Priests in Europe may soon be working overtime in their ageless struggle against the dark forces of evil.
The Catholic diocese of Milan has created a special exorcism hotline and has doubled the number of exorcism-practicing priests.
The
BBC reports the number of trained priests has jumped from six to 12 to
try and keep up with an apparent increase in calls over the past 15
years from citizens claiming to need the services of an exorcist.
"From the number of calls we receive,
the need has doubled," Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni - the diocese's chief
exorcist since 1995 -- told the news website Incrocinews. "We get young
and old, men and women, people with different levels of education, from
school-leavers to graduates."
A special switchboard has been set up
where people can call Monday through Friday between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
for all their exorcism needs. Mascheroni said that one priest was
reportedly seeing as many as 120 people a day.
"People in need can call and will be
able to find a priest in the same area who doesn't have to travel too
far," Mascheroni said, according to The Independent.
While the diocese receives up to four
calls each day, what exactly are people calling about? Are demons
running rampant in and around Milan, necessitating interventions by
priests trained in the task of banishing evil from unwilling victims?
Mascheroni suggests that the rise in
exorcist calls could have something to do with the number of parents
having discipline problems with their children.
"Usually the parents call, concerned
about a child who won't go to school or who's taking drugs or
rebelling," he said. "In reality, it's not a demon, but when they're 18
years old, young people don't want to be told what to do."
Maybe that's where the phrase "you little devils" originated.
Even with the increased number of
exorcism requests and priests available to perform them, Mascheroni
cautions against believing that there's any sort of "real diabolical
phenomena" behind it all, preferring to blame "mental and psychiatric
disorders" for the reported unusual behaviors.
Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's
chief exorcist for 25 years, claims involvement with about 70,000
demonic possession cases. That's a lot of alleged bad energy and fodder
for bad movies.
Last year, Amorth insisted that sex
abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic church proved that "the Devil is at
work inside the Vatican," according to the Independent.
Amorth also previously stated that
"Practicing yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry
Potter. In Harry Potter, the Devil acts in a crafty and covert manner,
under the guise of extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses."
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