Pope Francis is popularly credited with modernising Catholicism and refilling the pews by sheer force of his personality. He is down to earth, avoids obscure theological language, and is willing to talk about everyday problems. But those tempted to pigeonhole the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as a 21st-century social worker, more interested in justice than religious mumbo-jumbo, have been given a wake-up call this week. A gathering of Catholic exorcists at the Pontifical University of Regina Apostolorum in Rome has highlighted a darker aspect of the “Francis effect”. He has prompted a rise in the number of Catholics who believe themselves possessed by the Devil. The cause and effect...
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