More priests in Europe being trained for exorcisms
Posted January 6, 2014 7:56 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MADRID, SPAIN (NEWS1130) – Hollywood has had a heyday with demonic possession (it has been 40 years since the release of The Exorcist), but there are some factions in the Catholic church where it is taken very seriously.
There is a growing demand for exorcism ceremonies and more priests are being trained in Rome to do them.
According to the UK’s Sunday Telegraph, dioceses across Italy and in countries like Spain are increasing the number of priests schooled in the rites of exorcism.
Many progressive Catholics consider it an embarrassment, but one archbishop in Madrid describes “an unprecedented rise” in cases of “demonic possession.”
The Italian-based International Association for Exorcists is among those who believe it’s a result of more people dabbling in black arts with the help of information easily found on the Internet.
The church does insist that most claims of demonic possession are from people with mental health issues and priests generally advise them to seek medical help.
The need for exorcisms is “rare, very rare,” Vincenzio Taraborelli, a priest in a church adjacent to the Vatican tells the Telegraph. “In the cases where a mental illness is apparent, we try to send them to a doctor.”
