A Vatican course to teach priests the practice of evicting demons and spirits.
The course is a response to what the Catholic Church refers to as a worrying increase in interest in the occult.
Theologian Father Pat Collins says there is a spiritual combat, a battle between good and evil.
These priests are spending two months studying satanism and exorcism.
In Ireland, only a limited number of priests have the expertise to carry out exorcisms. Fr Collins describes the scenes at a recent exorcism which was filmed for the RTÉ 'Would You Believe' programme.
Prayers were burning, crucifixes were falling off the wall, holy water was boiling, turning into ice.
Fr Collins believes that most cases have a psychological explanation. He says that each diocese should have its own exorcist and an expert group should be established to deal with reports of supernatural occurrences.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 17 February 2005. The reporter is Anne Marie Smyth.
