Spirituality

Pope meets with delegation of exorcists over acute rise in 'occultism'

By T.K. Randall
March 26, 2026 ·  215 comments

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Whether or not you happen to believe in the idea that people can become possessed by demonic entities, it's something that the Catholic church still seems to take very seriously.

This was emphasized recently when a delegation of priests from the International Association of Exorcists met with Pope Leo XIV to express their concerns about the current state of the world.

In particular, they warned him about "the painful and increasingly widespread situation of people seriously disturbed by the extraordinary action of the devil as a result of frequenting occult sects."

Details of exactly how and where this is supposedly occurring, however, seem to be thin on the ground.According to reports, the delegation wanted to try to alleviate the problem by asking the Pope to assign one or more additional exorcists to each diocese.

While Pope Leo XIV has previously described the work of exorcists within the Catholic church as "necessary", it remains unclear whether or not he will actually take any steps based on the organization's recommendations.

In many countries, exorcisms themselves are seen as increasingly outdated and potentially dangerous, with cases of mental illness being mistaken for demonic possession.

Historically, people have actually died while undergoing such a ritual.

Exactly how widespread belief in demonic possession still is in the developed world, remains unclear.

Source: lamag.com | Comments (215)

Tags: Exorcist, Pope