With requests for exorcisms on the rise, the Holy Mother Church is looking to increase the number of exorcists from a mere handful in the country to at least one person qualified to screen cases in each diocese. As part of that effort, the Church sent over a hundred priests and bishops to an exorcist conference in Baltimore.
Incidents will be dealt with methodically. Cases will first investigated by a doctor, to make sure the victim is not suffering from illness (physical or mental), and then cases will be can be investigated by the Church. Notable symptoms include: “speaking in a language the person has never learned; extraordinary shows of strength; a sudden aversion to spiritual things like holy water or the name of God; and severe sleeplessness, lack of appetite and cutting, scratching and biting the skin,” reports The New York Times.
Experts say that the timing of this exorcism conference is strategic. It’s the Church’s way of saying that it’s not just another institution, it deals with the supernatural, not the humdrum of daily life.
Full story at The New York Times.