First let me say, I am glad to see that the religious impressarios organizing the annual Black Nazareno procession wisely decided to move its usually crowd-lethal starting point to the Luneta since fatalities and injuries had been multiplying in the last few years. On second thought, I detest the idea that they chose the Luneta. Methinks the Catholic Bishops and the Philippine Daily Innuendo were actually rubbing salt in the wounds of the Other Hero and Martyr there present. Frankly, if I were to succumb to the mortal sin of idolatry being urged on the masses, I would pick the German-made graven image in stone, not the Mexican Wooden Indio pretending to be the Son of God in Pinoy drag. But wait! Here is the latest contribution of the Catholic Taliban to the Mindanao Peace Process…Ngek!
The Roman Catholic Church of the Philippines has recently cloned the original and true miraculous wooden idol called the Black Nazarene of Quiapo–a kind of graven image of a graven image–and sent it off to Cagayan de Oro because “there are so many devotees there”. At a time when all-out war is being threatened if not quite carried out by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, honestly folks, how smart of an idea IS this??
Now what were we just talking about on Rizal Day?
As the Catholic Taliban Sing Hallelujah!
Fuego!
Popularity: 1% [?]
DJB,
It is well-advised that more clones be produced to fill every chapel, every church, every cathedral, every basilica.
This way, we take the Black Nazarene out of Quiapo since we can’t take Quiapo out of Manila.
Further so, we make idolatry an easier task. But please DJB, touch the Black Nazarene in your free time some more days and weeks after the feast.
The Black Nazarene may be closer an image to the real Jew named Jesus than the sharp-angled Italiano imagery that has been peddled thru the ages.
Ducky Paredes notes in his column,
Not only is it unconstitutional for the Air Force to aid and abet Catholic idolary, it won’t do much good for the peace process in Mindanao either!
DJB
Why don’t you file a test suit on Church State separation?
And please dump your Christian fundamentalist description of the Nazarene as an “idol”. The more objective noun for that is “icon”.
Oh idolatry! Atheism is guilty of that with worship of the unproven idea that God non-existent!
So instead of worshipping a product of Darwinian evolution , perhaps worship Darwinism! Evolution exists!
Darwinism is the highest form of thought! LOL!
Happy Darwin Year DJB! :-)
Blackshama,
Would you not concede that such a procession and annual event is at least an “occasion of sin” and that among all those thousands of “devotees” there are real instances of idolatry, simply because it takes some theological competence just to understand the difference between idolatry and iconography. Even Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales called a halt to his Mass to call for order at one point, and called the zealotry “overdevotion”.
How about the Mindanao mission of the “pilgrim icon”? Do you agree with this?
BTW, the Catholic church is perfectly within its civil and constitutional rights to conduct this event.
If there is any crime involved with the transport of the pilgrim icon, it would have to be prosecuted against the Air Force, not the Church.
I will defend to the death the Catholic Church’s right to promote idolatry (or iconography, if you insist), if it so desires.
But I feel morally and intellectually obligated to likewise exercise other functional rights, such as common sense and historical memory.
Dean aminin natin na para sa isang Katolikong bansa tulad ng Pilipinas, parte na ng kaniyang pananampalataya at paniniwala ang pagiging panatiko niya sa mga pistang kagaya nito. Marahil para sa akin na minsan ay nasasabing taliwas na sa paniniwala ang nangyayari sa Pista ng Nazareno at gayon din sa iba pang pistang kagaya nito ay ang “Idolatry”, marahil maaaring mali, pero sa kabila nito ang punto ng isang ordinaryong tao pagdating sa kanyang pamumuhay at pananampalataya ay nakaugat alinsunod sa nakasanayan niya at panata. At hindi natin sila masisi lalo na’t ito ang tanging pananampalatayang pinanghahawakan nila sa mga bagay na nangyayari sa buhay nila at sa pamamaraang ito humahanga ako sa mga taong ito sa kabila ng terminolohiya ng “Idolatry”.
Sa usapin ng “cloned” Nazareno na ipinadala sa Cagayan de Oro, tulad ng sinabi ko sa una taliwas man sa batas at paniniwala ng Simbahan ang maling tulad ng “Idolatry” ay maaaring nagiging tama dahil sa bagay na ito may sumisibol na pag asa sa kabila ng problemang hinaharap ng mga kapatid nating Katoliko at Muslim sa Mindanao.
The papers reported, based on liberal police’s estimates, that the crowd swelled at between 1 to 3 million.
Signs of the times? The more people in misery or suffering, the more they cling to their religion, blind faith or balik-religion (as in the U.S.)? Notice how many sects have sprung up like the El Shaddai, Ang Dating Daan, Jesus is Lord, etc.
This annual January 9th procession could gain more prominence in the near future as a devotee might as well be elected as the next president: VP Noli De Castro.
Shucks! And the wife had thought that she kissed the “real deal”, braving through sweaty throngs of devotees lovingly pushing each other to get closer to the image. So it was only a fake idol! A duplicate!
Now I do not have the mind to tell her so. Who has the heart to tell somebody that the kerchief wiped on the image is not going to rub off with mystical quality or reverence as intended? That indeed, it just collected dust from dried piece of wood shaped and colored like a dark-colored man dressed like the Jews of old.
But, Dean, remember the official line is that “worship” belongs only to God, and that saints and graven images are simply “venerated”.
amadeo,
I accept the difference between worship and veneration which you point out, though perhaps many if not most in that crowd might have a hard time with the distinction. What I have a hard time accepting is the knowledge that the Augustinian Recollects have been milking this cow for 400 years and have abetted the confusion between those two categories.
Now they have doubled their opportunities for a kind of modern simony that pays off in publicity about a “venerated tradition.”
But here is a question about “manners.”
Do we owe this burned wooden object in the likeness of a man veneration and respect just because “1 to 3 million people” have just shown it frenzied devotion that disturbed even Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (not a Recollect!)?
The moment I heard the news this strange phrase suddenly reverberated in my ears with no reason at all: Cagayan de Oro Feast of the Black Nazarene Bombing.
On the Air Force giving transport to a religious relic unconstitutional, why dont we go all the way and challenge the constitutionality of the Office of the Chaplain in the Armed Forces? And all those churches in Fort Bonifacio and similar establishments?
(Air force defense would probably be, ‘We were heading there anyway. What’s the big deal?’ ;) )
I think na kaya maraming pumupunta sa kapistahan ng black nazarene dahil din sa kadahilanang kaya maraming pumunta sa Wowowee Anniversary kung saan maraming tao ang namatay sa stampede. Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon ay maraming umaasa sa instant solution tulad ng instant pera at instant na pagpapagaling ng sakit.
At dahil diyan ay I believe that some of the devotees went overboard by believing that the image had some magical powers. Mismo sa imahen nanggaling at hindi sa Diyos. Kaya sa palagay ko ay naging idolaters na sila ng itim na nazareno.
Dapat tigil na ito ng simbahan at ipaliwanag sa mga tao ang distinction ng veneration sa worship.
Jeg,
I’m not interested in a legal, judicial solution, but a moral and intellectual one. I think that serious Catholics ought to be perturbed at the abetting of superstition and idolatry that is going on here. And either we are for a secular, open society, or we shall wallow in it forever.
There is also an unconstitutional chapel in Malacanang (unconstitutional both from the 1987 point of view and the Church itself!)
In the long run, I want to see festivals like this fade into cultural kitsch. They are simply not to be taken seriously and ought to be disdained, discredited and eventually, ignored.
I think that will happen all of a sudden, within less than a single generation.
Why is the chapel in malacañang unconstitutional?
I think that serious Catholics ought to be perturbed at the abetting of superstition and idolatry that is going on here.
Can’t argue with that. The hierarchy knows what’s going on here, but most of them tolerate it.
In the long run, I want to see festivals like this fade into cultural kitsch…I think that will happen all of a sudden, within less than a single generation.
Ah, the eternal optimist. Not going to happen. Unless we get a totalitarian state, that is. The Soviets were pretty successful, as well as the North Koreans, etc.
Jeg,
The Russians and North Koreans setup personality cults…just like the Black Nazareno cults…except they tend to concentrate on LIVING gods, hehe.