EARL BOYEA
EPISCOPUS LANSINGENSIS
Divina Miseratione et Apostolicæ Sedis Gratia
INSTRUCTION
GENERAL DIOCESAN NORMS FOR PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING,
INNER HEALING, AND DELIVERANCE MINISTRY
“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…. [S]ickness, 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.” Instruction for Prayers on for Healing (IPH), Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, September 14, 2000
Introduction: Recognizing that “prayer for the restoration of health is … part of the Church’s experience in every age” (IPH) and desiring that such prayer be conducted in good order and with respect for the dignity of each person, the following norms are to be followed by prayer ministers at parish sponsored events.
Article I: It is licit for every member of the faithful to pray to God for healing. (IPH, #1). This should not imply that everyone is or can be a ministerial healer.
Article II: All involved in assisting with healing and/or deliverance ministry must comply with all diocesan policies and guidelines, especially those relating to safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children and be subject to safe-environment procedures.
Article III: Any clerics invited to minister in the Diocese of Lansing are to provide a testimonial of suitability from their own diocese or religious superior. Any laity and nonclerical religious invited into the Diocese of Lansing to minister are to be vetted by the receiving parish. This is usually accomplished by a letter of good standing from the lay person’s pastor. All those invited into the Diocese of Lansing must be current with all the safe environment protocols.
Article IV: There should always be a minimum of two people assisting an individual prayer recipient. The sex of the prayer recipient should be considered when choosing prayer ministers. For example, when a woman is being prayed for, the prayer ministers should either both be women, or be one man and one woman. Likewise, when a man is being prayed for, the prayer ministers should be either both men, or one man and one woman. At most only two people should touch the individual, and they should both be visible to the individual receiving prayer.
Article V: Prayer ministers should always take care to obtain permission from people before they pray for them. If the prayer is happening in the context where it is foreseen that someone may fall, prayer ministers are either to invite them to sit or to ensure there are catchers with the persons who may fall. To this end, it is preferable that catchers are comprised of both sexes.
Article VI: Prayer ministers are to refrain from the use of holy water or oil, to avoid any confusion with the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In fact, “in no instance may those who are not priests perform anointings either with the Oil of the Sick or any other oil.” (Ecclesia de Mysterio, Art. 9 §§ 1-2)
Article VII: Pastors are to ensure that prayer ministers have been well-formed in Catholic teaching regarding healing and deliverance prayer.
Article VIII: This instruction concerns only the ministry of healing and deliverance, but not the ministry of exorcism. The prayers of exorcism contained in the Rituale Romanum must remain separate from healing services, whether liturgical or non-liturgical. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that only trained and designated priests can perform exorcisms. If a prayer minister suspects that an exorcism is needed, he or she should immediately inform a member of the clergy.
Article IX: Prayer ministers may only lay their hands on a prayer recipient with the permission of the prayer recipient. Touch should be limited to the head and shoulders of the recipient. Normally no more than two people should be touching the one being prayed over (see Article IV). Others may raise their hands toward this person.
Article X: Prayer ministers are never to tell or declare to someone that he or she is healed. It is the prayer recipient’s right and joy to be the author of testimony to the working of the Holy Spirit. Prayer ministers are never to engage in language that can be understood as guaranteeing a healing outcome.
Article XI: Children under the age of 18 are only to be ministered to with the permission of their parent or guardian. Attending a retreat where healing or deliverance prayer is taking place will constitute permission on the part of the parent if the parents are informed in writing that healing or deliverance prayer may take place.
Given at the Curia of the Diocese of Lansing on this, the fifteenth day of October, the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus, in the year of our Lord, 2024.
Most Reverend Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
Mr. Michael Andrews
Chancellor