A PRIEST has been criticised for claiming that those with persistent suicidal thoughts "could be oppressed by an evil spirit".
Fr Pat Collins, a Vincentian priest based in Dublin, made the comments during an interview on RTÉ's The Late Late Show on Friday.
He was speaking about his work as an exorcist and his new book, entitled "Freedom from Evil Spirits".
Fr Collins said that there was a huge demand from people for exorcisms due to a "tsunami of evil".
"What a lot of lay people don't realise is that you can be oppressed by the devil," he said.
"So the devil can impinge on your inner life, on your spiritual life, and you will lose control in those areas.
"Now, for example, and I have to be very tentative when giving these examples, but some people who will have persistent thoughts of committing suicide, for example, they could be - mark my words - could be oppressed by an evil spirit," added Fr Collins.
The priest added that while "psychological reasons" can lie behind suicidal thoughts, the work of a "spiritual power" could also be responsible.
"The Bible says that the evil spirit is a murderer, so he'll often want people to kill, and one of the people that you can kill is yourself," he said.
"So although people could have suicidal feelings for other, psychological reasons, sometimes they will want to commit suicide because of this spiritual power impinging on them."
The claim was condemned as "irresponsible" by Mark Smyth, the president elect of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI).
"Even a vague hint that suicide could be linked to being "possessed" is irresponsible at best. I think there’s far too much unfounded claims about mental health being left unchallenged in the media," he tweeted.
"There are many complex factors that lead someone to consider taking their own life. The evidence for the influence of "evil spirits" is pretty sparse in my experience."
Richie Sadlier, a former professional footballer and current RTÉ pundit who has trained as a psychotherapist, was also critical of the interview: "So it turns out suicidal thoughts are the work of evil spirits/the devil.
"I feel silly now for spending all those years training to be a psychotherapist to support people in distress. I'll just refer people on to that priest in future."
However, other social media users weighed in to defend Fr Collins' stance.
"He used the word "could" and highlighted he needed to choose his words wisely. Obviously Richie (Sadlier) didn't hear that part," one replied.
Another added: "They say the mind is very deep. What we know of it is just the tip of the iceberg. It may be that there is truth to the Catholic view that does not invalidate the psychotherapist view. They could be complementary with the right attitude."
