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An annual religious ritual disapproved by church leaders in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, Filipino devotees had themselves nailed to crosses on Good Friday to remember Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. In San Fernando City, at least 23 people were nailed to crosses in three villages to mark Good Friday.Foreigners were not allowed in participating this year except as spectators, Ching Pangilinan stated, a city tourism officer and one of the organizers. The ban was imposed after some foreigners took part in previous years just to make a film or make fun of the rites. “We don’t want them to just make a mockery out of the tradition of the people here,” Pangilinan said. The event drew more than 10,000 Philippine and foreign spectators.  Devotees dressed in robes and tin crowns walked to a dusty mound carrying wooden crosses on their backs. At the mound, men crucified their hands and feet. Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter devotee who was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God for his survival after falling from a building. Mary Jane Mamangon, a 34-year-old rice cake vendor, was the lone female devotee to be nailed to a cross this year in San Juan village. It was her 14th time.  According to Mamangon, she started this ritual when she was 18 and has taken part in the annual rites on and off to seek God’s help in saving her ill grandmother and now her younger sister, who is suffering from cancer. “I do it because I have seen that it works,” she told The Associated Press. “I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness.” Mamangon said she has faith that God will take care of her and her family. Similar rites took place in nearby Bulacan province, while in other parts of the country, half-dressed, barefooted penitents walked the streets, whipping their bloody backs with pieces of wood dangling from ropes as a way to atone for sins. Church leaders disapprove of such practices. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) stated that the real expression of Christian faith during Lent is through repentance and self-renewal, not flagellation or crucifixion. Bishop Rolando Tirona of the Prelature of Infanta said flagellation and cross nailings are expressions of superstitious beliefs, and are usually done out of need for money or to encourage tourism, which make them wrong. About 80 percent of the Philippine population of more than 90 million are Roman Catholic. An annual religious ritual disapproved by church leaders in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, Filipino devotees had themselves nailed to crosses on Good Friday to remember Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. In San Fernando City, at least 23 people were nailed to crosses in three villages to mark Good Friday.Foreigners were not allowed in participating this year except as spectators, Ching Pangilinan stated, a city tourism officer and one of the organizers. The ban was imposed after some foreigners took part in previous years just to make a film or make fun of the rites. “We don’t want them to just make a mockery out of the tradition of the people here,” Pangilinan said. The event drew more than 10,000 Philippine and foreign spectators.  Devotees dressed in robes and tin crowns walked to a dusty mound carrying wooden crosses on their backs. At the mound, men crucified their hands and feet. Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter devotee who was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God for his survival after falling from a building. Mary Jane Mamangon, a 34-year-old rice cake vendor, was the lone female devotee to be nailed to a cross this year in San Juan village. It was her 14th time.  According to Mamangon, she started this ritual when she was 18 and has taken part in the annual rites on and off to seek God’s help in saving her ill grandmother and now her younger sister, who is suffering from cancer. “I do it because I have seen that it works,” she told The Associated Press. “I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness.”Mamangon said she has faith that God will take care of her and her family. Similar rites took place in nearby Bulacan province, while in other parts of the country, half-dressed, barefooted penitents walked the streets, whipping their bloody backs with pieces of wood dangling from ropes as a way to atone for sins. Church leaders disapprove of such practices. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) stated that the real expression of Christian faith during Lent is through repentance and self-renewal, not flagellation or crucifixion. Bishop Rolando Tirona of the Prelature of Infanta said flagellation and cross nailings are expressions of superstitious beliefs, and are usually done out of need for money or to encourage tourism, which make them wrong. About 80 percent of the Philippine population of more than 90 million are Roman Catholic. Filipinos Crucified As Atonement Of Sins On Good Friday is a post from: Daily World Buzz Continue reading →