I see this thread is still going.
One thing that I want to add which really put me off of Chad Ripperger is his constant revelation of what demons tell him through the course of an exorcism. It borders on divination, rather than just pure information for its own sake. There was one such interview on "Fr." Heilman's Grace Force podcast where Ripperger was talking about Satan's power coming to an end soon or something. And it struck me as very questionable, as why should we care what a demon reveals during the course of an exorcism. Yes, I know that the priest can command them to reveal things in the Name of Christ, but I don't believe making a habit of revealing this information to laity is of any benefit and serves to fuel vain curiosity and superstition, rather than true devotion.
I see a necessity to prove the existence of the demonic and preternatural to today's jaded masses, but it goes beyond that when you're revealing interesting nuggets of information to bolster your trad cred. I get this same impression reading the sensationalized Warren novels or Fr. Martin's book on exorcisms. Sure, it can be read as a form of Catholic entertainment, but it should not be viewed with an end toward puffing up one's knowledge about spiritual warfare and the demonic. And on top of that, shows like Ghost Adventures or Ghost Hunters have done much to destroy a Catholic method of combating the preternatural. When I've watched this stuff in the past, I always point out to my wife that the best thing they could've done is to ignore the sounds, not open doors to these principalities and powers.
I will repeat, the best means to combat the Devil is to ignore him when temptation arises and pray simple prayers to steady oneself. The method of the Carmelites, specifically St. John of the Cross, pertaining to visions is to ignore them because the source is unknown, the same goes for this type of phenomena.
Here is what he says about ignoring demons fwiw.
"There tends to be two extremes in relation to demons. The first is never paying any attention to them whatsoever, even when they rear their heads. There, is a mindset which is fundamentally flawed that if one simply ignores the demons, they will leave him alone. All this mindset does is create a spiritual blindness in relationship to the activity of the demons, and demons take advantage of the wild ignorance of the individual. This is contrary to the vigilance which St Peter says we are to have which is rooted in the recognition, again as Saint Peter observes, that the devil is like a roaring lion going around seeking someone to devour. He is constantly on the prowl and seeking to cause damage and destruction in the lives of human beings.
The second extreme consists of the person seeing a demon under every rock, so to speak. The person focuses on trying to find and root out diabolic activity. In this particular approach, the focus shifts from God to demons, and demons are more than happy to have one's attention as long as it is not on God, since their general principle is "anything but God". As the saying goes, "if you look for demons, they will find you".
That seems fairly sound imo. Even if one feels uncomfortable with binding prayers, one should still acknowledge the demon's presence if they sense it, and always keep in mind we are indeed in a spiritual warfare in this world.
Are binding prayers the only recourse ? No, the short form St Michael prayer, rosary, etc. are effiacious.
As are binding prayers. They are just more focused, or precise in what they ask. And that is where Authority and the restrictions per the Church enter the equation. Fr Ripperger is adamant in pointing this out, as retaliation is also in the equation.