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The devil’s in the detail.
Pope Leo XIV hosted the world’s most senior exorcists at the Vatican, who reportedly warned him of a terrifying global rise in “occultism, esotericism, and Satanism.”
The Chicago-born head of the Catholic church held a private meeting with a delegation of Catholic priests from the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) this month, according to EWTN Vatican.
“They presented a report on the growing prevalence of cases related to occultism, esotericism, and Satanism, and the spiritual consequences they believe this has for many people,” the outlet reported.
Pope Leo hosted a delegation of leading exorcists at the Vatican this month. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA / SplashNews.com“During the meeting, the Association asked the Pontiff to ensure that every diocese in the world has one or more adequately trained exorcist priests.”
Father Francesco Bamonte, AIE vice president, said ignoring these concerns “leaves many faithful without an adequate response to grave spiritual suffering, sometimes pushing them toward inappropriate solutions.”
“During the audience, the Pope was also presented with the book Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism, along with an image of Saint Michael the Archangel from the sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo,” EWTN Vatican reported.
A scene from 1973’s “The Exorcist” starring Linda Blair (r) and Max von Sydow (l). ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe AIE, headquartered in Rome, is the subject of the 2023 movie “The Pope’s Exorcist,” starring Russell Crowe.
The powwow with the pope was held on March 13, but was first reported on Monday.
Leo, 70, has previously acknowledged the work of trained Catholic exorcists as “delicate” yet “most necessary,” by encouraging priests “to live it both as a ministry of liberation and of consolation, accompanying the faithful truly possessed by the evil one with prayer and the invocation of Christ’s effective presence,” LA Mag reported.
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