After seeing a threefold increase in the demand for exorcisms, the Vatican announced last week it would hold a week-long conference to train priests in how to rid people of demonic possessions.
The April gathering in Rome aims “to offer a rich reflection and articulation on a topic that is sometimes unspoken and controversial,” exorcist Friar Benigno Palilla told Vatican Radio.
“We touch on the most burning issues,” he said. “From the sects linked to Satanism to their story of liberation [from] their possession.”
Mr Palilla, who is one of the organisers of the event, said there are about 500,000 cases requiring exorcisms in Italy each year, USA Today reported.
He blames the uptick in demons on practices that “open the door to the devil and to possession” like seeking the advice of fortune tellers and Tarot card readers.
While many of the reported cases are actually related to psychological or spiritual problems, Mr Palilla conceded, they must still be investigated.
But the church is concerned that many priests either haven’t learned or refuse to learn exorcism techniques.
“We priests, very often, do not know how to deal with the concrete cases presented to us. In the preparation of priesthood, we do not talk about these things,” Mr Palilla said.
In France, the demand for exorcists has also soared, but independent contractors have taken up the jobs — charging $US178 ($AU227) an hour — as the Catholic Church neglected training priests in the practice, The Economist reported.
Mr Palilla warned against using an amateur exorcist because they “certainly make errors”.
Exorcism is recognised under the Catholic Church’s canon law and can only be performed with permission from within the church. The Vatican-backed International Association of Exorcists was founded in 1990 and has licensed some 200 members across the world.
