There has been a 650% increase in the number of trained exorcists in the country, Father Chad Ripperger has said
FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / D-Keine
The
demand for exorcisms in the US has skyrocketed in recent years, leading
to a significant increase in the number of priests trained to perform
the ritual, a leading Catholic exorcist has revealed.
Speaking to
the New York Post, Father Chad Ripperger of the Archdiocese of Denver
stated that the Catholic Church currently has around 150 priests in the
US who can perform exorcisms. In 2020, there were only about 20 priests
trained in the practice, marking a whopping 650% increase in just a few
years.
However, Ripperger argued that the phenomenon reflects a
rise in human sinfulness and occult involvement rather than an increase
in demonic activity.
“The demons are empowered as more and more people commit evil deeds,”
the priest said, pointing to voluntary engagement in Satanism or
witchcraft as a key factor making individuals susceptible to demonic
influence. At the same time, he noted that only “about 10% of cases are as dramatic as portrayed in Hollywood.”
Reverend Dan Todd, a trained exorcist in New Jersey, also told the New York Post that while “the devil is out there,”
about 99% of cases are due to mental illness, adding that psychiatric
disorders such as schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder can
often mimic demonic possession.
The surge in demands for exorcisms
has become so pronounced that Pope Leo XIV convened a summit of the
world’s most senior exorcists at the Vatican earlier this month. At the
meeting, the International Association of Exorcists warned the pontiff
of a global rise in “occultism, esotericism, and Satanism” and called for every diocese worldwide to have trained exorcists.
More
than 300 exorcists gathered last year for the 15th International
Conference of Exorcists, reflecting what participants describe as a
coordinated and expanding international ministry.
The trend has
not been limited to the US. In Russia, the occult services market has
recently ballooned to an estimated $24 billion annually, with Russians
spending as much on “sorcerers” and fortune-tellers as on groceries.
The Russian Orthodox Church has warned against performing or
seeking such rituals, demanding that Satanism be legally prohibited as
well as the advertisement of “occult magic services.” Last year, the Russian Supreme Court officially banned the ‘International Satanist Movement’ as an extremist organization.