The silly season is here again. Only nine nailed up this time?


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Crosses and bikinis dot Philippine Easter landscape

By Carmel CrimminsFri Apr 14, 9:02 AM ET

Nine Filipinos were nailed to wooden crosses this Good Friday and scores
more whipped their backs into a bloody pulp in a gory re-enactment of
the death of Jesus Christ.

Frowned on by the Catholic Church, the annual spectacle in the small
village of Cutud, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Manila, is just one of
the most extreme examples of Philippine religious fervor this Easter.

The silly season is here again. Only nine nailed up this time?

---
Crosses and bikinis dot Philippine Easter landscape

By Carmel CrimminsFri Apr 14, 9:02 AM ET

Nine Filipinos were nailed to wooden crosses this Good Friday and scores
more whipped their backs into a bloody pulp in a gory re-enactment of
the death of Jesus Christ.

Frowned on by the Catholic Church, the annual spectacle in the small
village of Cutud, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Manila, is just one of
the most extreme examples of Philippine religious fervor this Easter.

Despite the constitutional separation of church and state, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her cabinet went on a two-day retreat "to
reflect on the suffering of Jesus Christ."

Manila police officers acted as the 12 apostles in a series of Masses
and on Easter Sunday, the northern town of Minalin will explode a
life-size effigy of biblical traitor Judas.

Asia's only Roman Catholic nation, the Philippines has always shouted
its faith from the rooftops. Literally, in some parts of Manila, where
buildings are crowned with neon religious proverbs.

At street level, cars are decked out with miniature icons and rosary
beads, government offices have shrines to Mary, and national newspapers
feature daily extracts from the bible.

But, alongside this strong Catholic imagery is an urban society which
talks openly about sex during its coffee breaks, uses birth control and
smiles rather than frowns upon single mothers.

"The Philippines was a very conservative country, suddenly it became the
opposite," said Muhammad A. Soria, a former Catholic priest who
converted to Islam in 2002. "There has been an influx of modern ideas."

Soria's experience as a parish priest in Kuwait in the 1990s impressed
upon him how Muslim society interwove religion with daily life, a
combination he feels is weakening in contemporary Philippines.

BIKINIS AND TRUNKS

Churches across the southeast Asian country will be packed this weekend
as millions observe Easter rituals. But for many city folk, the long
summer weekend is an excuse to don bikinis and swimming trunks and hit
the beaches.

"Not even a majority I think would fast during Holy Week," said Earl
Parreno, a political analyst. "These (Catholic images) are superficial
piety. They are not so deeply embraced by the people that they will
follow every command of the Church."

In rural provinces, adherence to Catholic teachings is still strong, but
in the big cities, decades of Western influence have created a society
tolerant of homosexuality and premarital sex.

Urban Filipinos are not, however, dropping out of religious life, in
fact many are tuning in to different congregations.

Around 82 percent of the Philippines' 85 million people claim membership
of the Catholic Church down from 86 percent early last century, as
Islam, Protestant evangelical groups and locally-founded charismatic
movements attract more followers.

THOUGHTFUL SERMONS

Some middle-class Filipinos, unhappy with Rome's teachings on sex and
contraception, are turning to Protestant Churches.

"The sermons are more thoughtful and more meaningful in an every-day
context," said Kat Gomez, 30, a born Catholic who attends a local
Protestant church with her fiance and daughter.

"It is such a big thing for me that the pastors are married. I feel they
understand more. They live family life themselves."

A much larger number of poor Filipinos, looking for inspiration beyond
Catholicism's message of bearing life's trials with dignity, are
attracted to evangelical groups, where rousing music and preachers help
them forget their problems, for a time.

"We have a significant number of former Catholics coming to our
churches," said Bishop Efraim Tendero, national director of the
Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, which he said had about 2
million members compared to 300,000 two decades ago.

In addition to the Protestant churches, locally founded groups such as
Iglesia ni Cristo (Tagalog for Church of Christ) and Catholic
charismatic group El Shaddai (Hebrew for "God Almighty") attract
millions via TV and open-air vigils.

Such evangelical movements pose a threat to the traditional Catholic
Church in the Philippines. Suffering from a chronic shortage of priests,
around one for every 13,000 followers, the country's dominant religion
is seen as detached and dogmatic.

Some of its clergy are worried that Catholicism, dominant since the
Spanish started converting the Philippines in the 16th century, could be
heading for decline unless more flexibility is introduced.

"We are not taking the threat seriously enough," said one Manila priest.
"We should be doing more."



---
http://tinyurl.com/rvm48

The silly season is here again. Only nine nailed up this time?

---
Crosses and bikinis dot Philippine Easter landscape

By Carmel CrimminsFri Apr 14, 9:02 AM ET

Nine Filipinos were nailed to wooden crosses this Good Friday and scores
more whipped their backs into a bloody pulp in a gory re-enactment of
the death of Jesus Christ.

Frowned on by the Catholic Church, the annual spectacle in the small
village of Cutud, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Manila, is just one of
the most extreme examples of Philippine religious fervor this Easter.

Despite the constitutional separation of church and state, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her cabinet went on a two-day retreat "to
reflect on the suffering of Jesus Christ."

Manila police officers acted as the 12 apostles in a series of Masses
and on Easter Sunday, the northern town of Minalin will explode a
life-size effigy of biblical traitor Judas.

Asia's only Roman Catholic nation, the Philippines has always shouted
its faith from the rooftops. Literally, in some parts of Manila, where
buildings are crowned with neon religious proverbs.

At street level, cars are decked out with miniature icons and rosary
beads, government offices have shrines to Mary, and national newspapers
feature daily extracts from the bible.

But, alongside this strong Catholic imagery is an urban society which
talks openly about sex during its coffee breaks, uses birth control and
smiles rather than frowns upon single mothers.

"The Philippines was a very conservative country, suddenly it became the
opposite," said Muhammad A. Soria, a former Catholic priest who
converted to Islam in 2002. "There has been an influx of modern ideas."

Soria's experience as a parish priest in Kuwait in the 1990s impressed
upon him how Muslim society interwove religion with daily life, a
combination he feels is weakening in contemporary Philippines.

BIKINIS AND TRUNKS

Churches across the southeast Asian country will be packed this weekend
as millions observe Easter rituals. But for many city folk, the long
summer weekend is an excuse to don bikinis and swimming trunks and hit
the beaches.

"Not even a majority I think would fast during Holy Week," said Earl
Parreno, a political analyst. "These (Catholic images) are superficial
piety. They are not so deeply embraced by the people that they will
follow every command of the Church."

In rural provinces, adherence to Catholic teachings is still strong, but
in the big cities, decades of Western influence have created a society
tolerant of homosexuality and premarital sex.

Urban Filipinos are not, however, dropping out of religious life, in
fact many are tuning in to different congregations.

Around 82 percent of the Philippines' 85 million people claim membership
of the Catholic Church down from 86 percent early last century, as
Islam, Protestant evangelical groups and locally-founded charismatic
movements attract more followers.

THOUGHTFUL SERMONS

Some middle-class Filipinos, unhappy with Rome's teachings on sex and
contraception, are turning to Protestant Churches.

"The sermons are more thoughtful and more meaningful in an every-day
context," said Kat Gomez, 30, a born Catholic who attends a local
Protestant church with her fiance and daughter.

"It is such a big thing for me that the pastors are married. I feel they
understand more. They live family life themselves."

A much larger number of poor Filipinos, looking for inspiration beyond
Catholicism's message of bearing life's trials with dignity, are
attracted to evangelical groups, where rousing music and preachers help
them forget their problems, for a time.

"We have a significant number of former Catholics coming to our
churches," said Bishop Efraim Tendero, national director of the
Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, which he said had about 2
million members compared to 300,000 two decades ago.

In addition to the Protestant churches, locally founded groups such as
Iglesia ni Cristo (Tagalog for Church of Christ) and Catholic
charismatic group El Shaddai (Hebrew for "God Almighty") attract
millions via TV and open-air vigils.

Such evangelical movements pose a threat to the traditional Catholic
Church in the Philippines. Suffering from a chronic shortage of priests,
around one for every 13,000 followers, the country's dominant religion
is seen as detached and dogmatic.

Some of its clergy are worried that Catholicism, dominant since the
Spanish started converting the Philippines in the 16th century, could be
heading for decline unless more flexibility is introduced.

"We are not taking the threat seriously enough," said one Manila priest.
"We should be doing more."



---
http://tinyurl.com/rvm48