The Catholic Church urgently needs more exorcists due to uptick in demonic activity, priest warns

Calling Father Merrin

An Irish priest has put out an urgent call for backup to help with the growing demand for exorcisms in the country, according to reports.

"It's only in recent years that the demand [for exorcisms] has risen exponentially," Father Pat Collins said, adding that anyone who doesn't see the need for more exorcists is "out of touch with reality." Collins wrote an open letter to Irish bishops asking them to begin training more priests to deal with exorcisms, and he cited the International Association of Exorcists' belief that demonic activity has increased substantially in recent years.

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Each Catholic diocese in Ireland is required to have a trained exorcist who can identify whether a person is suffering from mental illness or has been possessed.

Collins has been speaking out about the activities of what he has called "the evil one" for years. He is widely considered Ireland's most prominent exorcist, and he has also advocated for the church to take a more active role in demon hunting.

A pastor presses a crucifix on a believer's head to evict a supposed demon during an exorcism ritual. Getty Images

The number of Catholics in Europe is dropping as young people leave the church and become more secular.

"Adult millennials, defined by the Pew Research Center as people between the ages of 18 and 33, are leaving the Catholic Church rapidly. A 2013 study by the Barna Group, a Christian polling firm, revealed that 65 percent of Catholic-raised young adults say they are less religiously active today than they were at age 15," a 2014 Pulitzer Center report revealed.

But exorcisms are still occasionally performed in majority-Catholic countries like Ireland and Italy. A 2016 documentary, Deliver Us, about modern-day exorcists, reveals how much the profession has changed over the years. For example, it shows a priest performing an exorcism via mobile phone. In the film, priests complain about being "bombarded by possessed people." 

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