Exorcist: Pinoys prone to possession by evil spirits

Filipinos are "prone" to possession by evil spirits because they still cling to pagan practices, according to a Catholic priest who specializes in exorcism.

Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia said occult practices, which are common in the Philippines, only invite evil spirits and open up contact to the world of the dead — acts that are strictly prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church.

"Many Filipinos become possessed because they believe in supernatural healing, witchcraft, fortune telling, ghost hunting through spirit of the glass and other occult practices. These are forms of worship that allow evil spirits to have power over people,"

said Syquia, who studied exorcism and deliverance at the Angelicum University and has worked with Rome’s chief exorcist, Fr. Gabriel Amurth.

Syquia said Filipinos do not seem to realize that possession and occult practices are "always demonic" in nature.

"Never in the whole 2,000-year history of the Church that a person has been possessed by Mama Mary or Jesus, making all those claiming to be possessed by Mama Mary or Sto. Niño (Infant Jesus) fake," he said.

Syquia explained that the Church recognizes that all people have a natural psychic sense, which can be developed by choice. This ability, more popularly known as the sixth sense, is being used by evil spirits to manifest themselves and even attack human beings.

"The Church is very strict about this. In the Bible, the Book of Deuteronomy, it is very clear that we should never contact or search for spirits because you only open up yourself to demonic interaction. These are the tools being used by the witches or satanic worshippers so they could contact the devil and gain power," he said.

Syquia said it is very dangerous if a person allows the devil to possess his body to enable him to share evil powers.

"This is an abomination with the Lord. There is always exchange - it could be a part of your life or your soul. That is why we see those

possessed people - their lives are destroyed, full of backlogs and misfortunes because they left the affection of God," he said.

Syquia advised those who want to contact their deceased loved ones to refrain from using occult practices and instead offer prayers or Mass so they would go to Heaven.

Apart from subscribing to occult practices, Syquia said the use of drugs could make people susceptible to possession.

"It is one way of opening a transit to the world of the dead and allow evil to come in. You can notice that addicts hear a lot of voices while high on drugs," he said.

However, he said the Church has the power to heal possessed people through exorcism, which was practiced by Jesus Christ and all his apostles to drive away the demons and heal the sick.

Syquia said they use a "four-way test" to determine whether a person is possessed: psychiatry to determine if the person is mentally ill, the parapsychology dimension to measure the supernatural strength of the possessed, use of religious objects to establish aversion to the sacred, and confirmation with the community.

If all four standards are met, a bishop or an authorized priest would then perform exorcism rites, which include four-century-old prayers in Latin.

Syquia said the Church has been "very secretive about exorcism" and that none of the past cases were filmed because the ritual is considered "very sacred and solemn."

He added that in almost all recorded cases of possession, the victims became closer to God after they were successfully exorcised.

Syquia also said the Church recognizes scientific means to help combat evil spirits, specifically the use of "gadgets" to determine presence of spirits.

"They need electromagnetic energy to manifest themselves. If your psychic sense is active, then you would feel the energy - you would get goose bumps and feel cold," he said.

Syquia added that evil spirits are everywhere and usually reside in "haunting areas - usually dark, unoccupied, dirty, and cold houses where too (many) sins and violence were committed."

"That is why it is important to have protection. We can use exorcised salt, holy water, exorcised oil, to ward off these evil spirits from entering our home," he said.