Hmm, wildly interesting, however didn’t Christ “given you Authoirty to...” in Luke?
Aren’t all christians told to command satan leave in the name of Jesus....what is this about never command satan? I really would be interested where it is in the bible...
I think you are referring to this: (all RSV)
Matthew 10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Or its parallels:
Mark 3:13 And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home;Luke 6:12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
You will note that He gave the twelve authority over unclean spirits (the authority to cast out demons).
Contrast this with another commonly used passage:
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
You will note that in the above passage, there is no authority delegated.
That's the difference: any Catholic (any Christian) can say deliverance prayers for himself or for another. And those prayers are effective. But the Rite of Exorcism (which is what Fr Byers is talking about) has a distinctly different tone to it that conveys that delegated authority. You can read a copy of it in this PDF file if you are interested.