Summary: EWTN News (March 24, 2026) reports that the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) met with “Pope Leo XIV” on March 13, 2026, urging him to appoint trained exorcists in every diocese. The group cites a rise in occult practices and “spiritual distress,” proposing expanded seminary formation and a new document, “Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism.” This initiative, while acknowledging real demonic activity, tragically reinforces the illegitimate authority of the conciliar sect and diverts attention from the primary apostasy of the post-1958 hierarchy, which has abandoned the immutable reign of Christ the King over individuals and societies.
The Fatal Flaw: Recognition of an Antipope and a Heretical Structure
The entire premise of the AIE’s appeal collapses on the first point of Catholic doctrine: the identity of the Roman Pontiff. The article treats “Pope Leo XIV” as the legitimate Vicar of Christ. From the perspective of integral Catholic faith, this is a fundamental and damnable error. The line of antipopes began with Angelo Roncalli (“John XXIII”), who, by his acceptance of Modernist principles and the heretical Vatican II, incurred the penalty of ipso facto deposition. As St. Robert Bellarmine definitively taught, a manifest heretic ceases to be Pope by that very fact, because he cannot be the head of the Church while not being a member of it. The 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 188.4) confirms that a cleric who publicly defects from the Catholic faith loses his office automatically, without any declaration. The “Pope” addressed by the AIE is therefore not the Successor of Peter but the head of a sect that has systematically dismantled Catholic doctrine, as condemned by Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors and St. Pius X’s Lamentabili sane exitu. Any appeal to such an individual for the governance of the Church’s spiritual life is an act of formal cooperation with a heretical system.
Reduction of the Church’s Mission to Naturalistic Humanism
The AIE’s report frames the problem as a “painful and increasingly widespread situation of people seriously affected by the extraordinary action of the devil as a result of their involvement in occult sects.” This language, while not incorrect in describing certain phenomena, dangerously narrows the scope of spiritual warfare. It omits the primary cause of demonic influence: public and official apostasy from the Faith by the hierarchy itself. The Syllabus of Errors (1864) condemned the separation of Church and State (Error 55), the idea that the State can be without God (Error 39), and that the Church should be subject to civil power (Errors 19-54). The post-conciliar “Church” has embraced these very errors, most notably in Dignitatis humanae‘s doctrine of religious liberty, which Pius IX called “the pest of indifferentism” (Error 16). When the social reign of Christ the King—so clearly defined by Pius XI in Quas Primas—is rejected, the protective veil over society is torn away, inviting demonic influence on a massive scale. The AIE’s focus on individual “cases of possession, vexation, obsession, or diabolical infestation” is a symptomatic treatment while the patient bleeds out from the mortal wound of apostasy. Pius XI warned that when “God and Jesus Christ were removed from laws and states… the foundations of that authority were destroyed.” The true remedy is not more exorcists in a godless world, but the restoration of Christ’s kingship in law, education, and public life.
Theological Bankruptcy: Ignoring the Sacramental and Doctrinal Crisis
The AIE calls for “properly trained” exorcists operating within the conciliar structure. This is an exercise in futility. The efficacy of the Church’s spiritual weapons—the sacraments, sacramentals, and indulgences—depends on the validity of the hierarchy and the purity of the faith. The post-conciliar “reforms” have invalidated the very foundations of spiritual combat:
- The sacrament of Penance has been gutted, with general absolutions and a loss of the sense of sin, contrary to the Council of Trent (cf. Lamentabili sane exitu, Prop. 46). How can an exorcist absolve if the sacrament itself is routinely profaned?
- The Holy Mass has been transformed from the propitiatory sacrifice of Calvary into a “table of assembly” (Novus Ordo). The AIE’s document, reviewed by Vatican dicasteries, assuredly reflects the post-conciliar hermeneutic of discontinuity, which St. Pius X condemned in Pascendi Dominici gregis as the synthesis of all heresies. A sacrifice that is not truly propitiatory cannot effectively repel demonic forces.
- The priestly formation in seminaries since Vatican II is saturated with Modernism, as condemned by Lamentabili sane exitu (Props. 1-65). How can a priest formed in the “historical-critical” method, which denies the literal truth of Scripture (Prop. 14: “the Evangelists did not report what actually happened”), possess the faith necessary to command demons, who “believe and tremble” (James 2:19)?
The AIE’s proposed “formation” is thus a charade. It asks bishops—many of whom are notoriousModernists—to oversee exorcism, and priests formed in heresy to practice it. This is not a solution but a deepening of the crisis.
Symptomatic Diversion from the Real Apostasy
The AIE’s focus on “occult sects” and “Satanism” mirrors the diversionary tactic identified in the analysis of the False Fatima Apparitions file. Just as the Fatima message was said to focus on external threats (communism) while ignoring the “main danger: modernist apostasy within the Church since the beginning of the 20th century,” so too does the AIE’s report. It speaks of “the spread of occultism in its various forms” and “a turning away from God,” but never names the architects of this turning away: the “ecumenical” “popes,” “bishops,” and “theologians” who have systematically dismantled Catholic dogma. The AIE remains silent on:
- The heresy of religious liberty (Dignitatis humanae), which places the true religion on equal footing with false religions, thus opening the floodgates to demonic deception.
- The destruction of the Liturgy, which has deprived the faithful of the supernatural defense of the traditional Mass.
- The ecumenical movement, which seeks communion with schismatics and heretics, a direct violation of the command to “avoid heretics” (Titus 3:10).
This silence is not accidental; it is the necessary posture of anyone who wishes to remain within the conciliar structure. To name the apostasy would be to condemn the very men they address. The AIE thus becomes a tool of the abomination of desolation, offering a palliative—more exorcists—while the patient is poisoned by Modernism.
The True Remedy: Christ the King and the Immutable Faith
The only true defense against the “extraordinary action of the devil” is the public and social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as defined by Pius XI in Quas Primas. The encyclical teaches that Christ’s kingdom is spiritual, but not merely interior; it demands the submission of all human societies to His law. “The state must leave the same freedom to the members of Orders and Congregations… The annual celebration of this solemnity will also remind states that not only private individuals, but also rulers and governments have the duty to publicly honor Christ and obey Him.” The conciliar sect has done the exact opposite, promoting secularism and the separation of Church and State (Syllabus, Error 55). Therefore, no amount of exorcists operating within this apostate framework can stem the tide of demonic influence. The first and necessary step is the rejection of the conciliar hierarchy and a return to the integral Catholic faith as it existed before 1958. Only then can validly ordained priests, using the traditional rite of exorcism (found in the Roman Ritual), and fortified by the true sacraments and the public confession of Christ’s kingship, effectively combat the demonic. The AIE’s appeal, by recognizing the antipope and his “magisterium,” is a deadly compromise that perpetuates the very apostasy that has invited the demonic scourge.
Source:
Exorcists urge pope to appoint trained practitioners in every diocese (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 24.03.2026