REGINA: So, what was your takeaway?
CHRIS: The whole experience was captivating, and not just because of the Latin. You could really tell that the child was being prepared not only to enter God's house, but also for spiritual combat. If my wife and are blessed with more children, I'm going to specifically request the older Ritual.
REGINA: Any thoughts on why this may have been done, and what its impact has been on the latest generations of Catholics?
CHRIS: It confounds me. Paul VI, in his general audience "Deliver us from evil", said "one of the greatest needs [of the Church] is the defense from that evil, which we call the Devil". How does it follow, then, that he thought the Rite of Baptism needed to have FEWER exorcism prayers? I feel like the watering down of the Rite (wow, I was not intending to make that pun) also waters down the effect it has on the mindset of the adult participants and witnesses. I know the revised Rite is valid, but now it feels like a downmarket replacement, and one that's subtler than a felt banner.
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