MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – The Catholic Church maintains the position that the Holy Bible was clear that Jesus Christ urged followers to carry their cross daily and follow him, not reenact his crucifixion, a Bulacan bishop said yesterday.
The Church is also firm in its belief that the reenactment of the crucifixion is just a “popularized religiosity,” said Bishop Jose Oliveros of the Diocese of Malolos.
The Church reiterated its stand as local tourism groups in Bulacan gear up for the influx of tourists and pilgrims who will visit the annual crucifixion rites in Paombong town, where at least five devotees are expected to be nailed on the cross on Good Friday.
Oliveros said Christians were not asked by God to imitate what Jesus Christ had done over 2,000 years ago.
He said the cross is a symbol of every suffering that Christians can bear for Jesus Christ.
“During the Lenten season we are given the opportunity to mortify ourselves, and mortification means sacrificing or dying to oneself,” the bishop said. “We were asked by Jesus Christ to be a good Christian.”
Oliveros added that what is important during the Lenten season is for people to come and renew their relationship with God.
Meanwhile, the Bulacan Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau has initiated the rehabilitation of the crucifixion site in Barangay Kapitangan, Paombong town.
Jose Clemente, who chairs the bureau, said the rehabilitation was meant to improve facilities of the Sto. Cristo Chapel in Barangay Kapitangan, which draws tourists every year.
He said the annual reenactment of the crucifixion is the only tourism attraction in the province that attracts followers even without publicity.
Michael Katigbak, one of the devotees who joined the rites last year, said he will join again this year for the sixth time.
Katigbak also confimed that at least four other devotees will join the annual crucifixion rites in Barangay Kapitangan on Good Friday.