This exorcist is receiving more requests than ever. He blames the pandemic

After a year of loss, political turbulence and economic downturn, people in the US are looking for hope. One study has found almost a third of Americans say their religious faith has grown stronger during the pandemic.

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Kathy*, an elderly woman in the US state of Georgia, believes a demon has possessed her. 

She says the demon has been talking to her for years, but since the pandemic, it has become unbearable. 

“He talks to me 24/7. He’s talking to me right now,” Kathy* tells a priest visiting her home. 

Bishop Bryan Ouellette is from the Holy Nicholean Church, an offshoot of Catholicism that has been gaining traction across the US. As a priest and psychologist, he says he has been alleviating people’s anxieties for years. More recently he has become better known for performing exorcisms and he claims to have a backlog of 500 requests for this controversial ritual.  

In 2018, the Vatican released a statement saying it would hold a training course for priests to manage the rising number of exorcisms. While it is still unclear how many are performed in America, Bryan thinks it could be thousands a year. 

Before performing any exorcism ritual, Bryan goes through a check list of questions to assess the mental health of his client. According to Bryan, Kathy* doesn’t show any of the tell-tale signs of demonic possession, such as witnessing spontaneous fires, experiencing levitation or the smell of foul odours like sulphur or rotting flesh.  

He says, “there was absolutely no need for exorcism, and it would have been inappropriate for me to even suggest it because honestly there was nothing demonic in her case that I could find.” 

Bryan says between 70 to 85 per cent of his clients have mental conditions better served by pastoral care and traditional therapy. But he thinks there are some people who exhibit “spiritually-motivated behaviour.”

Bishop Bryan Ouellette says the Holy Nicholean Church has gained popularity during the pandemic. Source: Dateline

Why people are returning to religion

Dr Christine Simmonds-Moore, a professor in psychology at the University of West Georgia, says the pandemic has led to heightened feelings of anxiety and depression. 

America has seen over half a million COVID-19 deaths and unemployment peaked at nearly 15 per cent. The country has been marred by violence and division. 

“Living with loss, living with these big questions about existence… this whole sense of a lack of control in people’s lives, is impacting them a lot,” Dr Simmods-Moore said. 

She believes that there is a therapeutic value to religion and spirituality, providing people with a sense of control in what has been a turbulent year for Americans.  

In Los Angeles, one foodbank is feeding 900,000 people a month, around three times more than prior to the pandemic. 

Among the newcomers to the foodbank is Araceli Gonzales, a 45-year-old single mother who tells Dateline she’s had a 25-year career in politics, but now feels “completely defeated”. 

Single mother Araceli says her faith helped her overcome COVID-19. Source: Dateline

Without work for a year, she has been relying on these handouts. Araceli reached her lowest point after she contracted COVID-19 and was not sure she would be around to raise her son. Now recovered, she believes it was her faith in God that saw her through these tough times.   

Araceli says, “this year has really brought me closer to God, it's brought me to pray more. 

When my friends and I got together, and we started to pray for each other… that is when I started to regain that faith and strength again.” 

*not her real name