Exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger: Possessed Politicians, Occult Activity, and Speaking to Satan Himself

Summary

The interview presents Father Chad Ripperger’s Catholic theological account of demons, possession, exorcism, and spiritual influence. The interviewer, Tucker Carlson, asks about the subject’s place in Christianity, how exorcists distinguish spiritual claims from psychological or medical problems, and whether demonic influence affects society and politics.

Important context: Many claims below are Ripperger’s religious interpretations, personal accounts, or conclusions from cases he says he has handled. The interview does not independently verify them. He also cautions that mental illness, trauma, and addiction can have ordinary psychological or physical causes, and that not every troubling experience is demonic.

1. Exorcism in Christian teaching

• Ripperger and Carlson emphasize that the Gospels repeatedly describe Jesus casting out demons and sending disciples to do likewise.
• Ripperger argues that modern Western churches, including Catholic dioceses, increasingly treated troubling experiences as exclusively psychological, particularly after psychology became influential in the mid-20th century.
• He distinguishes:
  • Supernatural: What belongs to God and is above created nature.
  • Preternatural: Powers or events beyond ordinary human experience but still involving created beings, such as angels or demons. In his account, demons cannot perform miracles or act independently of God.

2. Ripperger’s account of demons

• He describes demons as fallen angels: created spiritual beings with intellect and will, but no bodies or human emotions.
• In his account, angels initially had direct, infused knowledge rather than learning through the senses as humans do. He says demons may therefore display knowledge a person could not ordinarily have acquired.
• He says the angels who became demons knowingly rejected God’s will, and that their wills are now fixed in opposition to God.
• Despite their power, Ripperger stresses that demons are limited: they remain subject to Christ’s authority and, in his view, cannot act without God’s permission.

3. Forms of demonic influence

Ripperger distinguishes several kinds of influence:

• Temptation: Ordinary enticement toward sin, which he says everyone may experience.
• Oppression: An attack on a person’s external circumstances, such as work or other parts of life.
• Obsession: A persistent assault on imagination, emotions, or attention, which may make it hard to disengage from a thought or feeling.
• Possession: A rarer condition in which, according to Ripperger, a demon takes control of a part of the body and may also produce obsession or oppression.
• Infestation: His term for alleged demonic activity involving places or objects. He says demons may also afflict animals, though he distinguishes that from possession.

He also describes “psychological compatibility” as a way repeated choices, habits, or character weaknesses might make someone more vulnerable to temptation. This is his religious framework, not a clinical diagnosis.

4. How he says exorcists assess a case

Ripperger describes a process intended to distinguish alleged demonic activity from psychological or physical causes:

• Take a history: Ask what the person is experiencing and look for possible causes, including trauma, abuse, illness, or other circumstances.
• Use discernment prayers: In his account, a person’s response to prayer may provide clues. He says alleged obsessive symptoms may ease temporarily and then return, while psychological symptoms may not show the same pattern.
• Look for stronger indicators: He calls some phenomena “preternatural signs,” including apparent changes in appearance, unusual strength, speaking a language the person has not learned, or knowledge the person could not plausibly possess.
• Avoid relying on weaker indicators alone: He says secondary signs and experiences such as levitation are not, by themselves, conclusive.
• Continue assessment over time: He says the process can involve repeated sessions and observation rather than a single dramatic test.

These are the speaker’s descriptions of Catholic exorcism practice; the interview does not establish that such signs demonstrate possession.

5. Exorcism, prayer, fasting, and safeguarding

• Ripperger says exorcists should work within the Church’s prescribed rules and under the authority of Christ, rather than treating themselves as the source of the power.
• He describes exorcism as a team effort, with assistants and others praying for the person.
• He says some cases require sustained prayer and fasting, drawing on the Gospel passage in which Jesus speaks of a demon that requires prayer and fasting.
• He describes fasting as a means of disciplining oneself, strengthening virtue, and making it easier to resist temptation. He says he fasts six days a week while conducting sessions.
• He emphasizes training and mentorship for exorcists, saying that familiarity with the ritual alone is not enough and that the work can be psychologically and spiritually taxing.
• He says a person who wants to remain possessed cannot be freed against their will, because God respects human freedom.

6. Causes and reported signs of possession

Ripperger identifies two broad categories in the cases he describes:

• A person’s own actions, such as grave wrongdoing, occult practices, or making a pact with a demon.
• Serious harm suffered by the person, including abuse or assault. He says many of the people in his cases were women who had experienced severe trauma.

He adds that, in his view, opening a door to influence does not mean possession automatically follows: God must permit the demon to act. He says the seriousness and duration of cases vary, and estimates that an adult case may take four to eight years on average, while some other cases resolve more quickly.

7. Occult activity, pacts, and alleged ritual abuse

• Ripperger says occult practices can expose people to spiritual influence. He describes a pact with a demon as a contract that the demon may not be able to fulfill, since the demon remains subject to God; nevertheless, he says making such a pact can leave a person more vulnerable.
• He recounts cases involving alleged curses, occult objects, and satanic ritual abuse. He says the latter can take substantial time to address.
• He also discusses reports of animal mutilation, suggesting that some cases may involve occult rituals, while acknowledging that he cannot verify all such reports.
• In his account, demons seek to destroy and may encourage self-destructive behavior, including suicide. He also acknowledges that suicidal thoughts can have psychological or medical causes.

8. Claims about politics and society

Ripperger argues that demons seek to undermine truth, goodness, beauty, relationships, and ultimately Christianity. He says they may exploit people in positions of authority because those people can affect many others.

He makes several specific claims that are his interpretations, rather than claims established by evidence in the interview:

• He says the United States has come under increased demonic influence as a result of changes involving sexual morality, pornography, same-sex marriage, and abortion.
• He names five demons or “generals,” assigning them roles related to impurity, homosexuality, and child sacrifice or abortion. These attributions are part of his theological account and are not independently substantiated in the interview.
• He compares the psychology of demonic temptation with communism: both, he argues, promise an ideal future, draw people in with that promise, and then produce harm.
• He says political and religious leaders may be especially targeted or vulnerable because of their influence. He does not identify a specific politician as demonstrably possessed; his comments concern alleged influence and susceptibility more broadly.

9. Demonic influence and addiction

Ripperger describes addiction as having multiple possible components:

• A physical or neurological mechanism.
• Habits built around the addictive behavior.
• In some cases, what he considers an additional demonic influence.

He says demons may encourage a person to focus on the pleasure of an addictive behavior while forgetting its negative consequences. He reports seeing alleged influence involving alcohol, sugar, and pornography, but explicitly cautions that addiction is not necessarily demonic and often develops through ordinary mechanisms.

10. Practical advice offered in the interview

Ripperger’s general advice for avoiding spiritual influence is to:

• Maintain a regular, disciplined prayer life.
• Fast, where appropriate.
• Avoid occult practices and pacts.
• Resist serious wrongdoing and address harmful habits.
• Seek discipline in areas of life that have become excessive or uncontrolled.
• In cases of distress or suspected possession, distinguish spiritual concerns from psychological or physical causes rather than assuming one explanation.

11. Ripperger’s view of suffering and the future

• He says God may permit spiritual attacks even against devout people, using them to deepen faith, overcome weaknesses, or develop virtue.
• He says people who endure such trials may become more spiritually disciplined, which he believes frustrates demons.
• Regarding the United States, he expresses limited confidence that society will correct itself without divine intervention. He predicts that God may allow painful consequences to correct widespread wrongdoing, while describing this as a belief rather than a specific forecast.

Speakers and sources featured

• Tucker Carlson: Interviewer; raises questions about Scripture, psychology, politics, possession, and social trends.
• Father Chad Ripperger: Catholic priest and exorcist; gives the theological framework, case accounts, and practical advice.
• Religious and theological sources cited in the interview: The Bible, especially the Gospels, the Book of Revelation, Psalms, and St. Paul; Thomas Aquinas; Dionysius; the Church Fathers; and the Catholic Church’s exorcism ritual.
• Other sources mentioned by Ripperger: Other exorcists, priests, assistants, people he says he treated, and police officers he says he spoke with. They are not individually identified.
• Promotional segments embedded in the video: VanMan toothpaste/toothpowder, Dutch veterinary services, and The Bibi Files.