Philippines holds bloody crucifixions on Good Friday despite Church objection

The National

April 07, 2023

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Roman Catholic zealots in the Philippines were nailed to wooden crosses while others whipped their backs bloody and raw in gruesome displays of religious devotion on Good Friday.

While most people in theCatholic-majority country spend the day at Mass or with their families, some go to extreme lengths to atone for sins or seek divine intervention in rituals that are frowned on by the Church.

In San Juan village, north of Manila, hundreds of residents and tourists watched a blood-soaked re-enactment of Jesus Christ's last moments.

Dozens of men wearing crowns made from vines and with cloth over their faces walked barefoot through narrow streets, flogging themselves non-stop with bamboo whips.

Blood ran down their backs, soaking the top of their trousers and splattering spectators crowded in front of shops and houses.

Some flagellants stopped to prostrate on the ground so they could be beaten with flip-flops and pieces of wood.

When blood stopped oozing from their wounds, their skin was punctured with razor blades or a wooden mallet embedded with glass shards to make them bleed.

"I do it for my family, to make them healthy," said Daren Pascual, 31, after whipping his back in a warm-up for the main event.

A re-enactment of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday in Santo Tomas, Philippines. EPA

"You just pray, then you cannot feel the pain."

In the final stage of the performance, three men were escorted by costumed Roman centurions to a dirt mound where two of them were tied to wooden crosses.

Wilfredo Salvador, a small and wiry former fisherman who played the role of Jesus Christ, had nails driven through his palms and feet as drones flew overhead and tourists took photos and videos with their smartphones.

After several minutes, the nails were pulled out and Salvador was lowered to the ground. He was carted off on a stretcher to the medical tent for a check-up – before going home in a tricycle taxi.

"He [God] gives me physical strength unlike others who cannot bear it," said Mr Salvador, 66, who began taking part in the crucifixion 15 years ago after suffering a mental breakdown.

"I do this by choice. I thank Him for giving me a second life."

Filipino penitent Efren Salonga Jr shows his hands after being nailed to a cross on Good Friday in Santo Tomas, Philippines. EPA

The spectacle has been performed in villages around San Fernando city for decades, but the crucifixions were cancelled for the past three years due to Covid-19.

The health department warned participants that they risked tetanus and other infections.

"It's very clear that the crucifixion of Christ is more than enough to save humanity from sin," said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' public affairs committee.

"If you want your sins to be forgiven, go to confession."

Robert Reyes, a prominent Catholic priest and human rights activist in the country, said the bloody rites reflect the Church’s failure to fully educate many Filipinos on Christian tenets, leaving them on their own to explore personal ways of seeking divine help for all sorts of maladies.

Folk Catholicism is deeply entrenched in the local religious culture, Fr Reyes said, citing a chaotic procession each January of a black statue of Jesus Christ called the Black Nazarene, which authorities say draws more than a million devotees each year in one of Asia's largest religious festivals. Many bring towels to be wiped on the wooden statue, believing it has powers to cure ailments and ensure good health and a better life.

“The question is where were we church people when they started doing this?" Fr Reyes said., adding that the clergy should immerse itself in communities more and converse regularly with villagers. “If we judge them, we'll just alienate them.”