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‘Bulletproof’ magic lost because they sinned |
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August 15, 2000
MANILA (AP) - The 16 members of a Christian cult killed in a shootout with Philippine police died because they were "sinners," the group's leader was quoted as saying. Monday's Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the head of the Catholic God Spirit group, Alfredo Obsioma, as saying that the amulets the men wore to make them bulletproof failed because "they had vices and above all, resorted to violence. "The amulets are only for the good," he said. "They are not supposed to be used for evil." The cult members and four civilian militiamen working with police were killed in Bukidnon province, in the southern Philippines, on Friday when police tried to arrest a cult member on attempted murder charges. Police fired at the group when members charged at them waving knives and homemade guns, thinking that their charms - pieces of paper inscribed with prayers in Latin - would protect them. "They were emboldened by the idea that bullets would not harm them. They were mistaken," Obsioma said. Cult members in remote areas of the Philippines, a mostly Roman Catholic nation, often combine traditional and Christian beliefs. |