Philippines: Center of exorcism in Asia

The sharp increase in demonic possession cases in the Philippines has prompted the Manila Archdiocese to build the Center of Exorcism in the country for Asia and the world.

Cardinal Jose Advincula and Fr. Francisco Syquia, director of the Archdiocese of Manila Office on Exorcism, led the groundbreaking of the Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism in Makati City on May 17, 2022. The project is a product of more than seven years of prayers, planning, and fundraising of the Catholic Church.

The facility will house the archdiocese’s Commission on Extraordinary Phenomena, the Ministry of Exorcism Office, and the Ministry on Visions and Phenomena Office.

It will also serve as the headquarters of the Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists (PACE), which is under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Alarming cases

According to PACE, there are ten daily recorded exorcism cases in the country. The lockdown has worsened the situation because many people have created openings to which evil could enter their lives. Many are engaged in the virtual world, social media, and pornography.

Also, certain esoteric practices like Feng Shui, crystal healing, and using tawas with magical incantation allow the devil to enter people’s lives.

(Editor’s Note: The paragraph above is the opinion of the writer and not generally accepted. Those who disagree are invited to submit their response).

Further, demonic possession usually takes hold when a person faces a spiritual, emotional, or relationship crisis. Children spending so much time on the internet are also vulnerable to attacks.

Another case was about a sickly seminarian who was fond of anime characters. After making pacts with the devil, the young man got healed and was able to draw anime characters with two hands simultaneously.

The seminarian had difficulty sensing the presence of God. He said the devil is better because he can feel him more than God.

But there was payback. The seminarian would wake up in the morning and find himself in the refectory or dining hall without remembering how he got there. Later, he could no longer control himself and tried to stab a priest.

The exorcist team in the country is composed of priests trained to detect demonic phenomena, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, case officers, and lay volunteers.

After a meticulous study of many cases, the team determines who is possessed; they separate those with psychological or physiological issues.

Diabolic attacks

There are two prime forms of demonic attacks; oppression and possession. Demonic oppression is when a person’s five senses are under attack to cause feelings of terror. The person can hear voices, smell a foul odor, suffer pains and bruises, and even sexual abuse.

Possession is the worst and most serious where the devil or several evil spirits take over a person’s body and cause it to do inhumanly impossible things like levitating without any recollection of the things done.

The St. Michael Center of Exorcism aims to help a lot of people who are victims of demonic possession in the country, young and old alike, rich or poor. It will also help train foreign priests to be professional exorcists with other members of the 200-strong Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists.