The Pandemic proved to be fertile ground for demonic influence, increasing the need for exorcisms worldwide. Training for exorcists and their teams has now resumed in-person classes to help alleviate those suffering.
Newsroom (27/10/2021 11:00, Gaudium Press) Started on October 25th and until October 30th, the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum in Rome hosts a five-day course on “The Ministry of Exorcism and the Prayer of Liberation”. This 15th edition of the course is the first time since the pandemic to return to in-person study, though some sessions are available online.
At this time there is an increase in the number of requests for exorcism, in part due to a backlog created by lockdowns, but also due to factors within the pandemic itself. Between these two factors, workloads doubled. Lockdowns and the associated hardships coupled with greater access to the Occult have led greater numbers of people to explore dangerous areas of the supernatural. Pope Francis has helped increase people’s awareness of the evil one, bringing attention to the ordinary actions of temptation in all its various forms, which in turn has increased awareness of the extraordinary actions: infestation, obsession, and possession.
According to Fr. Luis Ramirez, “About half of the hundred enrolled in the face-to-face course and of the 37 who will follow it online are lay people” as an exorcist team often includes various other individuals. These individuals must be approved by their local bishops before they are granted admission to the course and would work with an exorcist priest in “a role of support for prayer, family members or even, in the case of doctors, with medical-scientific support” added Father Ramirez. This is needed as they will need to separate those who are in need of psychological help and support stemming from ‘maligning forces’ and those with more serious issues. This year’s program will include sessions such as those on “Demonic Subjugation”, and “Historical sources for the rite of exorcism” in addition to a continuation of the interdisciplinary research into a new phenomenon in Latin America around family constellations.
With files from Italy 24 News
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
