Demon possession cases rise in Philippines; Catholic church seeks more exorcists
The Philippines is in need of more priests and qualified lay volunteers who can handle exorcism as cases of demon possession and harassment have tripled in number this year compared to the same period last year.
Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia, the chief exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila, said they need all the help they can get to deal with the cases.
"These days we have around 80 to 100 cases at any given time," he told the Catholic News Service.
Because of the burgeoning cases, the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism (AMOE) has been having a difficult time attending to all of them, prompting it to seek the help of "healers and occult practitioners."
According to Syquia, who is a Rome-trained exorcist with a background in psychology, the interference of people who have little or no knowledge about exorcism only makes the situation worse for those who have been possessed. He said only God, through the work of a capable exorcist, can truly fight the devil.
Since making its call for more volunteer healers, the AMOE office has seen a good number of lay volunteers who have expressed willingness to assist priests in perform exorcisms. However, Syquia said the Manila archdiocese is implementing a "strong discernment process" in selecting volunteers because the archdiocese has to ensure that the volunteer healers are capable of taking part in exorcisms.
"I am at peace with it. It is always better to move carefully because the ministry is delicate, and the programme is a pioneer project," Syquia said about their process. "With this ministry, quality over quantity (is better) because the cases can be quite complex, and proper Christian presence is the priority."
"We also try to follow what God's will manifests to us. It is God's work and we do only what we can honestly accomplish," he added.
The AMOE, which was founded in 2006, only has five full-time exorcists who go on rotation conducting exorcism prayers and guiding "the afflicted person to grow in holiness by bringing him to an intimate relationship with Jesus," Syquia said.
