Pittsburgh diocesan consultant reports rising exorcism requests

A lay member of the Rome‑based International Association of Exorcists said he has seen what he considers a significant rise in requests for exorcisms over the past five to eight years.

Adam Blai , a lay adviser in the Pittsburgh Diocese on cases involving alleged demonic activity, told “EWTN News Nightly” on Oct. 1 that the number of cases there has risen sharply in the past five years. He said he and his team pray with people weekly and that exorcists he works with nationwide report being extremely busy.

“For some reason, there’s an increase,” said Blai, who also teaches priests how to perform exorcisms at the Pope Leo XIII Institute at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois. “But the more important, beautiful part is the Holy Spirit is raising up this ministry.”

Blai said warding off attack from demonic spirits starts with avoiding occult or other practices that invite in the spirits. “They need permission,” he said. “The evil spirits need permission from God to do what they do.”

“When we play with the occult, with divination, with ghost hunting, with Ouija boards, we are reaching out to random spirits and saying, ‘I want my comfort or my information from you right now on my…