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Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Opol woman claims demon possession
UNLIKE the famous character of Ebednezer Scrooge there were no ghosts of Christmas past, present or future for one Yolanda Bustamante, a resident of Zone 2 Igpit in Opol town.
Bustamante claimed in a radio interview Monday morning that she was visited by a male nature spirit, locally known as an "engkanto."
In a radio interview Bustamante said that the visits began not too long ago.
According to her the male nature spirit looked "handsome and had glowing eyes."
"He told me to come with him. He had a female companion who was also glowing but I refused. He told me I should go with him and he will make me happy but I'm already happy because my husband fed and took care of me and the children," she said.
The woman who is said be possessed by the engkanto and was later advised to seek medical help by the radio anchor.
Later Archdiocese spokesman Monsignor Rey Monsanto concurred, saying the woman should first seek medical help rather than going to a priest.
"In fact cases of exorcism are not taken at face value by the Catholic church hierarchy. An investigation is first held and doctors and psychologists are first brought in to determine if there are physical causes for the illness," he said.
Fr. Monsanto cited the case of Emily Rose, a victim of demonic possession as the basis for the Church position on conducting exorcism.
"Her life is shown in the movie 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' and that is based on a true story. There are ways of finding out whether a person is demon-possessed or not and if it is proven that he or she is possessed then there are priests assigned for the task," Monsanto said.
He cited one Fr. Chapman who was tasked as an exorcist but added that the priest had passed away recently. "Anyway she should undergo tests first," Monsanto replied. (Stephen Capillas)
(December 20, 2005 issue)
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