Catholic Church Now Struggles to Keep Up With Exorcism Demand
Cory Barnett
The Catholic Church
received 500,000 requests for exorcisms in 2015.
When anyone utters the word 'exorcism', the first thing that comes to
the mind is a Catholic priest. Several exorcism movies have been made in
Hollywood, including the iconic The Exorcist, that have acted as
catalysts in creating these automatic associations. Exorcisms are one of
the Catholic Church's most important rites, however, the number of
priests who perform exorcisms has been shrinking. Now, it has been
discovered that younger members of the clergy are afraid to undergo
training to become exorcists—an issue causing alarm among senior
priests.
Catholic Church Now Struggles to Keep Up With Exorcism Demand
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The lack of interest among priests to perform exorcisms is not new. Ever
since the Second Vatican Council, the church underwent a shift from
archaic traditions to more liberal doctrines. This liberalization did
not go well with traditionalists, many of whom formed a new faction that
follow Church traditions more strictly. Among these revisions was the
doctrine on Satan, evil, demons, and of-course, possessions. This change
in theological dogma set in motion the current trend of denying Satan's
existence among the Catholic clergy. Today, a growing number of priests
refuse to believe in the church's traditional notions of Satan and the
devil, thereby creating a shortage of exorcists. Pope Francis, however,
warned Satan is real, despite his reputation for being modernistic in
his thoughts.
Even as this new trend was causing a lot of worry among senior clergy,
the fear younger clerics are showing is causing new ripples of worry
among current exorcists. Father Vincenzo Taraborelli, 79, is one such
exorcist who is anxious about the church's future. Currently Rome's
busiest exorcist, Fr. Taraborelli says around 500,000 requests for
exorcisms were made in 2015 alone. This number is too big to be handled
by the nine priests who are trained exorcists.
Things do not seem very promising in the U.S. either. Although the
number of Catholic priests trained in exorcism have increased to 50 from
12, it is still dwarfed by the sudden “boom” in demand for exorcisms in
Italy. It's ironic, belief in Satan and exorcisms is seeing such a rise
in a time when atheism and religious non-affiliation is higher than
ever.
Is the media to be blamed? Partly yes, asserts Fr. Taraborelli. He
believes magical stories like Harry Potter are influencing people to
dabble with the occult.
Read more at World Religion News: "Catholic Church Now Struggles to Keep Up With Exorcism Demand" http://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=31950
Read more at World Religion News: "Catholic Church Now Struggles to Keep Up With Exorcism Demand" http://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=31950
The Catholic Church received 500,000 requests for exorcisms in 2015. When anyone utters the word 'exorcism', the first thing that comes to the mind is a Catholic priest. Several exorcism movies have been made in Hollywood, including the iconic The Exorcist, that have acted as catalysts in creating these automatic associations. Exorcisms are one of the Catholic Church's most important rites, however, the number of priests who perform exorcisms has been shrinking.
Now, it has been discovered that younger members of the clergy are afraid to undergo training to become exorcists—an issue causing alarm among senior priests. Catholic Church Now Struggles to Keep Up With Exorcism Demand Tweet This The lack of interest among priests to perform exorcisms is not new. Ever since the Second Vatican Council, the church underwent a shift from archaic traditions to more liberal doctrines. This liberalization did not go well with traditionalists, many of whom formed a new faction that follow Church traditions more strictly. Among these revisions was the doctrine on Satan, evil, demons, and of-course, possessions. This change in theological dogma set in motion the current trend of denying Satan's existence among the Catholic clergy. Today, a growing number of priests refuse to believe in the church's traditional notions of Satan and the devil, thereby creating a shortage of exorcists. Pope Francis, however, warned Satan is real, despite his reputation for being modernistic in his thoughts. Even as this new trend was causing a lot of worry among senior clergy, the fear younger clerics are showing is causing new ripples of worry among current exorcists. Father Vincenzo Taraborelli, 79, is one such exorcist who is anxious about the church's future. Currently Rome's busiest exorcist, Fr. Taraborelli says around 500,000 requests for exorcisms were made in 2015 alone. This number is too big to be handled by the nine priests who are trained exorcists. Things do not seem very promising in the U.S. either. Although the number of Catholic priests trained in exorcism have increased to 50 from 12, it is still dwarfed by the sudden “boom” in demand for exorcisms in Italy. It's ironic, belief in Satan and exorcisms is seeing such a rise in a time when atheism and religious non-affiliation is higher than ever. Is the media to be blamed? Partly yes, asserts Fr. Taraborelli. He believes magical stories like Harry Potter are influencing people to dabble with the occult.
In addition:
Exorcist priest and soldier arrested for sex abuse in Italy
A Sicilian priest and a soldier have been arrested for sexual abuse,
which they carried out under the guise of spiritual 'healing', local
media reported on Friday.
The pair, both based in Palermo, used the pretext of liberating victims
from demonic possession in order to abuse women and children. The two
were named by media as Salvatore Anello, 59, who belonged to the
Capuchin order, and Salvatore Muratore, 52, who worked for the Italian
army in Palermo.
The men reportedly convinced victims that they were possessed by evil spirits, before carrying out a 'healing prayer' in their homes which involved "repeatedly touching their genitals", Palermo Today reported.
Anello was arrested at dawn on Friday morning and is being held in police custody, following a six-month long investigation into Muratore, who was a member of a local prayer group, and claimed to be able to perform exorcism.
Muratore is thought to have abused at least four women and one girl, while the priest is charged with abusing two women and three minors.
According to La Stampa, prosecutor Giorgia Righi said Muratore "took advantage of victims in a state of psychological fragility", and justified his groping by saying he was freeing the 'demon of lust'.
The army said Muratore would be suspended immediately and that it would co-operate fully with investigations.
The investigations are ongoing, with police working to identify any further victims.
The men reportedly convinced victims that they were possessed by evil spirits, before carrying out a 'healing prayer' in their homes which involved "repeatedly touching their genitals", Palermo Today reported.
Anello was arrested at dawn on Friday morning and is being held in police custody, following a six-month long investigation into Muratore, who was a member of a local prayer group, and claimed to be able to perform exorcism.
Muratore is thought to have abused at least four women and one girl, while the priest is charged with abusing two women and three minors.
According to La Stampa, prosecutor Giorgia Righi said Muratore "took advantage of victims in a state of psychological fragility", and justified his groping by saying he was freeing the 'demon of lust'.
The army said Muratore would be suspended immediately and that it would co-operate fully with investigations.
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Although priests are permitted by the Catholic church to carry out
exorcisms, the rite should only occur with authorization from the
diocesis, and Anello was not recognized as an exorcist.The investigations are ongoing, with police working to identify any further victims.
