Manila’s chief exorcist says exorcisms are on the rise across the Philippines, with the country’s 200 Catholic exorcists struggling to keep up with demand. Source: SBS News.
When a visitor steps through the front door of Mary Rose’s home in Manila, they’re greeted with a warm welcome and a spray of holy water.
This has become a habit for Mary Rose, a devout Catholic. The water has been blessed by a priest and she believes it will protect people from evil spirits.
As with many people in the Philippines, faith is woven deeply into her daily life. More than 78 per cent of Filipinos identify as Catholic, making it Asia’s largest Catholic nation.
Mary Rose is deeply devoted to her faith. But over the last few years, it has been repeatedly tested. She believes she is a victim of possession – that evil spirits take control of her body.
Mary Rose has undergone 10 exorcisms in two years in the hope of ridding her body of what she calls “demonic forces”.
Her priest, and Manila’s chief exorcist, Fr Jose Francisco Syquia, says exorcisms are on the rise across the Philippines, with the country’s 200 Catholic exorcists struggling to keep up with demand.
Fr Syquia’s fellow priests also say demand for exorcisms is rising. During a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV in March, representatives from the International Association of Exorcists – which trains priests to perform exorcisms – warned of “increasingly widespread” cases across the world.
Exorcisms are regulated by the Vatican, which says they must be performed free of charge. Health professionals are also required to assess cases before any spiritual intervention is considered.
“If there are indications that it’s more or less psychological, then we tell them to go to psychiatrists or psychologists,” Fr Syquia says.
The Philippines is experiencing a severe shortage of psychologists, with fewer than 3000 registered psychologists in a country of more than 115 million people.
Dr Hazel Malazarte is one of them. She says serious psychiatric and neurological conditions like schizophrenia, epilepsy and bipolar disorder can be mistaken for demonic possession, especially in a country where faith and superstition run deep.
Watch Dateline’s latest episode, Philippines: Speak of the Devil, on Tuesday, June 2 at 9.30pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.
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‘A horror movie’: In this devoutly Catholic country, demand for exorcisms is rising (SBS News)
