In a large hall, John of God carries out the visible operations. Patients first go to the main current room, where they remain for a half hour in meditation. John of God then leads some of them into the main hall, where they undergo visible surgery. John of God, possessed by the spirits of entities with different medical specialties, then carries out the operations with surgical instruments like scalpels (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, pp.
20–22). Pelligrino-Estrich (1997, pp. 42–43) says about John of God, “His fingers work with skilled precision, even when his head is turned or his attention is diverted elsewhere. Many of the surgical routines cannot be done by highly skilled surgeons.” John of God says, “It is not me who cures. God is the healer—I am simply the vessel” (Pelligrino-Estrich
1997, p. 44). Patients undergoing these operations, under the influence of a kind of spiritual anesthesia, feel no pain (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 45). John of God also possesses a mystical antiseptic power. Pelligrino-Estrich (1997, p. 45) says, “There has never been a known case of infection in the house even after hundreds of thousands of physical operations over the past thirty years.” Another strange feature of the operations, which sometimes involve large incisions, is the small amount of blood that flows out (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 46).
The cures are not simply the result of surgical procedures, visible or invisible. Their success may also depend on removing the negative influence of harmful entities that may have attached themselves to the patients (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 90). Another factor to be considered is the patient’s record of karmic debt. Pelligrino-Estrich (1997, p. 96) says, “The record is imprinted in the superconscious mind and carried in the soul which brings with it the debt and the disease or malady it chooses to endure when it is reincarnated. The affliction may be immediately apparent, as in the case of birth defects or deformity, or they may develop at any time in the life cycle. Karmic illness brought from a previous life cannot be cured except by way of repayment of the debt. . . . It can be paid by unselfish service to mankind or by personal suffering in the manner in which the debt was incurred. The ultimate aim is awareness, learning and cleansing of the soul.” All of the operations are videotaped, and the tapes can be seen and studied at the clinic or purchased and taken away. At the end of the day, John of God has a special session with all of his assisting mediums, and then he allows the possessing entity to leave his body.
The healings of John of God have been subjected to many scientific studies. For example, a group of physicians and scientists from the faculty of clinical biophysics at the Dr. Bezerro de Menezes University in Brazil, led by Dr. A. Arlete Savaris, observed and tested John of God for two years. The results, favorable to the authenticity of the cures, were published in the book Curas Paranormais Realizadas por João da Faria, available from the university, but only in Portuguese (Pelligrino-Estrich
1997, p. 100). In 1984, Dr. Klaus Schubert of Germany carried out a series of investigations with a group of scientists. The conclusions of the group were positive. One outcome of this research effort was a documentary film titled medium João de Deus (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 111).
Another set of tests was carried out by Alexander Moreira de Almeida, Tatiana Moreira de Almeida, and Angela Maria Gollner, all of the faculty of medicine of the Federal University de Juis de Fora, in the state of Minais Gerais, Brazil. The authors, who chose to focus on the visible surgeries, stated: “We filmed and photographed a series of operations, the patients were interviewed and examined and all of the organic substances were collected and removed for pathological testing at the university. None of the patients received any form of anaesthetic and only one of them said he felt a mild form of pain during the operation. . . . No form of antiseptic was observed. . . . Our conclusions firmly uphold that the surgery is genuine. The pathological tests reveal that the removed substances are compatible with their origins and that they are human tissues” (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, pp. 103–105).
The relationship between the visible surgical intervention and the actual healing event is sometimes quite mysterious. One of John of God’s techniques is to insert scissorlike surgical clamps into the nose of a patient. He then twists the clamps. Strangely enough, this technique is used to accomplish cures in all parts of the body. Pelligrino-Estrich (1997, p. 110) says, “In one observed case this technique was used to rejoin six compound fractures in a man’s feet. The man came into the center on knee pads and walked out on his reassembled feet! He went back to work within a week.”
Of course, the invisible operations are of more interest to us, as they are a better demonstration of modification of biological form by paranormal methods. Dr. Klaun of the Minas Gerais state, a recent graduate of medical school, became ill with a brain tumor. He went to America for treatment. He was told that an operation was possible, but he would have only a fifty percent chance of living. And if he lived, it would be most likely for a short time, and he would be a paralyzed below the waist. Dr. Klaun’s father was a physician and an official for the Brazilian government’s ministry of health. As such he was familiar with John of God, having received complaints from doctors accusing him of medical malpractice as well as testimonials from satisfied patients. Dr. Klaun’s family thus decided to try a spiritual operation at John of God’s clinic at Abadiania. In November 1994, Klaun came to Abadiania with his father and two doctors. These two doctors had participated in the original diagnosis of his brain tumor (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 107).
Pelligrino-Estrich (1997, pp. 108–109) stated: “He [Klaun] was placed in the intensive operations room and went into a coma for three days, during which he was operated on by spirit. For three days and nights his body all but shut down physical functions—no food, no elimination and no movement. When he finally awoke on the third day he was advised to have another X-ray. The enormous tumour had completely disappeared. The before and after X-rays and the critical observations of such qualified medical practitioners constituted a medically observed phenomenon. All were prepared to participate in a statement which verified the pre-operation and post-operation conditions. On 15 November,
1994, a testimonial video was produced before hundreds of people in which each doctor and the patient testified to their observations and the successful result. Firstly the radiologist showed the pre-operative X-rays and made his statement. In his opinion there was no chance of survival by normal surgery. . . . Dr. Maureso de Veta of the Brazilian Ministry of Health . . . gave his professional opinion of the inoperability of the tumour and declared that the tumour was indeed gone, without any sign of surgical entry to the skull.” Klaun himself said his doctors “were stunned that the X-rays showed no sign of any surgical cut to across the tumour and that I was in such remarkably good health” (PelligrinoEstrich 1997, p. 109).
Dr. Ronei Pappen is a Brazilian medical doctor. His offices are at Rua Santo Antonio 653 in Porto Alegre. On August 22, 1995, Dr. Pappen was in an automobile accident. His skull was crushed, injuring his eyes and optic nerves. As a result, he became totally blind. He also suffered extensive internal injuries. His colleagues told him he would never see again. Aware of John of God’s work, Dr. Pappen went to Abadiania, on October 12, 1995. He there underwent invisible operations, and after some time fully regained his sight. Since then, he has worked as an assistant to John of God, in addition to continuing his own medical practice (Pelligrino-Estrich 1997, p. 55).