Exorcisms in Big Demand in Queensland, Australia

I like to think that folks in Australia are less crazy than us Americans when it comes to having large scale fundamentalist Christian lunacy, but apparently not - at least not among Queensland Catholics (Magic Bellybutton, if you read this post, please tell me this isn’t so). As the Brisbane Courier Mail is reporting (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23223768-3102,00.html) according to the Roman Catholic Church there has been a large increase in requests for exorcisms across Queensland. Is it just me, or do these fundies appear to be getting even more seriously unhinged? I mean, this is the 21st century, not the Dark Ages. Here are some story highlights:

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.

"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."

Father Amorth said: "Too many bishops are not taking this seriously and are not delegating their priests in the fight against the devil. You have to hunt high and low for a proper, trained exorcist." Queensland Catholic priests can carry out exorcisms only if they have been authorised by an archbishop. The priest source, who is based in Brisbane, is the only one permitted to do exorcisms in the state. He said he had travelled to Rockhampton, Cairns, Townsville and Toowoomba to save people. He said one woman he had met had been plagued by demonic manifestations since taking part in a playground witch game as a child.