‘Church disallows flagellation, nailing to the cross’

All pain but no gain?

The Catholic Church said yesterday it does not encourage the time-honored Lenten ritual, usually practiced by provincial folk, of having oneself nailed to the cross to repent for one’s sins.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) secretary general and spokesman Msgr. Hernando Coronel said the Church also discourages self-flagellation, a practice wherein penitents whip themselves with bladed scourges in the belief that the self-inflicted torture would wash off their sins.

"It is a misrepresentation of our Catholic faith," Coronel said in an interview over the Catholic station Radio Veritas.

Coronel said the practice, meant to commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago, has become a tourist attraction and not a genuine act of penance for some faithful.

"Karaniwan nang dinadayo ng mga turista ang mga lugar kung saan may mga nakapako sa Krus kung Mahal na Araw ( Tourists normally flock to places where people have themselves crucified during Holy Week)," he noted.

Coronel advised those who want to repent for their sins to go to a priest and confess – no need to whip themselves bloody or have themselves nailed to a cross.

"They should instead change their way of life and be reformed," the CBCP spokesman said.

Coronel pointed out that even if the Bible admonishes one to follow Christ and "take up one’s cross," this does not mean one should literally be crucified.

It is a time-honored belief in several areas in the country, that resorting to painful rituals of penance cleanses one more completely of one’s sins.

They also claim that penitents do not feel the pain from their wounds.

In the barangay of Cutud in City of San Fernando in Pampanga, Good Friday crucifixions are yearly crowd drawers, and townsfolk go out in the streets to fete visiting tourists who ogle at those who have themselves nailed to a cross.

Other traditions observed by Filipino Catholics during the Lenten Season are the Visita Iglesia (visiting various churches), reciting and listening to Jesus "Seven Last Words," processions, doing the Stations of the Cross, Easter vigils and Masses.

In a related development, Coronel said yesterday a nationwide survey revealed that only 30 percent of the youth believe in life after death, and only a few believe there is a heaven and a hell.

Coronel said the Philippine Catholic Church is thus boosting its evangelization work, especially among the youth.

He noted that it is only during Easter Sunday that there is an increase in Mass attendance in Catholic churches.