VATICAN CITY, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Vatican is seeking applications for exorcism training at its Rome university where one can learn to talk to the devil.
The 10-week course at the Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum includes sessions in exorcism rites, how to communicate with the devil and understand the tricks he uses to fight back, and signs of the occult hidden in rock music and video games.
Students also attend classes in psychology so that priests can distinguish between "real cases" of satanic possession and illnesses such as schizophrenia, the London Telegraph said.
The recruitment drive comes amid growing Vatican concern about a rise in Satanism. Pope Benedict XVI this week praised 180 of the students gathered at a secret location outside Rome.
