Diocese clarifies amount of possessions in Campeche, Mexico

After the circulation of a version that stated that in the state of Campeche, in the southeast of Mexico, 38,400 possessions had been registered in the last four years, the local diocese denied the information, qualifying that figure as “unsustainable.”

The note published on August 23 by the Millennium newspaper He recounts the release rituals made in some dioceses of the country, highlighting that in Campeche 9,600 cases of possession since 2021 are registered on average.

However, in a Statement issued on August 25the diocese clarified that it is unknown “what has been the source of that information or how the data would have been counted.”

“That figure is impossible to sustain, because an authentic exorcism is not a massive or immediate act, but a delicate pastoral process that requires time, discernment and spiritual accompaniment,” he said.

Although, the diocese announced that every Friday, in a locality of the State there are “liturgies of liberation contemplated in the appendix of the ritual of exorcisms”, which “attract numerous faithful of various states and even from other countries”, it was specified that these ceremonies do not equals an exorcism in the strict sense.

These liturgies are chaired by two priests, who for 15 years have received the task of carrying out exorcisms, and accompany people who come to these celebrations, most of whom seek “prayer, accompaniment or spiritual comfort in different situations of suffering.”

What is an exorcism?

In the statement, the diocese explained that exorcism is an “official prayer of the Church and is considered a sacramental. Its purpose is to ask God to release a person in cases of authentic demonic possession.”

He explained that the demon action can occur in two ways. The first, ordinary, “when it induces sin and evil, which affects all human beings from birth to death”; and the second, in an extraordinary, less common way, that occurs when “it causes particular evils that can culminate in a possession.”

In the case of authentic possession, “multiple sessions is required over months or even years. Therefore, talking about tens of thousands of exorcisms in a few years in a single state is incompatible with pastoral and human reality.”

The Catholic Church “is not reduced to exorcisms”

Finally, the diocese stressed that “the church’s work is not reduced to exorcisms”, since its essential mission is “to announce the gospel, celebrate the sacraments, spiritually accompany the faithful and offer spaces for prayer and liberation.”

He also stressed that, although “the demon is real, but even more real is Christ’s victory over evil.” Therefore, he invited Catholics to strengthen their faith “with prayer, sacraments and life in grace, which are the main spiritual weapons against temptation and sin.”