Exorcism Magazine Launched In Poland; Egzorcysta Focuses On Catholic Priests And Devil Possession

The Devil Made Them Do It: Exorcism Craze Launches A Magazine

The devil may be in the details but for Roman Catholic priests hoping to capitalize on an insatiable demand for exorcisms in Poland, he may be in the fine print as well.

In what is being called the world's first monthly magazine devoted exclusively to the art of exorcism, the exorcizing priests and a publisher this week announced the launch of Egzorcysta. The new magazine will have an initial print run of 15,000 copies in one of the most devoutly Roman Catholic countries in Europe.

According to AFP, the new magazine is tapping into a growing trend.

“The rise in the number or exorcists from four to more than 120 over the course of 15 years in Poland is telling,” Father Aleksander Posacki told reporters in Warsaw on Monday as he announced the magazine's launch. The priest, identified as a "leading demonologist and exorcist," ironically attributed the bump to the 1989 downfall of Poland's atheistic communist regime.

"Capitalism creates more opportunities to do business in the area of occultism," Posacki told the news agency. "Fortune telling has even been categorized as employment for taxation."

These are boom times for specialists in chasing out the devil. While Catholics are not the only ones whose clergy perform exorcisms, the practice of cleansing troubled souls of Satan has taken off in recent years among those faithful to the Latin Rite.

There are now more Catholic exorcists in the United States than at any other time. Both Pope Benedict XVI and his Polish predecessor, Pope John Paul II, have been big boosters of the craft.

Egzorcysta, which will have 62 pages in its first issue, will feature articles with titles such as “New Age — the spiritual vacuum cleaner” and “Satan is real,” according to AFP. The magazine will sell for10 zloty, or $3.10 dollars, a copy.

One thing readers may learn is that art may indeed imitate "life." Both Posacki and Grefkowicz said movies like 1973's "The Exorcist" are spot-on when it comes to depicting demonic possession.

While the heads of the real-life possessed may not spin like Linda Blair's did in the movie, their predicament "manifests itself in the form of screams, shouting, anger, rage -- threats are common," Posacki said. “Manifestation in the form or (sic) levitation is less common, but does occur and we must speak about it — I’ve seen it with my own eyes."

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