Oh God
There are only a handful of priests in the country trained as exorcists, but they say they are overwhelmed with requests from people who fear they are possessed by the Devil.
Now, American bishops are holding a conference on Friday and Saturday to prepare more priests and bishops to respond to the demand. The purpose is not necessarily to revive the practice, the organizers say, but to help Catholic clergy members learn how to distinguish who really needs an exorcism1 from who really needs a psychiatrist,2 or perhaps some pastoral care.
1 No one.
2 All of them.
The only thing worse than someone who thinks they need an exorcism is someone who thinks they need to perform an exorcism on someone else.
Pete
November 14, 2010 at 10:23 am