Pope Warns of Rising Spiritual Risks

0:00Pope Leo XIV, the first United States-born Pope, held a private meeting with leaders from the International Association of Exorcists, earlier this month. On March 13th, they warned him about a sharp rise in cases tied to occultism, esotericism, and Satanism, highlighting the growing spiritual, risks for many people. The group urged the Pope to make sure every diocese around the world has at least one priest fully trained in exorcism. They handed over a detailed report on these trends, along with a book called, Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism, and an image of St. Michael the Archangel. Exorcists like Father Francesco Bermonte, the group's vice president, pointed out that overlooking these problems leaves faithful people without real. Help for their deep spiritual struggles, without proper support, some turns or risky alternatives instead of sound guidance. This discussion came just after the February release of the HBO film, The Pope's Exorcist, which draws from the life of Father Gabriela Amorth.

1:01He co-founded the Association in 1990 and served as Rome's exorcist for decades, performing up to 160,000 rituals, though only a fraction involved actual possession. The Pope reflected fondly on his past connection to Father Amorth during the audience. With these warnings in mind, church leaders are now pushing for widespread training programs to tackle the uptick in spiritual challenges head on. That's your update from Birmingham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.