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Phoning It In

The Roman Catholic Church says there’s an increasing demand for exorcism, and 200 “aspiring exorcists” gathered in Rome for a week-long conference to learn the ropes. Classes included learning the difference between demonic possession and mental illness, the basics of African witchcraft, and every exacting detail of what to do to cast out demons with prayers read aloud in Latin. But the hit lecture was given by 89-year-old Cardinal Ernest Simoni of Albania, who takes a more arm’s length approach to exorcism: he uses his mobile phone. “They call me and we speak and that’s how I do it,” he said. (RC/Reuters) ...Naturally, conference organizers were unsure until the very last minute whether he was going to show up to deliver the lecture.