The Catholic Church in Rome is offering a week-long course on casting out Satan, preparing priests and some lay people on the finer points of exorcism and demonic possession.This extremely successful
course, titled "Exorcism and Prayer of Liberation," is now in its 11th year and boasts over a thousand graduates. Students are introduced into a biblical understanding of the devil as the "father of lies," as well as being trained in distinguishing between true demonic disturbances and problems of a psychological nature.
The course, which runs April 4-9, is organized by the Sacerdos Institute in collaboration with the Group for Socio-religious Research and Information (GRIS) and the International Association of Exorcists (IEA).
According to the director of the course, Father Pedro Barrajon, the curriculum endeavors to separate
sensationalism from sound theology, and strives to deepen the biblical and theological basis of the nature and the actions of angels and demons, in open dialogue with other sciences such as psychology, law and medicine.
Comment: Sadly and frighteningly, it seems that these types of stories of people disintegrating and essentially becoming animals have become even more common place than a few years ago. But why? Are they a reflection of the collective insanity that seems to be gripping the world, or are there science-based reasons - or is it something else?