BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE many Kittitians and Nevisians were either in church or flying kites on Good Friday (Apr. 14), a large number of zealous Catholics in the Philippines were re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in a bloody display of devotion.
News reaching SKNVibes states that nine Filipinos were nailed to the cross in three villages in the province of Pampanga, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital, Manila, which drew hundreds of tourists despite the Catholic Church’s disapproval of what it sees as a form of folk religion.
This is according to Reuters, which also stated that some of those who participated in the gruesome act were costumed as Roman soldiers and had hammered nails of stainless steel through the hands and feet into wooden crosses of those who played the role of Jesus Christ.
The media outlet noted that one Ruben Enaje, who was nailed to a cross for the 31st consecutive time, said praying for those killed by criminals and drug addicts in the country was his key motivation to participate this year.
“I am praying for the victims...the victims of drug addicts. These drug addicts can waste their life, but we should also still pray for them because they’ve done wrong,” Reuters quoted Enaje as saying.
The media house noted that more than 8,000 suspected drug addicts and dealers were killed since President Rodrigo Duterte had launched a bloody war on drugs in June, and that more than 2,600 of the deaths were in police operations, but many others were in mysterious circumstances.
According to Reuters, Enaje wished good health for the brash Philippine leader to “do what he thinks needs to be done in the country”.
Based on the latest United Nations estimates, the current population of the Philippines is 103,461,429, and it is said that that country has Asia’s largest Catholic population – 80%.
It is also said that penitents whipping themselves and the series of crucifixions feature in the annual Philippine re-enactment of the Passion of Jesus Christ had started as a stage play some six decades ago.
It is further said that poor people in the province of Pampanga began the custom as a way of seeking forgiveness, cures for illness and the fulfilment of other wishes, although the Catholic Church decries it as a “misinterpretation of faith”.
And in an article published by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the writer stated that in addition to being nailed to crosses, there were also acts of self-flagellated to mark Good Friday.
The AFP article indicated that the morbid celebrations took place in “the city of San Fernando, 67 kilometers north of Manila, where the so-called ‘passion play’ is enacted every year”, and that tourists and worshippers had looked on “as 18 men had nails driven through their palms, and were then hoisted up onto crosses in a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ”.
Alex Laranang, who was nailed to a cross for the 14th time, was quoted as saying: “I am used to it already.”
The enactment however did not go unhindered as two of the men who were mock-crucified had to be removed from the celebration to receive medical attention.
Executive Director of the Philippine Bishops’ Media Office, Father Francid Lucas, reportedly told AFP: “The bishops have been saying for a long time they disapprove of this. But people make such vows. They sacrifice themselves for others.”
