Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bishops Want To Prepare For Exorcism Demand
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 13, 2010
Modified Nov 13, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 13, 2010
Modified Nov 13, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The world is going to hell in a handbasket, so why shouldn't Roman Catholic bishops make sure that its ranks are prepared for a sudden onslaught of exorcisms? At a conference of American bishops in Baltimore, the rite is being debated because, as the NY Times reports, "There are only a handful of priests in the country trained as exorcists, but they say they are overwhelmed with requests from people who fear they are possessed by the Devil."
The conference's organizer, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., admitted "Not everyone who thinks they need an exorcism actually does need one. It’s only used in those cases where the Devil is involved in an extraordinary sort of way in terms of actually being in possession of the person." He added, "But it’s rare, it’s extraordinary, so the use of exorcism is also rare and extraordinary. But we have to be prepared." (How rare? Out of around 400 annual requests, just two or three are deemed actually worthy of an exorcism.) Why the conference? Bishops need to give priests permission to perform exorcisms.
A professor of American Catholic history at Notre Dama, R. Scott Appleby, explained to the Times why the bishops are discussing exorcisms these days, "What they’re trying to do in restoring exorcisms is to strengthen and enhance what seems to be lost in the church, which is the sense that the church is not like any other institution. It is supernatural, and the key players in that are the hierarchy and the priests who can be given the faculties of exorcism. It’s a strategy for saying: ‘We are not the Federal Reserve, and we are not the World Council of Churches. We deal with angels and demons.'"
One of the attendees to the conference is an assistant to NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan. It's also suggested that the rise in Hispanic and African Catholics has sparked the interest, since those cultures may believe the supernatural more. Also, AP runs down exorcism's "deep roots in Christianity" ("Signs of demonic possession accepted by the church include violent reaction to holy water or anything holy, speaking in a language the possessed person doesn't know and abnormal displays of strength").
Tagged
demon
exorcism
exorcist
roman catholic
supernatural
timothy dolan
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .