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CONGREGATION for the DOCTRINE of the FAITH
INSTRUCTION ON PRAYERS FOR HEALING

(Instructio de orationibus ad obtinendam a Deo sanationem), September 14, 2000 OR 24.11.2000, 6-7 [Lat./Ital.]; Notitiae 37 (2001) 20-65

THE longing for happiness, deeply rooted in the human heart, has always been accompanied by a desire to be freed from illness and to be able to understand the meaning of sickness when it is experienced. This is a human phenomenon, which in some way concerns every person and finds particular resonance in the Church, where sickness is understood as a means of union with Christ and of spiritual purification. Moreover, for those who find themselves in the presence of a sick person, it is an occasion for the exercise of charity. But this is not all, because sickness, like other forms of human suffering, is a privileged moment for prayer, whether asking for grace, or for the ability to accept sickness in a spirit of faith and conformity to God's will, or also for asking for healing.

Prayer for the restoration of health is therefore part of the Church's experience in every age, including our own. What in some ways is new is the proliferation of prayer meetings, at times combined with liturgical celebrations, for the purpose of obtaining healing from God. In many cases, the occurrence of healings has been proclaimed, giving rise to the expectation of the same phenomenon in other such gatherings. In the same context, appeal is sometimes made to a claimed charism of healing.

These prayer meetings for obtaining healing present the question of their proper discernment from a liturgical perspective; this is the particular responsibility of the Church's authorities, who are to watch over and give appropriate norms for the proper functioning of liturgical celebrations.

It has seemed opportune, therefore, to publish an Instruction, in accordance with canon 34 of the Code of Canon Law, above all as a help to local Ordinaries so that the faithful may be better guided in this area, though promoting what is good and correcting what is to be avoided. It was necessary, however, that such disciplinary determinations be given their point of reference within a well-founded doctrinal framework, to ensure the correct approach and to make clear the reasoning behind the norms. To this end, it has been judged appropriate to preface the disciplinary part of the Instruction with a doctrinal note.

«People are called to joy. Nevertheless each day they experience many forms of suffering and pain.» (1) Therefore, the Lord, in his promises of redemption, announces the joy of the heart that comes from liberation from sufferings (cf. Is 30:29; 35:10; Bar 4:29). Indeed, he is the one «who delivers from every evil» (Wis 16:8). Among the different forms of suffering, those which accompany illness are continually present in human history. They are also the object of man's deep desire to be delivered from every evil.

In the Old Testament, «it is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil.» (2) Among the punishments threatened by God for the people's unfaithfulness, sickness has a prominent place (cf. Dt 28:21-22, 27-29, 35). The sick person who beseeches God for healing confesses to have been justly punished for his sins (cf. Ps 37; 40; 106:17-21).

Sickness, however, also strikes the just, and people wonder why. In the Book of Job, this question occupies many pages. «While it is true that suffering has meaning as punishment, when it is connected with a fault, it is not true that all suffering is a consequence of a fault and has the nature of a punishment. The figure of the just man Job is a special proof of this in the Old Testament... And if the Lord consents to test Job with suffering, he does it to demonstrate the latter's righteousness. The suffering has the character of a test.» (3)

Although sickness may have positive consequences as a demonstration of the faithfulness of the just person, and for repairing the justice that is violated by sin, and also because it may cause a sinner to reform and set out on the way of conversion, it remains, however, an evil. For this reason, the prophet announces the future times in which there will be no more disease and infirmity, and the course of life will no longer be broken by death (cf. Is 35:5-6; 65: 19-20).

It is in the New Testament, however, that the question of why illness also afflicts the just finds a complete answer. In the public activity of Jesus, his encounters with the sick are not isolated, but continual. He healed many through miracles, so that miraculous healings characterised his activity: «Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness» (Mt 9:35; cf. 4:23). These healings are signs of his messianic mission (cf. Lk 7:20-23). They manifest the victory of the kingdom of God over every kind of evil, and become the symbol of the restoration to health of the whole human person, body and soul. They serve to demonstrate that Jesus has the power to forgive sins (cf. Mk 2:1-12); they are signs of the salvific goods, as is the healing of the paralytic of Bethesda (cf. Jn 5:2-9, 19-21) and the man born blind (cf. Jn 9).

The first preaching of the Gospel, as recounted in the New Testament, was accompanied by numerous miraculous healings that corroborated the power of the Gospel proclamation. This had been the promise of the Risen Jesus, and the first Christian communities witnessed its realization in their midst: «These signs will accompany those who believe: ...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover» (Mk 16:17-18). The preaching of Philip in Samaria was accompanied by miraculous healings: «Philip went down to a city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralysed and crippled people were cured» (Acts 8:5-7). Saint Paul describes his own proclamation of the Gospel as characterized by signs and wonders worked by the power of the Holy Spirit: «For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit» (Rom 15:18-19; cf. 1 Thes 1:5; 1 Cor 2:4-5). It would not be without foundation to suppose that these signs and wonders, manifestations of the power of God that accompanied the preaching of the Gospel, were constituted in large part by miraculous healings. Such wonders were not limited to St. Paul's ministry, but were also occurring among the faithful: «Does then the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you have heard preached?» (Gal 3:5).

The messianic victory over sickness, as over other human sufferings, does not happen only by its elimination through miraculous healing, but also through the voluntary and innocent suffering of Christ in his passion, which gives every person the ability to unite himself to the sufferings of the Lord. In fact, «Christ himself, though without sin, suffered in his passion pains and torments of every type, and made his own the sorrows of all men: thus he brought to fulfilment what had been written of him by the prophet Isaiah (cf. Is 53:4-5). (4)» But there is more: «In the cross of Christ not only is the redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering itself has been redeemed... In bringing about the redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the redemption. Thus each man in his suffering can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.» (5)

The Church welcomes the sick not only as the recipients of her loving care, but also by recognizing that they are called «to live their human and Christian vocation and to participate in the growth of the kingdom of God in a new and more valuable manner. The words of the Apostle Paul ought to become their approach to life or, better yet, cast an illumination to permit them to see the meaning of grace in their very situation: ‘In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church' (Col 1:24). Precisely in arriving at this realization, the Apostle is raised up in joy: ‘I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake' (Col 1:24). (6)» It is a paschal joy, fruit of the Holy Spirit, and, like Saint Paul, «in the same way many of the sick can become bearers of the ‘joy inspired by the Holy Spirit in much affliction' (1 Thess 1:6) and be witnesses to Jesus' resurrection.» (7)

Presuming the acceptance of God's will, the sick person's desire for healing is both good and deeply human, especially when it takes the form of a trusting prayer addressed to God. Sirach exhorts his disciple: «My son, when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God, who will heal you» (Sir 38:9). A number of the Psalms also ask for healing (cf. Ps 6; 37; 40; 87).

Large numbers of the sick approached Jesus during his public ministry, either directly or through friends and relatives, seeking the restoration of health. The Lord welcomes their requests and the Gospels contain not even a hint of reproach for these prayers. The Lord's only complaint is about their possible lack of faith: «If you can! Everything is possible to one who has faith» (Mk 9:23; cf. Mk 6:5-6; Jn 4:48).

Not only is it praiseworthy for individual members of the faithful to ask for healing for themselves and for others, but the Church herself asks the Lord for the health of the sick in her liturgy. Above all, there is the sacrament «especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick.»(8) «The Church has never ceased to celebrate this sacrament for its members by the anointing and the prayer of its priests, commending those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them.»(9) Immediately before the actual anointing takes place, in the blessing of the oil, the Church prays: «Make this oil a remedy for all who are anointed with it; heal them in body, in soul, and in spirit, and deliver them from every affliction»(10) and then, in the first two prayers after the anointing, the healing of the sick person is requested.(11) Since the sacrament is a pledge and promise of the future kingdom, it is also a proclamation of the resurrection, when « there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, because the old order has passed away» (Rev 21:4). Furthermore, the Roman Missal contains a Mass pro infirmis in which, in addition to spiritual graces, the health of the sick is requested.(12)

In the De benedictionibus of the Rituale Romanum, there is an Ordo benedictionis infirmorum, in which there are various prayers for healing: in the second formulary of the Preces (13), in the four Orationes benedictionis pro adultis (14), in the two Orationes benedictionis pro pueris (15), and in the prayer of the Ritus brevior (16).

Obviously, recourse to prayer does not exclude, but rather encourages the use of effective natural means for preserving and restoring health, as well as leading the Church's sons and daughters to care for the sick, to assist them in body and spirit, and to seek to cure disease. Indeed, «part of the plan laid out in God's providence is that we should fight strenuously against all sickness and carefully seek the blessings of good health...»(17)

Not only did wondrous healings confirm the power of the Gospel proclamation in Apostolic times, but the New Testament refers also to Jesus' real and proper transmission of the power to heal illnesses to his Apostles and to the first preachers of the Gospel. In the call of the Twelve to their first mission, according to the accounts of Matthew and Luke, the Lord gave them «the power to drive out unclean spirits and to cure every disease and illness» (Mt 10:1; cf. Lk 9:1), and commanded them: «Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons» (Mt 10:8). In sending out the seventy-two disciples, the Lord charges them: «cure the sick» (Lk 10:9). The power to heal, therefore, is given within a missionary context, not for their own exaltation, but to confirm their mission.

The Acts of the Apostles refers in general to the wonders worked by them: «many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles» (Acts 2:43; cf. 5:12). These were amazing deeds that manifested the truth and the power of their mission. However, apart from these brief general references, the Acts of the Apostles refers above all to the miraculous healings worked by individual preachers of the Gospel: Stephen (cf. Acts 6:8), Philip (cf. Acts 8:6-7), and, above all, Peter (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 5:15; 9:33-34, 40-41) and Paul (cf. Acts 14:3, 8-10; 15:12; 19: 11-12; 20:9-10; 28: 8-9).

In the conclusion to the Gospel of Mark, as well as in the Letter to the Galatians, as seen above, the perspective is broadened. The wondrous healings are not limited to the activity of the Apostles and certain of the central figures in the first preaching of the Gospel. In this perspective, the references to the «charisms of healing» in 1 Cor 12:9, 28,30 acquire special importance. The meaning of charism is per se quite broad – «a generous gift» – and in this context it refers to «gifts of healing obtained.» These graces, in the plural, are attributed to an individual (cf. 1 Cor 12:9), and are not, therefore, to be understood in a distributive sense, as the gifts of healing received by those who themselves have been healed, but rather as a gift granted to a person to obtain graces of healing for others. This is given in uno Spiritu, but nothing is specified about how that person obtains these healings. It would not be farfetched to think that it happens by means of prayer, perhaps accompanied by some symbolic gesture.

In the Letter of James, reference is made to the Church's action, by means of the priests, directed toward the salvation – in a physical sense as well – of the sick. But this is not to be understood as a wondrous healing; it is different from the «charisms of healing» of 1 Cor 12:9. «Is anyone sick among you? He should call for the priests of the Church and have them pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick person and will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven» (Jas 5:14-15). This refers to a sacramental action: anointing of the sick with oil and prayer «over him» and not simply «for him,» as if it were only a prayer of intercession or petition; it is rather an efficacious action on the sick person.(18) The verbs «will save» and «will raise up» do not suggest an action aimed exclusively or predominantly at physical healing, but in a certain way include it. The first verb, even though the other times it appears in the Letter of James it refers to spiritual salvation (cf. 1:21; 2:14; 4:12; 5:20), is also used in the New Testament in the sense of «to heal» (cf. Mt 9:21; Mk 5:28, 34; 6:56; 10:52; Lk 8:48); the second, while having at times the sense of «to rise» (cf. Mt 10:8; 11:5; 14:2), is also used to indicate the action of «raising up» a person who is lying down because of illness, by healing the person in a wondrous fashion (cf. Mt 9:5; Mk 1:31; 9:27; Acts 3:7).

The Fathers of the Church considered it normal that believers would ask God not only for the health of their soul, but also for that of their body. With regard to the goods of life, health, and physical integrity, St. Augustine writes: «We need to pray that these are retained, when we have them, and that they are increased, when we do not have them.»(19) St. Augustine has also left us the testimony of a friend's healing, obtained through the prayers of a Bishop, a priest, and some deacons in his house.(20)

The same perspective is found in both the Eastern and Western liturgical rites. One of the post Communion prayers of the Roman Missal asks «...may the power of this heavenly gift take hold of our minds and bodies.»(21) In the liturgy of Good Friday, Christians are invited to pray to God the Father Almighty that he «may keep diseases away... and grant health to the sick.»(22) Among the texts that are most significant is that of the blessing of the oil of the sick, in which God is asked to pour forth his holy blessing so that all «those who are anointed with it may receive healing, in body, soul and spirit, and be delivered from all sadness, all weakness and suffering.»(23)

The expressions used in the prayers of the anointing of the sick in the Eastern Rites are very similar. For example, in the anointing of the sick in the Byzantine Rite, there is the prayer: «Holy Father, doctor of souls and bodies, you who sent your only begotten Son Jesus Christ to cure every sickness and to free us from death, heal also your servant from the infirmity of body and spirit that afflicts him, by the grace of your Christ.»(24) In the Coptic Rite, the Lord is invoked to bless the oil so that all who will be anointed with it will obtain health of spirit and body. Then, during the anointing of the sick person, the priests make mention of Jesus Christ who was sent into the world «to heal all sicknesses and to free from death» and ask God «to heal the sick person of the infirmities of body and to grant him the right path.»(25)

In the course of the Church's history there have been holy miracle-workers who have performed wondrous healings. The phenomenon was not limited to the Apostolic period; however, the so-called «charism of healing,» about which it seems appropriate to offer some doctrinal clarifications, does not fall within these phenomena of wonder-working. Instead, the present question concerns special prayer meetings organized for the purpose of obtaining wondrous healings among the sick who are present, or prayers of healing after Eucharistic communion for this same purpose.

There is abundant witness throughout the Church's history to healings connected with places of prayer (sanctuaries, in the presence of the relics of martyrs or other saints, etc.). In Antiquity and the Middle Age, such healings contributed to the popularity of pilgrimages to certain sanctuaries, such as that of St. Martin of Tours or the Cathedral of St. James in Compostela, as well as many others. The same also happens today at Lourdes, as it has for more than a century. Such healings, however, do not imply a «charism of healing,» because they are not connected with a person who has such a charism, but they need to be taken into account when we evaluate the above-mentioned prayer meetings from a doctrinal perspective.

With respect to prayer meetings for obtaining healing, an aim which even if not exclusive is at least influential in their planning, it is appropriate to distinguish between meetings connected to a «charism of healing,» whether real or apparent, and those without such a connection. A possible «charism of healing» can be attributed when the intervention of a specific person or persons, or a specific category of persons (for example, the directors of the group that promotes the meetings) is viewed as determinative for the efficacy of the prayer. If there is no connection with any «charism of healing,» then the celebrations provided in the liturgical books, if they are done with respect for liturgical norms, are obviously licit and often appropriate, as in the case of a Mass pro infirmis. If the celebrations do not respect liturgical law, they lack legitimacy.

In sanctuaries, other celebrations are held frequently which may not be aimed per se at specifically asking God for graces of healing, but in which, in the intentions of the organizers and participants, the obtaining of healing has an important part. With this purpose in mind, both liturgical and non-liturgical services are held: liturgical celebrations (such as exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction) and non-liturgical expressions of popular piety encouraged by the Church (such as the solemn recitation of the Rosary). These celebrations are legitimate, as long as their authentic sense is not altered. For example, one could not place on the primary level the desire to obtain the healing of the sick, in a way which might cause Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to lose its specific finality, which is to «bring the faithful to recognize in the Eucharist the wonderful presence of Christ and to invite them to a spiritual union with him, a union which finds its culmination in sacramental Communion.»(26)

The «charism of healing» is not attributable to a specific class of faithful. It is quite clear that St. Paul, when referring to various charisms in 1 Corinthians 12, does not attribute the gift of «charisms of healing» to a particular group, whether apostles, prophets, teachers, those who govern, or any other. The logic which governs the distribution of such gifts is quite different: «All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who distributes to each one individually just as the Spirit choses» (1 Cor 12:11). Consequently, in prayer meetings organized for asking for healing, it would be completely arbitrary to attribute a «charism of healing» to any category of participants, for example, to the directors of the group; the only thing to do is to entrust oneself to the free decision of the Holy Spirit, who grants to some a special charism of healing in order to show the power of the grace of the Risen Christ. Yet not even the most intense prayer obtains the healing of all sicknesses. So it is that St. Paul had to learn from the Lord that «my grace is enough for you; my power is made perfect in weakness» (2 Cor 12:9), and that the meaning of the experience of suffering can be that «in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church» (Col 1:24).

Art. 1 – It is licit for every member of the faithful to pray to God for healing. When this is organized in a church or other sacred place, it is appropriate that such prayers be led by an ordained minister.

Art. 2 – Prayers for healing are considered to be liturgical if they are part of the liturgical books approved by the Church's competent authority; otherwise, they are non-liturgical.

Art. 3 – § 1. Liturgical prayers for healing are celebrated according to the rite prescribed in the Ordo benedictionis infirmorum of the Rituale Romanum (28) and with the proper sacred vestments indicated therein.

§ 2. In conformity with what is stated in the Praenotanda, V., De aptationibus quae Conferentiae Episcoporum competunt (29) of the same Rituale Romanum, Conferences of Bishops may introduce those adaptations to the Rite of Blessings of the Sick which are held to be pastorally useful or possibly necessary, after prior review by the Apostolic See.

Art. 4 – § 1. The Diocesan Bishop has the right to issue norms for his particular Church regarding liturgical services of healing, following can. 838 § 4.

§ 2. Those who prepare liturgical services of healing must follow these norms in the celebration of such services.

§ 3. Permission to hold such services must be explicitly given, even if they are organized by Bishops or Cardinals, or include such as participants. Given a just and proportionate reason, the Diocesan Bishop has the right to forbid even the participation of an individual Bishop.

Art. 5 – § 1. Non-liturgical prayers for healing are distinct from liturgical celebrations, as gatherings for prayer or for reading of the word of God; these also fall under the vigilance of the local Ordinary in accordance with can. 839 § 2.

§ 2. Confusion between such free non-liturgical prayer meetings and liturgical celebrations properly so-called is to be carefully avoided.

§ 3. Anything resembling hysteria, artificiality, theatricality or sensationalism, above all on the part of those who are in charge of such gatherings, must not take place.

Art. 6 – The use of means of communication (in particular, television) in connection with prayers for healing, falls under the vigilance of the Diocesan Bishop in conformity with can. 823 and the norms established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Instruction of March 30, 1992.

(30) Art. 7 – § 1. Without prejudice to what is established above in art. 3 or to the celebrations for the sick provided in the Church's liturgical books, prayers for healing – whether liturgical or non-liturgical – must not be introduced into the celebration of the Holy Mass, the sacraments, or the Liturgy of the Hours.

§ 2. In the celebrations referred to § 1, one may include special prayer intentions for the healing of the sick in the general intercessions or prayers of the faithful, when this is permitted.

Art. 8 – § 1. The ministry of exorcism must be exercised in strict dependence on the Diocesan Bishop, and in keeping with the norm of can. 1172, the Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of September 29, 1985,(31) and the Rituale Romanum (32).

§ 2. The prayers of exorcism contained in the Rituale Romanum must remain separate from healing services, whether liturgical or non-liturgical.

§ 3. It is absolutely forbidden to insert such prayers of exorcism into the celebration of the Holy Mass, the sacraments, or the Liturgy of the Hours.

Art. 9 – Those who direct healing services, whether liturgical or non-liturgical, are to strive to maintain a climate of peaceful devotion in the assembly and to exercise the necessary prudence if healings should take place among those present; when the celebration is over, any testimony can be collected with honesty and accuracy, and submitted to the proper ecclesiastical authority.

Art. 10 – Authoritative intervention by the Diocesan Bishop is proper and necessary when abuses are verified in liturgical or non-liturgical healing services, or when there is obvious scandal among the community of the faithful, or when there is a serious lack of observance of liturgical or disciplinary norms.

The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved the present Instruction, adopted in Ordinary Session of this Congregation, and ordered its publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, September 14, 2000, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross.

(1) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici, 53: AAS 81(1989), 498.

(3) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, 11: AAS 76(1984), 212.

(4) Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXII, 2.

(5) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, 19: AAS 76(1984), 225.

(6) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici, 53: AAS 81(1989), 499.

(9) Cf. Rituale Romanum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, 5.

(12) Missale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, Editio typica altera, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXV, 838-839.

(13) Cf. Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Ioannis Paulii II promulgatum, De Benedictionibus, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXXIV, 305.

(17) Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXII, 3.

(18) Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, sess. XIV, Doctrina de sacramento extremae unctionis, cap. 2: DS 1696.

(23) Rituale Romanum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, 75.

(24) GOAR J., Euchologion sive Rituale Graecorum, Venetiis 1730 (Graz 1960), 338.

(25) DENZINGER H., Ritus Orientalium in administrandis Sacramentis, vv. I-II, Würzburg 1863 (Graz 1961), v. II, 497-498.

(26) Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, De Sacra Communione et de Cultu Mysterii Eucharistici Extra Missam, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXIII, 82.

(30) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Some Aspects of the Use of the Instruments of Social Communication in Promoting the Doctrine of the Faith: Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1992).

(31) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Epistula Inde ab aliquot annis, Ordinariis locorum missa: in mentem normae vigentes de exorcismis revocantur: AAS 77(1985), 1169-1170.

(32) Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Ioannis Paulii II promulgatum, De exorcismus et supplicationibus quibusdam, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MIM, Praenotanda, 13-19.

Ardens felicitatis desiderium, penitus insitum in cordibus humanis, semper coniungitur cum voluntate obtinendi liberationem a morbis et percipiendi eorum significationem, cum iidem experiuntur. Agitur de re humana, quae, hoc vel alio modo, quemlibet hominem respiciens, peculiari ratione momentum habet in Ecclesia. Nam morbus ab Ecclesia intellegitur ut instrumentum unionis cum Christo purificationisque spiritualis, dum ab eis, qui apud aegrotantem se habent, percipitur ut occasio exercendi caritatem. At non in isto omnia; namque morbus, sicut ceterae humanae aegritudines, singulare tempus orandi constituit, sive quia gratia petitur ut sensu fidei voluntatisque divinae acceptatione morbus excipiatur, sive quia preces funduntur ad sanationem obtinendam.

Oratio, qua imploratur recuperatio salutis, est igitur in usu quolibet Ecclesiae tempore, nostra aetate non exclusa. Quod autem rem novam quodammodo constituit, sunt multiplices conventus ad orandum indicti, qui quandoque coniunguntur cum celebrationibus liturgicis quique spectant ad sanationes a Deo implorandas. Variis in casibus, non omnino raris, palam divulgatur sanationes revera effectas esse; hoc modo exspectationes eiusdem facti suscitantur apud alios similes coetus. In hoc rerum contextu interdum fit appellatio ad opinabile charisma sanationum.

Huiusmodi conventus ad precandum indicti ut sanationes obtineantur, quaestionem etiam excitant de eorum recto iudicio, ad aspectum liturgicum quod attinet, peculiarique modo ex parte auctoritatis ecclesiasticae, ad quam spectat vigilare et opportunas impertire normas, ut celebrationes liturgicae recte in executionem mandentur.

Opportunum igitur visum est edere Instructionem, ad normam can. 34 Juris Canonici, quae praesertim auxilium praebeat Ordinariis locorum in hac materia, fovendo quidquid boni sit et corrigendo quid sit vitandum. Opus tamen erat, ut normae disciplinares in solido fundamento doctrinali niterentur, quo in tuto poneretur earum recta directio earumque rationes explicarentur. Quem ad finem, parti disciplinari praemissa est pars doctrinalis, quae de gratiis sanationis agitur et de precibus ad eas obtinendas.

«Homo ad gaudium vocatur, sed quotidie plurimas moeroris et doloris experitur formas».[1] Dominus, igitur, - una cum redemptionis promissione, annuntiat gaudium cordis, quod cum liberatione a doloribus coniungitur (cfr. Is 30,29; 35,10; Bar 4,29). Ipse enim est «qui ab omnibus malis liberat» (Sap 16,8). Inter dolores, enim, ii qui morbos semper comitantur, sunt res semper praesentes in humani generis historia, et etiam materia sunt immensi desiderii, quo homo cupit ut liberetur ab omnibus malis.

In Vetere Testamento, «Israel experitur aegritudinem, arcano modo cum peccato coniungi et malo».[2] Inter poenas, quas Dominus propter populi infidelitatem minatur morbi amplissimum occupant spatium (cfr. Dt 28,21-22.27-29.35). Aegrotus, qui a Deo sanationem implorat, confitetur se iustis poenis affici propter sua peccata.

Attamen morbus etiam iustos afficit, et homo sibi huius rei rationem percontatur. In libro Job haec interrogatio in multis paginis invenitur. «Si verum est dolori sensum inesse ut poenae, quae haec culpae iungitur, verum contra non est quemlibet dolorem ex culpa oriri et proprietatem habere poenae. Job eius rei peculiari documento est in Vetere Testamento. Si Dominus consentit Job dolore tentari, id facit ut illius iustitiam demonstret. Dolor experimenti indolem habet».[3]

Morbus, quamvis nonnullam partem boni habeat, quatenus fidelitatem viri iusti probat et instrumentum praebet ad violationem iustitiae reparandam, nec non peccatorem ad conversionem inducit, nihilominus, permanet malum. Quamobrem propheta tempora ventura annuntiat, in quibus moerores et infirmitates deerunt, neque amplius vitae decursus malo mortali rescindetur (Cfr. Is 35,5-6; 65,19-20).

Attamen ad hanc interrogationem, cur morbus etiam iustos afficiat, in Novo Testamento amplissime respondetur. Jesus enim in vita publica aegrotantes non rare, sed continuo tractat. Ipse multos sanat modo mirabili, ita ut sanationes miraculosae eius activitatem singulariter designent. «Et circumibat Jesus civitates omnes et castella, docens in synagogis eorum et praedicans evangelium regni et curans omnes languores et omnem infirmitatem» (Mt 9,35; cfr. 4,23). Sanationes sunt signa missionis messianicae Jesu (cfr. Lc 7,20-23). Victoriam deinde declarant regni Dei ex omnibus generibus malorum et symbolum evadunt sanationis hominis integri, quoad corpus et animam. Nam inserviunt ad testandum Jesum potestatem habere remittendi peccata (cfr. Mc 2,1-12), ac signa sunt bonorum salvificorum, sicut sanatio paralytici apud Bethsatham (cfr. Jo 5,2-9. 19-21) et coeci a nativitate (cfr. Jo 9).

Etiam prima evangelizatio, secundum scripta Novi Testamenti, coniuncta erat cum innumeris prodigialibus sanationibus, quae nuntii evangelici potestatem corroborabant. Nam Jesus, post resurrectionem, haec promiserat, et primaeva communitas christiana apud seipsam eadem evenire videbat: «Signa autem eos, qui crediderint, haec sequentur... super aegrotos manus imponent et bene habebunt» (Mc 16,17-18). Sanationes miraculosae predicationem Philippi in Samaria consecutae sunt: «Philippus autem descendens in civitatem Samariae praedicabat illis Christum. Intendebant autem turbae his, quae a Philippo dicebantur, unanimiter, audientes et videntes signa, quae faciebat. Ex multis enim eorum, qui habebant spiritus immundos, clamantes voce magna exibant, multi autem paralytici et claudi curati sunt» (Act 8,5-7). Sanctus Paulus etiam signa et prodigia, quae in virtute Spiritus effecta fuerunt, ut nuntio Evangelii propria esse porrigit. «Non enim audeo aliquid loqui eorum, quae per me non effecit Christus in oboedientia gentibus, verbo et factis, in virtute signorum et prodigiorum, in virtute Spiritus» (Rm 15,18-19; cfr. 1Ts 1,5; 1Cor 2,4-5). Non igitur sine causa videtur maior pars eorumdem signorum et prodigiorum, quae manifestabant potentiam divinam adiuvantem praedicationem, ex sanationibus mirabilibus constituta esse. De prodigiis agitur, quae non solum ad personam Apostoli pertinebant, sed per fideles etiam manifestabantur. «Qui ergo truibuit vobis Spiritum et operatur virtutes in vobis, ex operibus legis an ex auditu fidei?» (Gal 3,5).

Victoria messianica ex morbis reportata, sicut ex ceteris humanis doloribus, non solum manifestatur illorum remotione per sanationes mirabiles, sed etiam per voluntariam passionem Christi innocentis, et per tributam omnibus hominibus potestatem consociandi dolores proprios cum illa. Nam «Christus ipse, qui est sine peccato, adimplens quae in Isaia propheta scripta sunt, quaevis in Passione sua vulnera tulit et omnibus hominum doloribus communicavit (cfr. Is 53,4-5)».[4] Sed non in his omnia: «In cruce Christi non solum redemptio per passionem perfecta est, sed ipse etiam dolor humanus est redemptus. Christus..., passione sua redemptionem efficiens, simul ad gradum redemptionis extulit dolorem humanum. Omnis igitur, etiam homo, suo affectus dolore, fieri potest Christi passionis redemptricis particeps».[5]

Ecclesia non solum aegrotantes excipit tamquam eos qui sua amanti sollicitudine indigent, sed quia in eis etiam agnoscit «humanam et christia nam vivendi vocationem ad participandum in regno Dei incremento modis novis et etiam maioris pretii. Apostoli Pauli verba eorum programma fieri debent at adhuc prius lux sunt quae ante eorum oculos significationem gratiae ipsius eorum status facit splendere: «Adimpleo ea quae desunt passionum Christi in corpore meo pro corpore eius, quod est ecclesia» (Col 1,24). Praecise hoc detegens, Apostolus ad gaudium pervenit: «Nunc gaudeo in passionibus pro vobis (Col 1,24)».[6] Agitur de gaudio paschali, quod est fructus Spiritus Sancti. Sicut Paulus, ita etiam «plures aegrotantes ferre possunt «gaudium Spiritus Sancti in tribulatione multa» (1 Ts 1,6) et Jesu Resurrectionis fieri testes [7] possunt.

Post acceptationem voluntatis Dei, desiderium aegrotantis obtinendi salutem bonum et valde humanum est, si praesertim in fidentem precem ad Deum convertatur. Liber enim Ecclesiastici ad hoc exhortatur. «Fili, in tua infirmitate ne despicias teipsum sed ora Dominum, et ipse curabit te» (Eccli 38,9). Multi psalmi supplicatio sanitatis sunt (cfr. Ps 6; 37; 40; 87).

In vita Jesu, multi aegroti ad eum se vertunt sive per se ipsos, sive auxilio parentum aut amicorum, ut salutis restitutionem implorent. Dominus has supplicationes utique excipit nec Evangelia verbum ullum reprehensio nis referunt. Sola Domini lamentatio in casu respicit defectum fidei: «Si potes! Omnia possibilia credenti» (Mc 9,23; cfr. Mc 6,5-6; Jo 4,48).

Non solum laudanda est oratio singulorum christifidelium qui sanatio nem propriam vel aliorum petunt, sed etiam Ecclesia in liturgia a Domino sanationem infirmorum implorat. In primis sacramentum habet «speciatim destinatum ad eos confortandos, qui aegritudine probantur: Unctionem infirmorum».[8] «Ecclesia pro membris suis unctione et oratione celebrare consuevit, aegrotantes Domino patienti et glorificato commendans, ut eos allevet et salvet».[9] Immediate antea, in benedictione olei, Ecclesia orat, ut omnes qui per hoc unguentum perunguntur «tutamen corporis, animae ac spiritus ad evacuandos omnes dolores, omnes infirmitates, omnes aegritudines [10] obtineant; ac postea, in duobus primis formulariis precum, post unctionem, imploratur etiam sanatio infirmi.[11] Haec precatio, quoniam sacramentum est pignus et promissio regni futuri, est etiam nuntiatio resurrectionis, cum «et mors ultra non erit, neque luctus, neque clamor, neque dolor erit ultra, quia prima abierunt» (Ap 21,4). Praeterea Missale Romanum continet Missam pro infirmis et in ea, praeter gratias spirituales, etiam salus pro infirmis imploratur.[12] In libro Rituale Romanum habetur Ordo benedictionis pro infirmis, ubi varii textus euchologici sunt, in quibus sanitas infirmorum a Deo imploratur, scilicet: alterum formularium Precum,[13] quattuor Orationes benedictionis pro adultis [14] duae Orationes benedictionis pro pueris [15] et prex Ritus brevioris.[16]

Ut clare patet, recursus ad preces non excludit, immo exstimulat ad usum instrumentorum naturalium, quae utilia sint ad servandam recuperan damque salutem; itemque incitat Ecclesiae filios, ut aegrotorum curam habeant eorumque animi et corporis dolores mitigent, morbi vim debellare conantes. Nam «est in ipsa divinae providentiae dispositione positum, ut homo quamvis infirmitatem strenue pugnet et bonum etiam sanitatis sollicita cura quaerat».[17]

Non tantum sanationes miraculosae nuntii evangelici potentiam tempore apostolico testabantur, sed ipsum Novum Testamentum narrat Jesum Apostolis et aliis, qui prima vice Evangelium nuntiabant, potestatem infirmos sanandi vere et proprie concessisse. Ita, cum Duodecim vocavisset ad primam missionem, iuxta narrationem Matthaei et Lucae, Jesus eis dedit «potestatem spirituum immundorum, ut eicerent eos et curarent omnem languorem et omnem infirmitatem» (Mt 10,1; cfr. Lc 9,1), et eis imperat: «Infirmos curate, mortuos suscitate, leprosos mundate, daemones eicite»(Mt 10,8). Etiam in missione septuaginta duorum discipulorum Dominus iubet: «curate infirmos, qui in illa sunt» (Lc 10,9). Potestas, igitur, conceditur intra ambitum missionis, non ad eos exaltandos, sed ad eorum missionem confirmandam.

Actus Apostolorum generatim referunt prodigia ab eis effecta: «Multa quoque prodigia et signa per apostolos fiebant» (Act 2,43; cfr. 6,42). Agitur de prodigiis et signis, de operibus proinde miraculosis, quae veritatem et vim eorum missionis manifestabant. At Actus, praeter has indicationes generatim factas, praesertim referunt sanationes miraculosas a singulis evangelizatoribus effectas: a Stephano (cfr. Act 6,8), a Philippo (cfr. Act 8,6-7), et praesertim a Petro (cfr. Act 3,1-10; 5,15; 9,33-34) et Paulo (cfr. Act 14,3.8-10; 15,12; 19,11-12; 20,9-10; 28,8-9).

Sive partes finales Evangelii Marci, sive Epistula ad Galatas, ut supra vidimus, ampliorem prospectum extendunt et miraculosas sanationes non unice tribuunt navitati Apostolorum et aliorum quorundam evangelizatorum, qui in prima missione magni ponderis partes sustinebant. Sub hoc aspectu, speciale momentum ea habent, quae ad «charisma sanationis» (cfr. 1 Cor 12,9) referuntur. Notio «charismatis», per se amplissima, significat «donum generosum»; et in hoc casu agitur de «donis sanitatis obtentae». Hae gratiae, cum in forma plurali sumuntur, conceduntur singulari personae (cfr 1 Cor 12, 9); non sunt tamen intellegendae secundum rationem distributivam quasi quisque sanatus pro se ipso tantum sanationem obtinuerit, sed est donum, quod alicui conceditur ad gratiam sanationis pro aliis obtinendam. Donum datur in uno Spiritu, sed nihil dicitur de modo, quo illa persona obtinet sanationes. Non sine causa est subintellegere hoc evenire ope precationis, forsitan cum aliquibus signis et actibus coniunctae.

In Epistula S. Iacobi narratur interventus Ecclesiae per presbyteros pro salute, etiam corporali, aegrotorum. At hic non est intellegendum agi de sanationibus prodigialibus, quia ambitus est diversus ab eo in quo «charismata sanationis» habentur (1 Cor 12, 9): «Infirmatur quis in vobis? Advocent presbyteros ecclesiae et orent super eum, unguentes eum oleo in nomine Domini et oratio fidei salvabit infirmum, et allevabit eum Dominus; et si peccata operatus fuerit, dimittentur ei» (Iac. 5, 14-15). Hic agitur de actione sacramentali, scilicet de unctione infirmi peracta cum oleo et prece super eum, non simpliciter «pro eo», quasi non sit aliud quam aliqua oratio intercessionis aut petitionis ; agitur potius de actione efficaci super infirmum.[18] Verba «salvabit» et «allevabit» non designant solummodo actionem, quae spectet unice, aut praesertim, ad sanationem corporis, sed, secundum aliquam rationem, eam includunt. Verbum prius, etsi alias in Epistula inveniatur et spectet ad salutem spiritualem (cfr 1, 21; 2, 14; 4,12; 5,20), adhibetur in Novo Testamento etiam ad «sanationem» corporis indicandam (cfr Mt 9, 21; Mc 5, 28.34; 6,56; 10,52; Lc 8,48); verbum alterum, quamvis aliquando sumat significationem «resurgendi»(cfr Mt 10, 8; 11, 5; 14, 2), adhibetur etiam ad indicandum actum «allevandi» personam iacentem aegritudinis causa, quae modo miraculoso sanatur (cfr Mt 9,5; Mc 1, 31; 9,27; Act 3,7)

Ecclesiae Patres rem legitimam retinebant christifideles a Deo non solum salutem animae, sed etiam corporis postulare. Quod attinet ad bonum vitae, salutis et integritatis corporis, S. Augustinus ita scripsit: «Ista cum habentur, ut teneantur, cum non habentur, ut habeantur orandum est».[19] Idem Pater Ecclesiae nobis testatur valetudinem alicuius amici obtentam esse ob preces episcopi, sacerdotis et quorumdam diaconorum in domo sua.[20]

Eadem agendi ratio animadvertitur in ritibus liturgicis tum Orientalis tum Occidentalis Ecclesiae. In quadam oratione post Communionem petitur: «mentes nostras et corpora possideat, quaesumus, Domine, doni caelestis operatio».[21] In solemni liturgia feriae VI in passione Domini, christifideles invitantur ad Deum Patrem Omnipotentem implorandum «ut morbos auferat.. et infirmis sanitatem concedat».[22] Inter textus gravioris momenti, eminet ritus benedictionis olei pro infirmis. Ibi Deus obsecratur ut benedictionem sanctam effundat, ut qui «unguento perungitur, tutamen corporis, animae et spiritus, ad evacuandos omnes dolores, omnes infirmitates» obtineat.[23]

Non differunt verba, quae leguntur in ritibus Orientalibus circa unctionem infirmorum. Quaedam tantum inter dicta maioris momenti memorantur. In ritu byzantino, dum unctio infirmi peragitur, ita oratur: « Pater sancte, animarum et corporum medice, qui filium tuum unigenitum Jesum Christum omnem morbum curantem et ex morte nos liberantem misisti, sana quoque servum tuum a detinente illum corporis et spiritus infirmitate et vivifica illum per Christi tui gratiam».[24] In ritu copto Dominus invocatur ut oleo benedicat, et omnes, qui eo ungendi sunt, corporis et spiritus sanitatem impetrent. Postea, in unctione infirmi, mentione facta Jesu Christi qui missus est in mundum «ad sanandas omnes infirmitates et ad liberandum a morte», a Deo imploratur «ut sanet infirmum a corporis infirmitate et viam rectam ei concedat».[25]

Per saeculorum decursum non defuerunt in Ecclesia Sancti thaumaturgi, qui miraculosas sanationes patraverunt. Res, igitur, aevo apostolico non erat circumscripta; attamen, sic dictum «charisma sanationis», de quo opportunum est nonnullas explicationes praebere, inter res thaumaturgicas non comprehenditur. Quaestio potius est de adunationibus praecise ad precandum ordinatis, ut prodigiales sanationes obtineantur pro infirmis participantibus vel etiam de precationibus pro sanitate imploranda, quae ad eundem finem fiunt post communionem eucharisticam.

Quod attinet ad sanationes quae habentur in locis sacris (uti sunt sanctuaria, sepulchra martyrum aut aliorum sanctorum, et cetera) de his quoque in historia Ecclesiae testimonia sunt innumera. Eadem, in antiqua et media aetate, valde contulerunt, ut frequentes haberuntur peregrinatio nes ad quaedam sanctuaria, quae celebritatem etiam hac de causa assecuta sunt, sicut ecclesia S. Martini Turonensis aut cathedralis S. Iacobi Compostellani et multa alia.

Etiam hodie eadem contingunt, ut, verbi gratia, abhinc plus quam saeculum, apud Lapurdam civitatem. Sanationes huiusmodi, tamen , «charisma sanationis» non includunt, quia non respiciunt hominem tali charismate praeditum, sed opus est earum habere rationem, cum doctrinaliter aestimandae sunt adunationes ad orandum, de quibus iam diximus.

Quod attinet adunationes ad orandum, quae ad sanationes obtinendas convocantur (si finis, quamvis non prevaleat, certe tamen momentum habuit in iisdem ordinandis), opportunum est distinguere inter adunationes quae cum tali charismate coniungi possunt, et illas quae talem conexionem non habent. Ut adunationes spectare possint ad aliquod charisma, necessarium est ut ad efficaciam orationis emergat interventus unius vel plurium personarum, aut coetus conspicui, uti sunt, exempli gratia, moderatores qui adunationes convocaverunt. Si adunationes conexionem cum «charismate sanationis» non habent, tunc celebrationes praevisae in libris liturgicis, dummodo normae liturgicae serventur, licitae sunt et saepe opportunae; ut in casu missae pro infirmis. Si normae liturgicae non serventur, tunc deest legitimitas.

Apud sanctuaria celebrationes saepe habentur, quae non spectant ad implorandas a Deo gratias curationis, tamen secundum moderatorum aut participantium intentiones, sanationes magnum habent momentum: quam ob causam celebrationes liturgicae peraguntur (verbi gratia, expositio SS. Sacramenti cum benedictione) aut non liturgicae, sed sunt opera pietatis popularis ab Ecclesia commendata, cuiusmodi est recitatio solemnis Rosarii. Etiam huiusmodi celebrationes sunt legitimae, dummodo verus earum sensus ne subvertatur. Verbi gratia, desideria non licet sanationis infirmorum ita anteponere, ut finis expositionis S.S. Eucharistiae amittatur; ipsa enim fideles «ad agnoscendum in ea miram Christi praesentiam pertrahit, et ad cordis unionem cum illo invitat, quae in communione sacramentali culmen attingit».[26]

«Charisma sanationis» peculiari coetui christifidelium tribuendum non est. Nam clare patet S. Paulum, cum de variis charismatibus loquitur in 1 Cor 12, non tribuere «gratiam sanitatum» peculiari coetui, sive est coetus apostolorum, sive prophetarum, sive magistrorum, sive moderatorum, sive quorumcumque aliorum; contra, est alia ratio qua regitur distributio: «Haec autem omnia operatur unus et idem Spiritus, dividens singulis, prout vult» (1 Cor 12, 11).

Inde sequitur, ut, in adunationibus ad impetrandas sanationes indictis, arbitrarium omnino sit tribuere «charisma sanationis» peculiari coetui participantium, verbi gratia moderatoribus coetus: nihil igitur restat, nisi rem committere liberrimae voluntati Spiritus Sancti, qui aliquibus donat speciale charisma sanationis ad potentiam gratiae Jesu Christi Resuscitati manifestandum. Ceteroquin, ne intensissimae quidem precationes obtinent sanationem omnium morborum. Ita Sanctus Paulus a Christo Domino igitur discere debet: «Sufficit tibi gratia mea; nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur» (2 Cor 12, 9), et passiones tolerandae illam significationem habere possunt, secundum quam iam dixit: «Adimpleo ea quae desunt passionum Christi, in carne mea pro corpore eius, quod est Ecclesia» (Col. 1,24).

Art. 1 - Cuilibet christifideli licet implorare Deum ad sanationem obtinendam. Cum tamen preces huiusmodi in Ecclesia aut in loco sacro funduntur, decet a ministro ordinato eas dirigi.

Art. 2 - Preces ad sanationem obtinendam appellantur liturgicae, si in libris liturgicis inveniuntur a competenti Ecclesiae auctoritate approbatis: secus sunt non liturgicae.

Art. 3 - § 1. Preces ad sanationem obtinendam celebrantur secundum ritum praescriptum et cum vestibus sacris, quas Ordo benedictionis infirmorum in Rituali Romano [27] indicat.

§ 2. Conferentiae Episcoporum, secundum Praenotanda , VII De aptationibus quae Conferentiæ Episcoporum competunt, [28] eiusdem Ritualis Romani, possunt aptationes inducere ad ritum benedictionis infirmorum, si pastoraliter opportunae aestimentur, vel etiam necessariae, praevia Apostolicae sedis revisione.

Art. 4 - § 1. Episcopo Dioecesano [29] ius est normas emanare pro sua Ecclesia particulari circa celebrationes liturgicas ad sanationes obtinendas, ad normam Can. 738, § 4.

§ 2. Qui harum liturgicarum celebrationum praeparationem curant, in earumdem executione tales normas servare tenentur.

§ 3. Licentia eiusmodi celebrationis explicita esse debet, etiamsi Cardinales vel Episcopi easdem ordinent vel participent. Ex iusta et proportionata causa, Episcopus Dioecesanus ius habet alii Episcopo eas prohibere.

Art. 5 - § 1. Preces ad sanationem obtinendam non liturgicae efficiuntur forma distincta a celebrationibus liturgicis, cuiusmodi sunt adunationes ad precandum indictae vel lectio Verbi Dei, firma manente vigilantia Ordinarii loci, ad normam can. 839 § 2.

§ 2. Omni cura vitandum est ne hae preces liberae non liturgicae cum celebrationibus liturgicis proprie dictis confundantur.

§ 3. Praeterea in celebrationibus exequendis necessarium est ut praesertim moderatores curent impedire quominus hae precationes formis assimilentur hysterismi, rerum artificialium, ludorum scaenicorum, aut rei obstupefacientis.

Art. 6 - Usus instrumentorum communicationis socialis, peculiari modo televisionis, dum preces ad sanationem obtinendam recitantur, sive liturgicae sive non liturgicae, vigilantiae subicitur Episcopi Diœcesani, iuxta praescriptum can. 823, nec non normas statutas a Congregatione pro Doctrina Fidei, in Instructione edita die 30 martii 1992.[30]

Art. 7 - § 1. Firmo praescripto supra disposito in art. 3 et salvis celebrationibus pro infirmis praevisis in libris liturgicis, in ritis Sanctissimae Eucharistiae et Liturgiae Horarum preces ad salutem obtinendam liturgicae aut non liturgicae, ne introducantur.

§ 2. Inter celebrationes, de quibus in § 1, facultas conceditur inserendi peculiares intentiones pro sanatione infirmorum in orationem universalem vel christifidelium, cum haec in illis praevidetur.

Art. 8 - § 1. Ministerium exorcismi exercendum est sub stricta dependentia Episcopi Dioecesani, ad normam can. 1172, nec non Litterarum Congregationis pro Doctrina Fidei diei 29 septembris 1985 [31] et Ritualis Romani.[32]

§ 2. Preces exorcismi, quae continentur in Rituali Romano, a celebrationibus ad sanitatem obtinendam liturgicis et non liturgicis, distinctae esse debent.

§ 3. Omnino vetitum est ne tales preces exorcismi inserantur in celebrationem Sanctae Missae, in Sacramenta et in Liturgiam Horarum.

Art. 9 - Qui celebrationes liturgicas et non liturgicas ad sanationem obtinendam dirigunt, conentur in christifidelium coetu servare serenam devotionem, atque iidem necessaria prudentia utantur, si inter adstantes sanationes eveniant; expleta celebratione, ipsi colligere poterunt testimonia in casu posita, et factum competenti auctoritati ecclesiasticae subicere.

Art. 10 - Interventus auctoritatis Episcopi Dioecesani debitus et necessarius habendus est, si abusus deprehendantur in celebrationibus ad salutem obtinendam, liturgicis et non liturgicis, si scandalum evidens in christifidelium communitate oriatur, vel si graves notatae sint transgressio nes normarum liturgicarum et disciplinarum.

Hanc Instructionem in sessione ordinaria huius Congregationis deliberatam, Summus Pontifex Joannes Paulus II, in Audientia Cardinali Praefecto concessa, adprobavit et publici iuris fieri iussit.

Romae, ex Aedibus Congregationis pro Doctrina Fidei, die 14 Septembris 2000 in festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis.

[1] IOANNES PAULUS II, Adhortatio Apostolica Christifideles laici, n. 53, AAS 81(1989), p. 498.

[3] IOANNES PAULUS II, Littera Apostolica Salvifici doloris, n. 11, AAS 76(1984), p. 212.

[4] Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXII, n. 2.

[5] IOANNES PAULUS II, Littera Apostolica Salvifici doloris, n. 19, AAS 76(1984), p. 225.

[6] IOANNES PAULUS II, Adhortatio Apostolica Christifideles laici, n. 53, AAS 81(1989), p. 499.

[9] Cfr. Rituale Romanum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, n. 5.

[12] Cfr. Missale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, Editio typica altera, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXV, pp. 838-839.

[13] Cfr. Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Ioannis Paulii II promulgatum, De Benedictionibus, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXXIV, n. 305.

[17] Rituale Romanum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, n. 3.

[18] Cfr. CONCILIUM TRIDENTINUM, sess. XIV, Doctrina de sacramento extremae unctionis, cap. 2: DS, 1696.

[23] Rituale Romanum, Ordo Unctionis Infirmorum eorumque Pastoralis Curae, n. 75.

[24] GOAR J., Euchologion sive Rituale Graecorum, Venetiis 1730 (Graz 1960), n. 338.

[25] DENZINGER H., Ritus Orientalium in administrandis Sacramentis, vv. I-II, Würzburg 1863 (Graz 1961), v. II, pp. 497-498

[26] Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, De Sacra Communione et de Cultu Mysterii Eucharistici Extra Missam, Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXXIII, n. 82.

[30] Cfr. CONGREGAZIONE PER LA DOTTRINA DELLA FEDE, Instruzione circa alcuni aspetti dell'uso degli strumenti di comunicazione sociale nella promozione della dottrina della fede, 30 marzo 1992, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1992.

[31] Cfr. CONGREGATIO PRO DOCTRINA FIDEI, Epistula Inde ab aliquot annis, Ordinariis locorum missa: in mentem normae vigentes de exorcismis revocantur, 29 septembris 1985, AAS 77(1985), pp. 1169-1170.

[32] Cfr. Rituale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, Auctoritate Ioannis Pauli II promulgatum, De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus quibusdam, Editio typica, Typis Vaticanis MIM, Praenotanda, nn. 13-19.

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