Help Wanted – The Philippines Needs Exorcists
In what is probably the most bizarre story we’ve come across all week, next to the cemetery clown, the Philippines is apparently in need of cxorcists. Maybe they could borrow some from Destination America?
The news comes via NPR:
“At any given time we have at the minimum 30 cases,” says 48-year-old Father Jose Francisco Syquia, “and we’re only five exorcists.”
Father Syquia leads a team of four priests who get additional assistance from volunteers: psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers and laypeople.
Given the number of cases he’s juggling, Syquia recently sent a letter to the Philippine bishops conference asking that it send one resident exorcist to each of the country’s 86 dioceses.
“[The] majority of them do not have exorcists or a team of exorcists that deal with these kinds of cases,” says Syquia. “Therefore, many of the Filipinos tend to go to the occult practitioners, what we call the faith healers, spiritists, etc.”
Syquia believes these occult healers are responsible for the increased number of demonic possessions. The healers leave a person with “spiritual openings” that allow demons to latch on, he says.
Meanwhile, it’s a draining job for the official exorcists. Just one session of prayers for a possessed individual can last four hours. And it may take several sessions, according to Syquia, to drive out evil spirits.
“That’s very tiring,” says Father Winston Cabading, secretary general of the University of Santo Tomas and a member of Syquia’s team.
Not only that, the exorcists also have to deal with the aftereffects. They believe that demons retaliate against the priests.
“You expect that there will be more, what we call, retaliations because you are jumping into enemy territory and retaking … what truly belongs to God,” says Syquia. “And therefore, it’s more like maybe a commando raid behind enemy lines.”
At least one of Syquia’s trainees quit. Syquia says the trainee believed he had developed unexplained illnesses because of the work he was doing.
Who knew the place was such a hotbed for demonic possession? I smell a Syfy movie in here somewhere.
Categorized:News
