water coolers.
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Much the same goes on in the periodic enthusiasms over other spiritual matters. Your friend Bob reads a book about exorcism by an enthusiastic priest. Bob’s a good guy, you figure, and smart, so it must be worth a look. Because Bob’s your pal, you’re already predisposed to trust and defend the book, even when the priest claims to have performed 30,000 exorcisms in a nine-year period. In case you are counting, that’s nine exorcisms per day for nine years. Later, he ups the count to 50,000 exorcisms. This seems rather a stretch, and your atheist co-worker snorts at the book and at your friend. So you get defensive for Bob and for the priest, as though some sacred part of Holy Church is under threat if you don’t buy that 30,000-to-50,000 exorcisms claim, sight unseen.  [...]
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...it’s okay to listen when your skepticism bells go off...
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In all this, my point is to stress the need for prudence and sound judgment in discussing the demonic. The trouble is: Prudence and sound judgment are in short supply in modern media — which is why I think it inadvisable for Catholics to spend too much time discussing the demonic in the public square. Such discussions tend to generate far more heat than light.
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In this, I think I have the backing of Tradition, which tends to give short shrift to Satan, not parade him in lurid tales. Jesus’ exorcisms more or less consist of advising possessors to buzz off. The Lord’s Prayer shunts Old Scratch to the final line and addresses not him, but God the Father (“Deliver us from the evil one.”). Paul scarcely mentions him at all, and only in passing as a hindrance and as a thing Jesus is about to tread underfoot.
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In short: If you want to drive Satan nuts, keep your eyes on Jesus. - Mark Shea, content editor at CatholicExchange.com

Another consideration.
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Shea's precaution is very wise, but I have to wonder who or what came first, the exorcists or those "exorcist groupies".  The first exorcist blockbuster book and movie "The Exorcist" might have actually launched the market for amateur demonologists.  As most people know, Medjugorje spawned several similar apparition claims elsewhere in the world, as well as near cult obsession with the other world in books such as "Get Us Out of Here" by Maria Sima - consisting of crazy stories revealing just who is in purgatory right now, and so on.  And don't forget the cult film "Emily Rose" and the supposed authentic transcripts of that exorcism which accompanied the film.  So just maybe, at least with the credible exorcists such as Fr. Euteneur, some of the books by credible authors may bring necessary catechesis on the subject.  I don't know.