Inside, neatly made-up rooms for visiting priests line warmly lit halls that lead to a chapel where the 400-year-old ritual takes place.Holy relics employed in the proceedings line one wall, another features a one-way mirror that allows family members and novice exorcists to observe.The Michael Center for Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism -- five months old this week -- was built because "cases were piling up", Father Jose Francisco Syquia told AFP.Trauma driven by bullying, sexual abuse and the pain of separation as family members leave for work abroad has increasingly opened the door to spiritual attacks, he said."We had to find a more permanent and secure and private place to pray over people," Syquia said.The centre's function as an effective school for exorcists, however, is what makes it unique.
Father Jose Francisco Syquia said the exorcism centre in Manila was built because "cases were piling up". © Jam STA ROSA / AFP
"I don't know of any other center in the world that trains exorcists," Syquia said of the two-storey facility built largely with donations from local families of the previously afflicted.Priests from countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and India were already lining up for training, Syquia added.A key element of that training is discerning the difference between psychological and spiritual problems, he said.'Beyond science'While the centre operates without strict Vatican oversight, it follows long-standing Church rules governing exorcism, including mandatory vetting by mental health professionals."We have clinical psychologists. We have a psychiatrist... There are also neurologists, so they work hand in hand with us," Syquia told AFP on a visit to the centre.Still, he insists he knows a demonic possession when he sees one.
