Exorcisms on the rise in Europe

WARSAW, Poland, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Roman Catholic regions of Europe are seeing a resurgence of exorcism, the rite of expelling evil spirits from tortured souls.

Informal efforts to train more exorcists began under Pope John Paul II when the Vatican formally revised and upheld the rite for the first time in nearly 400 years, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The Rev. Gabriele Amorth, 82, dean of Europe's exorcism priests, reportedly performs the rite daily in Rome.

"The devil has an easy time of it," Amorth told The Post. "People don't pray anymore, they don't go to church, they don't go to confession."

The Rev. Wieslaw Jankowski, a newly minted Polish exorcist, said the staff at his counseling center outside Warsaw has seen an increase in the number of people plagued by evil.

Jankowski cited the case of a woman who suddenly developed a passionate hatred for her husband.

"According to what I could perceive, the devil was present and acting in an obvious way," he told The Post. "How else can you explain how a wife, in the space of a couple of weeks could come to hate her own husband, a man who is a good person?"