Despite its immense good, social media also opens doorways to demonic possession

To make a killing at the box office, film producers are known to stretch the truth and sensationalise facts about real persons. This is especially true of The Pope’s Exorcist in which Russell Crow plays the lead character, Fr Gabriele Amorth.

While key elements of the world-renowned exorcist’s work are there, filmmakers took licence to paint him as a swashbuckling hero in scenes that belong to movie genres like those in the Marvel Universe.

But demonic attacks on people are not fiction and if any film comes close to depicting the reality of this, it is the 1973 original film, The Exorcist, which Fr Amorth apparently gave the thumbs up.

It showed scenes of a girl levitating, spinning her head 360 degrees and speaking in a foreign language in the voice of the Devil. Such phenomena, exorcists say, are what they often encounter in demonic possession cases. Dark spiritual forces harassing and oppressing people, and taking over homes, things and even animals are also not uncommon.

The devil and evil spirits, it seems, have kept up with technological advances and are now using devices such as the mobile phone to deceive their unsuspecting prey.

This may be incredulous to many of us, but last week a religious sister pointed me to a 2017 story about the devil sending text messages while an Exorcist in the Philippines was speaking with a possessed woman.

The Devil uses technology to lure victims

The recipient of the demonic messages was the woman’s companion who was in the room at the time and the demon told him to not believe what the Exorcist, Fr Jose Francisco Syquia, was telling her. Syquia, who studied and trained under Fr Amorth, heads the 170-strong Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists, the largest in Asia.

The incident involving Syquia piqued my interest because this is the first time I’ve come across a story of the Devil manifesting on an electronic communication device.

The mobile phone is our primary means of instantly connecting with family, relatives and friends all over the world today and this episode is significant as it shows the dark flip side to the immense good digital technology offers us.

This fact has not gone unnoticed in the ongoing Synod in Rome and is one of the topics under discussion. The introduction to Module B2 of the Instrumentum Laboris on the Church’s digital mission notes:

The digital environment is a culture, a “place” where people – all of us – spend a significant part of our lives. As Pope Francis says in Christus Vivit, it “has had a profound impact on ideas of time and space, on our self-understanding, our understanding of others and the world, and our ability to communicate, learn, be informed and enter into relationship with others” (CV 86).

The Instrumentum Laboris, though, also cautions that:

We are also aware of many things in that environment that are not of God. We are not naïve. In “Toward a Full Presence”, this May’s Pastoral Reflection by the Dicastery for Communication on interaction on Social Networks, the algorithms that condition and filter the networks for economic gain are well analysed. Like all missionaries, we need to know where the pitfalls and deceptions lie.

American Exorcist Fr Gary Thomas first raised the alarm of demonic activity in the digital environment as far back as 2011. Then, he warned, the Internet had and still has dangerous doorways that lead to the demonic harassment, oppression and, worse, possession of people. He highlighted that websites dedicated to the occult, witchcraft, Tarot cards, psychics and séances were increasingly exposing young people to demonic influences.

Fr Thomas went on to say that pornography, and drug and alcohol abuse were the common footholds for the devil to ensnare victims. Other exorcists such as Amorth, Syquia and Chad Ripperger have also said the same, especially those who habitually engage in acts of mortal sin.

Cracks in moral and spiritual life invite demonic infestation

An immoral and impure spiritual lifestyle such as syncretism – incorporating Catholic practices with pagan or occult ones like Feng Shui and the wearing of amulets – provide the Devil with openings to begin harassing a person that ultimately leads to possession (Must watch: Exorcist Fr Daniel Estacio’s video below).

When Fr Thomas warned about the presence of evil in the Internet, social media had yet to have a dominant presence it has today, as it only flourished and festered during Pope Francis’ pontificate. As he was on the receiving end of some of the vilest fake and misinformed accusations up til today, the Holy Father is well placed to authoritatively speak about the impact of its dark side.

Speaking to the International Catholic Legislators network two months ago, Christ’s Vicar says that while the goal of social media networks is to “connect people” and much good takes place in them, they also breed destructive attitudes.

We also need to be vigilant, for sadly many “dehumanizing” trends resulting from technocracy are found on these media, such as the deliberate spread of false information about people – fake news, the promotion of hatred and division – “partisan” propaganda, and the reduction of human relationships to mere algorithms, not to mention a false sense of belonging, especially among young people, that can lead to isolation and loneliness.

This misuse of virtual encounter can only be overcome by the culture of authentic encounter, which involves a radical call to respect and to listen to one another, including those with whom we may strongly disagree.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis zooms in on an important point that many netizens have experienced all too often. How many times have we met people in person and find them amiable, only to find them morphing into the complete opposite on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media networks?

In their interaction with others on digital networks these good-natured friends become abusive and aggressive bullies. How many times have others said the same of us? How often have we been the authors of falsehood and calumny, especially against the Pope, Magisterium and Church?

The reality is that the computer hides us behind a screen and takes away the personal element of interaction with its innate safety mechanisms to temper uncharitable behaviour. Interacting in the virtual world can trigger our basest human inclinations to sin, such as the “deliberate spread of false information about people” and to dehumanise our neighbour, as Pope Francis points out.

These harmful attitudes, if not reined it or goes unchecked, can present footholds for demons to latched on and enter our lives.

The young are especially vulnerable. Citing a study done in 2000, Fr Syquia says it found that children aged 10-17 had only one-third of face-to-face encounters with other people compared to similar age groups from past generations.

When a person gets isolated, the devil starts to work on the mind. The young start to have all these thoughts that make them feel depressed and alone. Only 30-percent human contact? That’s what the devil desires. The internet has no morality and a child would tend to search for what titillates his senses. So, he jumps from one [medium] to another, trying to sustain a high similar to a dopamine hit.

Exorcist Fr Jose Francisco Syquia

He says spending much time surfing the web can put a young mind in a hypnotic trance and they become open to diabolical influences and auto-suggestion.

Adults are not spared these dangers because the Devil does not make exceptions. How, then, can we overcome demonic influences lurking in the digital space to ensnare us? The online universe is irreversibly entrenched in our daily lives and we cannot win this Spiritual Battle on our own.

We need God’s help because only He can provide us protection against the enemy. We need to first ask for His Grace of humility, gentleness and charity in interacting with other users on social media.

To avoid the digital universe is to close the door to a new way of evangelising. Catholics need to have a presence there or it would be a big opportunity missed.

As the Synod wisely acknowledges on this new path:

It is said that we are in a moment of transformation in the Church, that the inherited model no longer works for speaking to the digital age. It is suggested that, in this transitional era, the Church should be built from the peripheries, there in the Galilee of non-believers and the wounded, where those yearning for God do not know how to call upon Him. Our experience is that the digital culture holds much of this “new Galilee”, and that the Lord is there, ahead of us, taking the lead, as Pope Francis says.

Fr Thomas recommends four important elements must be present in our lives to protect us from demonic infiltration.

1) Relationship with Jesus Christ

2) A life of faith in prayer, adhering to the teachings of the Church and studying Scriptures

3) The Sacraments to anchor our life of faith

4) Mary’s presence in our lives through prayer to invoke her help, and calling on St Michael, the angels and saints to defend us in Spiritual Warfare.

I’d add that on waking up to each new day our prayers to God must also include invoking Our Lady’s powerful protection for us and our families, and for St Michael, our Guardian Angels and the saints to defend us against Satan and all evil spirits.

Prayer to St Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Listen and follow the Holy Spirit, not those sowing confusion in the Church

At Wednesday’s (Oct 11) Synod press briefing, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea’s Grace Wrackia (main photo, in red) stood out because what she said encapsulates the essence of what is taking place at the Vatican: Listening.

The first Christian missionaries to arrive in her homeland on the northern tip of Australia in 1845 were Marists from the Society of Mary. Since then, she tells us, the country of over eight million today has grown to 20 Dioceses in Papua New Guinea, with another three in the Solomon Islands (Population: 707, 8510). Both have a combined total of 23 Bishops.

About 25% and 20% of their respective population are Catholic. How this happened in Papua New Guinea, a country of a thousand tribes speaking 840 languages – which is the most diverse in the world – is nothing short of a miracle.

Before Christianity arrived, Wrackia says spirituality of four elements dominated the Melanisian community, as the Papua people are collectively known. These elements are community living, an integrated worldview, harmonious relationships with the cosmos and spiritual and physical beings, and religious rituals.

These elements enabled my ancestors to embraced Christianity, especially Catholicism. That way of life continues to live today in my generation, but it is a struggle to keep these elements together because of so many influences we have had – from the period of colonisation to currently globalisation and secularisation. This has affected the integrity of community living.

Grace Wrackia of Papua New Guinea

Still, Wrackia, adds that despite these developments, community living is very much alive in her country. They continue to live in communion with one another, and this, she points out, resonates with the three pillars of Synodality – communion, participation, and mission – where they see each other as family. For the Melanisians, their view of family and relationship extends beyond bloodlines, ethnicity and geography.

Giving a heartfelt nod to Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality, Wrackia, says, “For so many years we have been listening. Now we’d like to speak and we’d like you to listen. We have something to give to the world. And what we give is from our heart is our way of living, living in communion, living together and building relationships.”

Listening and changing how we think

It is listening to such witnesses as Wrackia, that moved Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec (Canada), who was also present at the press briefing, to share his experience of “enrichment” during the Synod at the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.

“The methodology we are using is directed towards listening to the Lord, His Word, His presence in every baptized person, and this allows us to be open to the other and to the others. We can find nuances, change what we think, and that is how we see that God is working and is working in all people.” He adds that living all this on a personal level “leads me to adjust, to refine, to change my thinking a little”.

The Canadian Cardinal’s words resonate with what Pope Francis said about the Synod – that the Holy Spirit, and no one else, is its Protagonist, not only during the assembly at the Vatican, but in the mystical Body of Christ in the entire world right from the start.

So why has there been resistance, and even opposition, to this event that Pope Francis launched in the autumn of 2021, a negativity that continues to this day?

I woke up this morning to a message from a friend, who posted a defiant meme he saw from a prominent Catholic theologian, who has a large following. The theologian used the Synod’s official image and changed the actual tagline of “Walking Together” to “Falling Together.”

If the Holy Spirit is the One moving everything in the Synod, such antagonistic behaviour, including the recent dubias of five Cardinals, can only be described as contrary to this Divine movement.

But before we conclude their actions are the work of the Devil, please stop there.

God endowed men and women with free will, and the good or evil choices we make are entirely ours and not Satan’s. Baptism cleanses us of original sin, but it does not free us from finding sin attractive.

This defect, called concupiscence, is part of our fallen human condition that responds to the allure of sin. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2515) teaches: “Concupiscence stems from the disobedience of the first sin. It unsettles man’s moral faculties and, without being in itself an offence, inclines man to commit sins”.   

So, leave the poor devil alone and don’t blame him as the cause for all the wrong choices we make. It does not mean, though, he will not exploit our concupiscence and tempt us to choose sin instead of the Grace of Christ. After all, if he had the audacity to tempt Our Lord in the desert, we are chicken feed to him.

But Christ has shown us the way, which is to keep our eyes focused on Him because without Him, we can do nothing that is pleasing to God. As St Paul entreats us in Ephesians 6:10, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” 

Our goal, therefore, must be to shut out all the disruptive noises directed against Pope Francis and the Synod. The Holy Father started the Synod to prompt the Church to find a better way of moving forward to listening to our brothers and sisters, no matter who they are, where they come from and the state they are in.

The ‘three’ Synods

It seems at this point in time, though, there are three Synods going on simultaneously: the synod of mainstream Catholic and non-Catholic media, the social media synod and the actual Synod in Rome.

The first two, full of false and biased opinions not based on facts, are disproportionately weighed against Pope Francis and the Synod. Unfortunately because of the powerful influence they yield, they have been able to sway many well-meaning Catholics, including not a few prelates, clergy and theologians, to their point of views. What those who have read or viewed the misleading content have done is to only repeat all the misinformation they’ve consumed without, I suspect, doing any due diligence to verify the actual facts.

Fortunately, there are honest Catholics who have done this work and thanks to them, we can get a complete picture of what is going on.

One of these is Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, who across the Atlantic Ocean in Canada, gives a good analysis of the so-called three synods, which all Catholics of goodwill ought to listen to. He speaks on the programme, Synod Anxiety: Archbishop Speaks Out on the Synod, Changes in Doctrine, and Dubia Questions, which was released earlier this week. Watch the video below.

Another podcast worth watching and listening to is that of well-known theologian Michael Lofton Faith and Reason’s programme, Will the Dubia Cardinals Stop This Chaos?, on his Youtube Channel.

Perhaps, newly created Polish Cardinal Gregorz Ryś, 59, best sums up the opposition to Pope Francis and the Synod in an interview he gave earlier this month. The following is the full quote from His Eminence.

I don’t want to defend the pope. I want to follow him and to obey his teaching. He’s Peter; not me. When I am asked about all this (opposition to Pope Francis), I usually answer that we behave completely unjustly toward the pope because the opposition to him is always based on one or two phrases taken out of context. I always ask [the pope’s critics]: Have you read ‘Evangelii Gaudium’? What do you think of it? ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, not the one or two sentences that he said to the journalists on the plane, is the program for Francis’ pontificate and for the church.

Cardinal Gregorz Ryś

Adds the Cardinal, “I noticed only one week ago when he was in Marseille, Francis gave a speech that in my view is one of the most important speeches he has given as pope, and I looked in the Polish newspapers and blog sites for at least a summary of it, but there was nothing. Nothing!

“On the other hand, there was much criticism of the pope after his speech to young Russian Catholics in St. Petersburg. But nobody speaks about his real speech to them. He gave a long speech; he spoke half an hour, and he offered them all his teaching from the World Youth Day in Lisbon, knowing that they couldn’t go to Lisbon. It was a wonderful speech again, but they only look at one sentence that he added on at the end. This is unjust. It is completely unjust how we treat Francis in our discussions [in Poland].”

We need to ask a question of ourselves: How many of us are among the unjust when it comes to Pope Francis and his Synod?

Our worldview is shaped by what we choose to read. A follow-up question is: Are we being honest when we selective read, watch or view content because they affirm our preconceived views? If we are, and propagate this, then, we risk misleading Catholics who look up to us for our opinions.

Don’t be the one who leads innocent sheep astray.

Assembly is about new way of doing Church, approaching problems: Card Ambongo

When a child falls by the wayside, is disobedient, rebellious and frequently returns home late, the first thing loving and concerned parents usually do is to find the reasons behind the errant behaviour.

Few, if any, ground children for misdeeds or use the “spare the rod and spoil the child” tool, although some parents still swear by this.

Instead, the preferred option is to ponder questions not only of their son or daughter but if there are negative external factors influencing their children. Or, if they, as parents, have somehow made missteps along the way.

To discover the reasons requires listening to the child speak and understanding the root cause of his errant behaviour. It could reveal he feels unloved. Perhaps his parents have not been attending to his problems and needs. Once they are able to identify the causes, the next step is to how to address them in the right way that doesn’t compromise his or their own good.

A doctor can only prescribe the right medication if he accurately diagnoses his patient.

This is exactly the steps the ongoing Synod in Rome is taking. It consists of the first two steps: listening and identifying the most pressing issues the Church faces today. The third step on how to address them is likely to take place after the second of the final phase of the Synod is completed in Rome next October.

Synod is about new way to approach problems

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, Congo, emphasises this point that the Synod is not geared to “resolve particular problems” in the Church, but to explore ways to discuss and address such issues. “There are a lot of people who believe that this Synod will bring solutions to all problems,” he adds during a news conference on Saturday (7 Oct 2023) at the Vatican at the end of the first week of the Synod.

“But the Synod will define the new way of ‘doing’ Church, the new way of approaching problems, what the problem is but also how in the spirit of synodality we will approach that problem.”

Ambongo is not saying anything new. In fact, when the official Synod handbook was issued on 7 Sept 2021, it spelt out the way the assembly of all Catholics will be conducted and its objective from the parish and diocesan levels to the continental and universal phases.

The objective of this Synodal Process is not to provide a temporary or one-time experience of synodality, but rather to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term.

Thus, the teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops is in dialogue with the sensus fidelium, the living voice of the People of God (cf. Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church, 74). The path of synodality seeks to make pastoral decisions that reflect the will of God as closely as possible, grounding them in the living voice of the People of God (ICT, Syn., 68).

Chapter 1.3 (Handbook) What is the aim of this Synod? Objectives of the Synodal Process

On knowing the Will of God, Ambongo says, “People cannot easily say, ‘I know the will of God,’ that would be truly pretentious. That is why the Synod rightly chose the method of discerning.”

This, he adds, entails seeking together “that which seems today and right now the best solution” to a given issue.

The Synod, therefore, opens a path to listening to the “living voice of the People of God”. Only then, the teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops will proceed in seeking to make pastoral decisions that “reflect the will of God”.

So, why were there questions raised that the Synod will do otherwise, especially in the five dubias five cardinals submitted to Pope Francis “if synodality can be the supreme regulatory criterion of the permanent governance of the Church?” This was posed on the backdrop of contentious issues regarding the blessing of same-sex unions and women’s ordination.

If any person of goodwill had carefully read the handbook, these questions would not have been raised at all because it is clear the Synod will not be making any pastoral decisions, let alone doctrinal ones.

At the Saturday press conference, Cardinal Fridolin reemphasises this point, “We are here for a synod on synodality. Synodality does not mean expressing personal opinions, but walking together. On the LGBT question, the Lord himself will show us the way through collective discernment.”

One wonders how many who gave weight to the dubias and repeated them actually read the Handbook? It would be good and charitable if they did.

Why not only bishops can vote at Synod

Another issue that sparked heated debate was about Synod voting rights given to not only bishops, but to other clergy, and male and female religious and lay persons.

As we have already established, the Synod will not be making or is in a position to make any decision that will bind the Church. We were given a clearer picture just before the start of the synod what the votes were tied to.

During the month-long Synod cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, lay women and men will be broken up into 35 working groups. Each will have between 10 and 12 people, including 14 groups working in English, eight in Italian, seven in Spanish, five in French and one in Portuguese.

Dr Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and president of the assembly’s Commission for Information, added that each group will be asked to draft a short report on their conversation. They will then vote on whether it accurately reflects the discussion and then choose someone to read it to the whole assembly.

After a discussion of all the reports in the full assembly, each group will then decide whether or how to amend their reports before turning them into the synod secretariat for inclusion in a summary report on that section of the synod’s work.

The votes, therefore, has nothing to do with any pastoral or doctrinal matters that the Church must abide with but rather about if the reports accurately reflect their respective discussions.

As we continue to seek information on the progress of the Synod, we must tab on trusted and accurate news outlets, one of which is certainly from the press conferences that Dr Ruffini’s team puts together each week.

Seeking views from suspect outside sources, Catholic or otherwise, that tell a different story skewed towards their opinions or even agendas are unhelpful to ordinary Catholics and can mislead them and create divisions in the Church.