The Vatican has reportedly been forced to set up new exorcism training courses amid a surge in demand for priests to purge people of demons. Benigno Palilla, a Sicilian priest and trained exorcist, told Vatican Radio the number of requests for exorcism services has tripled in the past few years, with about 500,000 cases in Italy each year. He said the popularity of fortune tellers and Tarot card readers has sent cases skyrocketing because such services “open the door to the devil and to possession.” It was not immediately clear how many additional courses would be offered, or how many priests are expected to enroll. The Vatican gave official backing to the International Association of Exorcists in 2014, making exorcism a recognized practice under canon law.
