MEDIUM RARE

Of all the places in the world to meet on a Sunday, it had to be in a mall. But exorcists need time out to relax and be in touch with the real world once in a while, too, don’t they?

Fr. Joesy Syquia, well-known in the Archdiocese of Metro Manila as an exorcist authorized by the Church, is with his mother, Letty, and he is on the first step of the escalator when I call out to Letty and she hurriedly points to her son the exorcist. I am with my son, too, and upon hearing the word exorcist he looks at Father Joesy with a look that prompts the priest to say with a smile, “Don’t be scared.”

The priest is in a black shirt with a Roman collar. He is smiling, as if he understands that I am at that very moment wishing I could grab him for a few minutes to talk. Anyway, his mother and I go a long way, we bumped into each other now and then in UST. Dr. Atty. Enrique Syquia, my teacher in a subject called ethics of the press and libel law, married Letty and that’s Father Joesy’s bio in a capsule.

And now here he was, Prof. Syquia’s son, the wellknown exorcist of Metro Manila who attends those yearly conventions in Rome of exorcists from all over the world.

During the short time that Father Syquia was being accelerated on the escalator, he said he and other exorcists – PACE, for Philippine Association of Catholic Exorcists – will soon have their own center. He has mentioned the need for more exorcists as there are more real-life incidents of possession than we suppose.

Father Joesy had just enough time to answer one more question -- yes, he has watched the movie, The Pope’s Exorcist, starring Russell Crowe in the title role, and yes, there is such a person with such a title in the Vatican though the man doesn’t look like the Hollywood actor at all.

But the most memorable – and scary — movie about possession has to be the one that starred Linda Blair as the victim, shown decades ago. After that role, she seemed to have dropped out of the firmament, nevermore to act again.