VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican said Tuesday it would neither confirm nor deny a report that Pope John Paul II has now carried out three exorcisms during his papacy, the latest in September.
The Rev. Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist for the Rome diocese, told La Stampa newspaper, that the most recent exorcism involved a young woman who appeared to be possessed during the pope's general audience.
A former papal aide, the late Cardinal Jacques Martin, wrote in his memoirs that John Paul performed an exorcism on an Italian woman in 1982.
A second case occurred during John Paul's general audience two years ago, Amorth said at that time. A papal spokesman said then that the pope comforted the woman, but he did not believe John Paul performed an exorcism.
In 1999, the Vatican issued guidelines for driving out devils, stressing the power of evil. John Paul has repeatedly sought to convince the skeptical that the devil is very much in the world.
Amorth told La Stampa said the pope had carried out the exorcisms ``because he wanted to give an example'' to his priests.