Denver's Archbishop Asked a Famous Exorcist to Take a Year Away From the Microphone. Father Ripperger Said Yes.

The facts come first below. My reflection follows in the section marked as opinion.

One of the best-known exorcists in America has agreed to stop giving talks and interviews for a year at the request of his archbishop.

Archbishop James R. Golka of Denver recently met with Father Chad Ripperger to discuss his ministry and his religious community, the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, according to an Oct. 19 statement from the Archdiocese of Denver. During that conversation, the statement says, "the Archbishop asked Fr. Ripperger to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews. The time will allow him to devote himself to the Society and to the people it serves. Fr. Ripperger readily agreed. At the end of the year, they will review the arrangement together."

The archdiocese said Golka "is grateful for Fr. Ripperger's priestly service, exorcism ministry, and for the generous spirit in which he received this request." It added: "We ask the faithful to join us in praying for Fr. Ripperger and for the Society."

Who he is

The archdiocese confirmed by email that Ripperger "remains a priest in good standing," OSV News reported. The 62-year-old Wyoming native was ordained in 1997 for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a community that celebrates Mass in the form used before the Second Vatican Council, and has had faculties in the Archdiocese of Denver since 2017, according to OSV News.

Ripperger founded the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, also known as the Doloran Fathers, in 2012, the National Catholic Register reported. The semi-contemplative society of priests is based in Keenesburg, Colorado, and focuses on spiritual warfare and traditional Catholic liturgy. He has drawn a large audience through appearances on podcasts hosted by Tucker Carlson and Shawn Ryan. In his April interview with Carlson, he spoke about what he sees as a decline in belief in the devil. "A lot of the Christians will just say, 'Well, I believe in God, but I don't necessarily believe in the devil,'" he said.

In his March interview with Ryan, the Register reported, Ripperger suggested that some reported alien abductions were demonic. OSV News reported that in an Oct. 18 interview with the traditionalist website Sensus Fidelium, he spoke of invoking the name of Jesus to counter alien abductions.

What the archdiocese has not said

The archdiocese's statement did not say whether the request was disciplinary or whether it would affect his other priestly duties, and it has not said whether the request had anything to do with his remarks in those interviews, the Register reported. LifeSiteNews reported that he had canceled several speaking engagements, according to the Register.

The move comes amid a wider debate in the Church over exorcists with large media followings. In June, Cardinal Robert McElroy removed Msgr. Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington, citing concerns over social media comments "linking UFOs to demonic presence," OSV News reported.

Opinion: A good priest can say yes

There are two easy ways to get this story wrong. One is to treat Father Ripperger as a crank who finally got muzzled. Nothing in the archdiocese's statement says that. It praises his service and his exorcism ministry and says he remains in good standing. The other is to treat the request as persecution of a faithful traditionalist. The archdiocese asked, and he "readily agreed," according to its statement.

Christians of every tradition can learn from that yes. Scripture tells believers, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls." A man who teaches about spiritual warfare and then accepts correction from his superior without a public fight is teaching a lesson of his own.

The spiritual battle is real. Paul wrote that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers." But demons make for gripping podcasts, and the attention can drift from the Deliverer to the darkness. When the seventy came back rejoicing that even the devils were subject to them, Jesus redirected them: "rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."

A year of quiet is not a punishment. Sometimes it is a gift, for the priest and for the people he serves. Dock Line wrote this week about another pastor's handoff in Andy Stanley to Step Down as North Point Senior Pastor in 2027.