Philippine priest “battles” demons

I’m thanking a friend for the link to this one. I’ll pay for her next cup of Tim’s French Vanilla coffee…

A blood-curdling scream echoes through the Roman Catholic chapel in Manila as Father Jose Francisco Syquia says a prayer of exorcism over a Satanic cult member believed to be possessed by the devil.

“It’s very painful,” the woman cries in an unearthly voice, her body contorting in an attempt to break free from the tight grasp of Syquia’s assistants. After a few minutes she falls silent, her limp body exhausted.

The case is among hundreds documented on video and kept by Syquia, who heads the Manila Archdiocese’s Office of Exorcism — the only one that exists in the Catholic nation of 94 million people.

Syquia is adamant that possessions are on the rise and demons are getting more and more of a foothold on this earth, and in the Philippines in particular. Why? Only hell knows, I guess.

While non-believers often joke about the devil,

Of course! he’s a made-up boogyman like all the rest, designed to keep a populous in fear and under the church’s thumb.

and demonic possessions are trivialised by Hollywood,

For good reason, special effects teams love to show off.

Syquia insisted the torment suffered by those he had healed was real.

“I have seen scratches suddenly appearing on their skin, of inverted crosses on the forehead.

Because these people scratch and draw on themselves when nobody’s looking?

These persons would be conscious at the time, and they tell me its like razor cutting from the inside of the skin,” he said.

That’s entirely subjective. Anyone ever been through an exorcism with their brain wired up so the medical community can see what’s going on in there?

Demons could manifest themselves in many ways and could enter the human soul through occult and New Age teachings that were becoming increasingly popular in the general community, Syquia said.

The more advanced and well-rounded a society tries to get, the more people try to pull everyone back to the superstitious dark ages. Even the Pope supports this malarkey.

Pope Benedict XVI had recently issued fresh guidelines encouraging more exorcisms and for the church to be more open about the issue, he said.

There are about 10 Filipino priests authorised to perform exorcisms in the Philippines, but only Syquia has a fully operational office that is backed by a staff of eight, including a lawyer and psychologists.

Have those psychologists ever looked Syquia over? Someone this gung-ho about possession has to have some serious mental issues of his own that should be dealt with by real experts.

Syquia was ordained only 11 years ago, after he had already obtained a degree in psychology at one of the Philippines’ leading Catholic universities.

Okay, that’s alarming in and of itself. What if they’re deliberately misdiagnosing people who only have schizophrenia and would be completely okay with a steady round of decent medication? What other mental health issues are getting ignored so Syquia can play The Exorcist every day? Sounds like he’s suffering from an undiagnosed saviour complex, if there’s such a thing.

After he was ordained in 2000, Syquia said he was posted at a Manila church where, outside its premises, occult practitioners — including spirit mediums, oracles and faith healers — also thrived.

His first case came when a man singled him out from a group of priests and asked for deliverance after confessing that he had been deep into occult practices.

His bishop at the time suggested he should give the guy an exorcism, whether he was in need of one or not, apparently. Syquia had been reading an exorcist book at the time, so why not give it a shot, right? What harm could it do…

“I realised God was leading me to this path. I have treated hundreds and hundreds of cases since then,” he said.

Syquia recalled an accomplished female doctor who said she was befriended by demons that had appeared to her as benign dwarves that showered her with good luck in the form of financial rewards.

Recall that he’s a psychologist by training. Why would he automatically believe her ludicrous story was true? Is that acceptable psychologist practice? He claims he cured her, too. Of possession, not whatever mental problem she actually had at the time.

“With God by your side, you can do no wrong,” he said.

Well, there’s a lot I could write to refute that one, but I’ll resist the urge.

After reading through this thing, I’m thinking one large coffee won’t be thanks enough…