In Luke Chapter 11, Christ "by the finger of God" drove out a demon that was mute and made the point that He is from the Kingdom of God and is more powerful than Beelzebul, the prince of demons [3].
In Mark Chapter 3, Christ gave authority to His disciples to drive out demons [4].
Fast forward to 2018, BBC News published an article dated April 17, entitled Exorcism: Vatican course opens doors to 250 priests reporting that "[a]s many as 250 priests from 50 countries have arrived in Rome to learn how to identify demonic possession." [5]
It also reported as follows [6]:
The week-long Vatican course is described as the only international series of lectures of its kind. Entitled Exorcism and the Prayer of Liberation, it first opened its doors in 2005 and the number of priests attending has more than doubled since then. The event costs €300 (£260, $370) and covers the theological, psychological and anthropological background to exorcisms.
Catholic priests in several countries have told the press there has been an increase in the numbers of people reporting signs of demonic possession.
Last year Pope Francis told priests that they "must not hesitate" to refer parishioners to exorcists if they suffer from "genuine spiritual disturbances".
Half a million people reportedly seek exorcisms every year in Italy, while a report by Christian think-tank Theos in 2017 said that the practice was also on the rise in the UK, in part due to the spread of Pentecostal churches.
Some dioceses have developed their own courses to meet the growing demand, including in Sicily and the US city of Chicago.
In an article on the same topic by the Mirror dated April 17, 2018, entitled You can now get EXORCISMS through your mobile phone reported as follows [EMPHASIS original] [7]:
It's a sign of the times that even spiritual practices are finding a use for modern technology like smartphones.
A week-long course on exorcism got underway at a Catholic university this week - with the head of the course saying he had performed the religious practice over a cellphone.
Worryingly, it seems that the amount of demonic possessions are on the rise - so any form of tech-enabled exorcisms are probably welcome.
Roughly two hundred students have gathered together on the course which includes topics such as the difference between possession and mental illness.
Other topics covered include witchcraft in Africa, and the ABC's of casting out the demon.
On cell phone use, the National Post reported as follows in an April 17, 2018, article entitled Priests carry out exorcisms via cellphone thanks to internet access and booming demand [8]:
Demand for exorcisms is booming as a result of a decline in Christian faith and the internet providing easy access to black magic, the occult and Satanism, a Vatican conference was told.
So many people are now asking to be liberated from the Devil’s malign clutches that some priests have taken to saying prayers of liberation — a first step to exorcism —over the phone, the conference for exorcist priests heard.
“There are priests who carry out — exorcisms on their mobile phones. That’s possible thanks to Jesus,” said Cardinal Ernest Simoni, an Albanian who was once tortured and imprisoned by Communist authorities, but continued to perform frequent exorcisms.
His comments took some experts by surprise, with priests pointing out that conducting an exorcism remotely would not be wise because people who are possessed often writhe around violently and have to be restrained to stop them harming themselves.
“Priests pray with people on the phone to calm them down, but if you are not there you cannot control the physical aspects,” said Prof Giuseppe Ferrari, one of the event organisers.
In additional to learning how to perform an exorcism, the priest must have faith, that being the most important prerequisite according to Christ, and "holiness" according to Fr. Vincent Lampert, an exorcist who appeared in a 2016 interview with Raymond Arroyo on a You Tube video [8]. Another interview on You Tube that was published more recently, on April 6, 2018, was with Fr. Cesare Truqui who said the "sanctity of the priest is important in an exorcism." [9]
[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/5, 1-20;
and http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/8, 28-34.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/8www.usccb.org/bible/matthew17:52, 14-20.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/11:29, 14-23.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/3, 13-15.
[5] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43697573
[6] Ibid.
[7] https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/you-can-now-exorcisms-via-12377021
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKWVF2ksKKA, starting at approximately 10:05: https://youtu.be/dKWVF2ksKKA?t=605.
[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHDjVPKi0QU, starting at approximately 25:05: https://youtu.be/pHDjVPKi0QU?t=1505
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