THE Catholic Church has revealed how growing interest in satanism and the occult has led to a rise in exorcisms across Queensland.

One priest, who asked not to be named for fear of “reprisals”, said he was carrying out at least one exorcism a fortnight. More requests for exorcisms came from the Gold Coast than anywhere else.

An exorcism involves holy water, sacrament and Bible reading and can go on for many hours, the priest said. Linda Blair made the subject famous in the 1973 film, The Exorcist.

“Being possessed by a demon is terrifying in one’s mental and emotional life,” he said. “Some of these manifestations are extremely powerful, causing people to be plagued by disturbances. They hear voices and see hideous creatures in their sleep.

“There has been a recruitment of pagan practices, and it’s sheer poison.

“The Gold Coast is not good at all. I do far more exorcisms there than Brisbane.”

The Catholic Church has vowed to “fight the devil head-on” by training hundreds of priests as exorcists. Bishop Brian Finnigan, acting head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, said it was important for the church to carry out exorcisms.

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