Exorcist Convention: Priests Learn How to Fight the Devil

Nov. 14, 2010— -- More than 100 Catholic bishops and priests gathered in Baltimore this weekend for a two-day conference on exorcism, organized by a bishop who said he wants U.S. dioceses to be prepared.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., the chairman of the bishops' Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, told ABC News' Dan Harris today that although the need for exorcisms is rare, it does arise.

"The real hope here and the purpose is to provide some training so that really every diocese could have its own resources to handle such inquires," he said.

The purpose of the conference was to educate the clergy members of the scriptural basis for the need for exorcism, and to teach them about how the ritual should be performed.

The many popular movies about exorcism -- from "The Exorcist", released in 1973, to "The Last Exorcism," released last year -- may have created some misconceptions about the ritual.

"Possession is really a very rare thing," he said. "It's not contagious. It's not like people have to worry like somehow I'm going to get possessed by a devil."

He said there are many signs of possession, including a person speaking a language they have never studied, showing signs of great strength or having knowledge that it would seem no person could have.

"The person has some knowledge of hidden things that they're telling you things about yourself or about the future that nobody else could possibly know," he said.

Among other signs, he said, is a person having an aversion to things that are holy.

"So saying prayers over them or sprinkling them with holy water and getting a very violent reaction," Paprocki said.

For thousands of years, religious leaders from various denominations have used exorcism rituals to drive out the devil from those who are possessed.

In the Bible, there are references to Jesus himself casting demons out of people.

"We don't think that's poetic metaphor," Paprocki said in an interview with the Catholic News Service.