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Witches have been breaking into churches and graveyards to perform black magic rituals, a leading Church in Wales cleric has revealed.

Bishop of Monmouth Dominic Walker said the incidents coincided with a resurgence in witchcraft in recent years, with the number of occult groups performing both wicca – or white magic – and black magic on the rise.

And while not a frequent occurrence, Bishop Walker said he had been called on several occasions during his nine-year ministry to help people escape these “satanic groups”.

>Exorcist bishop called in to purge demons from Welsh souls

The bishop claimed pagans hoping to use occult powers “for good, for healing and for love” had led the wicca revival.

But he also said that as a direct result of this increased interest in wicca, more people had begun practising the “black arts”.

“White magicians would say they’re an ancient religion which give equality to men and women ... but also occult powers can be used for evil so the other side of it is that there are more involved in the black magic,” he said.

“They hex, curse people [and] they try to use their powers for their own personal gain.”

Both types of followers will typically carry out candlelit ceremonies and perform spells found on the internet or in occult text books.

And although they do not happen on a daily basis, the increase in rituals is a cause for concern according to the bishop.

“Churches get disturbed and you can see someone’s carried out a ritual in a graveyard,” he said.

“They’ll have drawn pentagrams and they will have performed rituals summoning up spirits.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to know what’s happened whether it’s just sheer vandalism, kids playing, or whether it really has been a witchcraft group.”

He added: “I’ve only had a few cases myself in the past nine years.

“One appeared to be a bit more serious than the others and the police were interested but normally I think it’s just kids playing around.”

Last week, the Church in Wales bishop spoke to Wales on Sunday about his interest in deliverance – more commonly known as exorcism.

He revealed how he has exorcised a number of demons from possessed souls and removed poltergeists from Welsh homes.

And he said specially-trained priests were being recruited by families too afraid to stay in their homes because they are haunted by evil spirits.

In addition to these tasks he has now revealed how part of the ministry of deliverance involves dealing with people caught up in the occult.

“Those who belong to occult groups – where someone has got into black magical group or satanic group or involved with the black arts – they can find it very difficult to get out,” he said.

“There can be peer pressure and sometimes they’re controlled by fear – they’re told if they leave, if they disclose any of the secrets you’ll be cursed. “It’s sort of religious version of belonging to a gang.

“[And] part of deliverance ministry is dealing with people who want to get out.”

Bishop Walker said he understood people would be sceptical about black magic but insisted it was only rational for the church to believe in evil if it believes in the Holy Spirit.

“We know people practice black magic and if we believe that prayers and blessings are effective then you could say there must be spiritual forces that are evil and oppress people.”

He added: “I think most of our clergy would say they know when they’re involved in a spiritual battle, when good things are happening and the Holy Spirit seems to be at work there does seem to be a force working against it as well.”