A recent news story reported on an Irish priest and exorcist who is asking his superiors for help after noticing a dramatic increase in demonic activity. Fr. Pat Collins said he has been overwhelmed with the number of requests for exorcisms in Ireland. In an open letter, he urged his bishops to train more priests to deal with the demand. Collins said that it's "only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially."

Collins' comments are on par with those of other exorcists throughout the world, including the International Association of Exorcists (IAE), a group of 400 Catholic leaders and priests, which has reported a dramatic increase in demonic activity in recent years. In 2014, the IAE said the levels of demonic activity throughout the world had reached what they considered a "pastoral emergency."

Collins said that anyone who doesn't see the need for more exorcists is "out of touch with reality." He added,

What I'm finding out desperately, is people who in their own minds believe—rightly or wrongly—that they're afflicted by an evil spirit … [And] when they turn to the Church, the Church doesn't know what to do with them and they refer them on either to a psychologist [or another church leader] … and they do fall between the cracks and often are not helped.