An exorcism? No, a blessing. You'd think reporters would know the difference.

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | May 21, 2013

As you watch, a priest places his hands on a man’s head and prays silently for a few seconds. What did you just witness?

A blessing, right? That wasn’t a tough question. Pretty basic, for anyone with even a passing knowledge of Catholic practices.

But that’s not how reporters interpreted a gesture by Pope Francis on Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Father blessed a man in a wheelchair (to be fair, I should add that the man reacted dramatically) and suddenly reporters began saying that the Pope had performed an exorcism.

You might think that reporters covering the Vatican would recognize a simple blessing when they saw one. But then of course a papal blessing is not a headline story, and a papal exorcism is.

An AP report amps up the sensational aspect of the story by mentioning that Pope Francis is “obsessed” with the devil. OK, let’s explore that idea:

You’re listening to a Christian preacher. He mentions the devil. Are you surprised? He mentions the devil again. Would you say that qualifies as an obsession?

It’s true that Pope Francis mentions the devil often enough to show that he’s quite aware of Satan’s existence. But again, if you have even a passing familiarity with Catholic thought, you shouldn’t find that surprising.

Sometimes one has the impression that secular reporters, when they cover Catholic affairs, fancy themselves as expert guides, introducing their readers to the arcane practices of an obscure cult. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that what they view as extraordinary gestures and statements—blessings, admonitions about the devil’s lures—many millions of people see as everyday routines.