An independent Catholic church which specializes in demonic possession is so busy carrying out exorcisms that you can now order the ‘service’ online. What’s more, it’s free of charge.
The Vatican News reports that the number of people seeking out exorcisms has tripled in a short time. The demand is so great that the Catholic Church is scrambling to train more priests in demon fighting to tackle the backlog.
Meanwhile, a California- based independent Catholic church called the Order of Exorcists has risen to meet this demand, even streamlining its service by offering an easy-to-use exorcism application form.
The order is not part of the Catholic Church, rather a branch of the faith which is under the independent Catholic jurisdiction called the Sacred Order of Saint Michael the Archangel. It claims to have its roots in the ancient Old Roman Catholic Church of the 12th Century.
“Members are from many religious orders; priests, seminarians, paranormal investigators, and bishops of many jurisdictions, from around the world,” the order says on its website.
“Our priests are available, after the medical and psychological reports are reviewed, with the approval of their bishops, to perform the rite of exorcism. Our Investigation & Assessment Team are paranormal exorcist investigators.”
“They make the initial first contact with the clients that are requesting a demonic investigation and/or exorcism. In staying within the biblical teaching ‘that which is freely obtained should be freely given’, the exorcism will be done without charge.”
The order has 61 full time exorcists and regularly carries out exorcisms across the world. It has a checklist that people can use to identify signs of demonic possession. The signs include:
- Sound of footsteps on the stairs or floors
- Sound of voices or animal sounds in rooms and walls
- Bad odors with no natural explanation
- Moving black shadows on floors and/or walls
- Tapping or knocking noises in walls or on the floors
- Clock hands moving backwards
- Lights turning themselves on and off
- Electronic equipment such as radios and televisions turning on or off automatically
- Black human-shaped figures that move or stand
- Black clouds of smoke that move around and do not dissipate
- An evil spirit that is interacting with you or a household member
- Demonic possession of a household member
The Vatican was recently prompted to hold an international conference to recruit more exorcists due to the recent spike in demand for the rite. Friar Beningo Palilla, one of the organizers of the conference, told Vatican News that there are now some 500,000 cases requiring exorcism in Italy each year. The priest cited the growing popularity of fortune tellers as the reason for the rise in “demonic possessions.”
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