EDITORIAL - Safe religious devotion

The annual Traslacion or procession is not yet being revived, but a “Walk of Faith” will be held this Sunday in Manila on the eve of the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Starting at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park at 2 a.m., the procession is expected to last about three hours as participants make their way to Quiapo Church, home to the Black Nazarene image.

Devotees are allowed to bring Nazarene replicas, but nothing larger than two feet tall. The traditional pahalik or kissing of the original image is prohibited although devotees can touch the Nazareno. There will be midnight masses on Jan. 8 and 9, with Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula celebrating the mass on the feast day itself.

The Catholic Church and city officials led by Mayor Honey Lacuna, who is a physician, are appealing to participants to strictly observe basic COVID health safety protocols, starting with masking and hand hygiene. Physical distancing is still encouraged although this is not easy to observe in a procession.

Authorities are also appealing to devotees with symptoms of illness – those with fever, sore throat, continuous sneezing, coughs, cold and diarrhea – to skip the Nazarene activities. Viruses can spread rapidly in mass gatherings, and COVID-19 is still very much around, with highly infectious strains detected in the country.

These new coronavirus strains are proving to be highly evasive to both natural and vaccine immunity. Even if fully vaccinated and boosted people show only mild or no symptoms if infected by these new strains, they can pass on the virus to vulnerable members of their household such as the elderly and those with comorbidities, who can suffer serious illness or even succumb to COVID. The current dire COVID situation in China illustrates the threat posed by the new strains of the Omicron subvariant.

The Philippines has lifted mandatory masking outdoors along with restrictions on religious gatherings. The Catholic Church itself, however, has found it prudent to cancel the traditional Traslacion for a third year in a row, to avoid creating a COVID superspreader event.

The Church has had its share of COVID deaths, with members of the clergy and supporting laity succumbing to the illness. In January last year, amid an Omicron-driven post-holiday surge in cases, Quiapo Church was closed to devotees and guarded by police on the Feast of the Black Nazarene, with masses instead live-streamed. This year the restrictions have been eased, but prudence is still needed in preventing Nazarene-related activities from spreading illness and death. Religious devotion and protecting public health need not be incompatible.