Priest: Black Nazarene faith not idolatry but needs to be 'purified'

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos' deep devotion to the Black Nazarene is not idolatry but devotees' faith needs to be "purified," a Catholic priest said.

Fr. Francis Lucas of the Catholic Media Network was reacting to reports that thousands of devotees broke through security barriers set up at the Quirino Grandstand where the mass for the Black Nazarene procession was celebrated on Thursday morning.

"This is what the Catholic Church is trying to further deepen and purify the kind of faith that the devotees have," Lucas said in an interview on ANC's Headstart.

"We really have to study this more. Study not in the sense of a cerebral study, but more so, going down to the nitty-gritty on how a faith develops. How do they develop this faith?" he added.

Lucas also defended the annual feast from criticisms that it promotes idolatry, saying the images of the Black Nazarene being touched and kissed by the devotees serve as "bridges" to the divine.

"It's a significant reality that allows you to touch your God, to be with him, to kiss him. So this is how it is. It's a bridge," Lucas said.

"[The devotees] are directly bridging their lives with God and in so doing, we feel the improvement and development of our families and communities," he also said.

Lucas also described the annual feast as a "phenomenon" that one "cannot just explain" but its significance should be looked at.

"For me the significance is... this has become a national event and an international event now," Lucas said. "Maybe it also signifies that God cares for the last, the least and the lost."

About 12 million devotees are expected to join the religious procession in Manila to honor the centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ.

Manila Vice Mayor Francisco Domagoso said the number of Nazarene devotees keeps on growing through the years.

He said the devotees continue to practice their faith because they get a sense of fulfillment when they atone for their sins by joining the procession.

"Dahil siguro napapalapit ang tao sa Panginoong Diyos dala ng kanilang kahirapan," Domagoso said.