Exorcism Conference

I've previously blogged about the resurgence of exorcism in the Catholic Church here and here. Now the Associated Press is carrying this story about a Catholic exorcism conference taking place in Baltimore next week. Here is an excerpt:

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., who organized the conference, said only a tiny number of U.S. priests have enough training and knowledge to perform an exorcism. Dioceses nationwide have been relying solely on these clergy, who have been overwhelmed with requests to evaluate claims. The Rev. James LeBar, who was the official exorcist of the Archdiocese of New York under the late Cardinal John O'Connor, had faced a similar level of demand, traveling the country in response to the many requests for his expertise.

I would speculate that there is some connection between the Church returning to these medieval roots and the rise of secularism and religious plurality. Church attendance numbers are dropping off, diocese are being forced to close their facilities, and the religious character of America has become less defined by traditional sectarian labels. When the Enlightenment threatened the Church, it dragged fears of witches and devil worshippers out of the basement to frighten the masses. The same thing happened in the 1980s with the Satanic Ritual Abuse hoax. And now it's happening again.