April 22, 2011: Several Filipinos were nailed to wooden crosses to re-enact Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in an annual ritual that draws thousands of tourists on Good Friday.

In San Juan village in the rice-growing Pampanga province north of Manila, three labourers endured as stainless steel nails were driven through their palms with hammers before they were set aloft on crosses for a few minutes. One of the men shed tears, while hundreds of tourists and residents watched and snapped pictures.
Other penitents were being crucified in two nearby villages, including in San Pedro Cutud, the main area for the annual tradition on the day Jesus Christ is supposed to have died. Dozens of policemen and medical volunteers were deployed to guard the thousands of visitors, including Western diplomats.

Ahead of the crucifixions, throngs of penitents walked several miles (kilometres) through village streets and beat their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and pieces of wood, sometimes splashing spectators with blood.

Some participants opened cuts in the penitents’ backs using broken glass to ensure the ritual was sufficiently bloody. San Pedro Cutud village leader Remigio dela Cruz stated the crucifixions began there in the 1950s. He cited precautions, including soaking the four-inch nails in alcohol sometimes for as long as a year then having these sprinkled with holy water before use.

The gory spectacle reflects the Philippines’ unique brand of Catholicism, which merges church traditions with folk superstitions. Many of the mostly impoverished penitents undergo the ritual to atone for sins, pray for the sick or a better life and give thanks for what they believe were God-given miracles.

Church leaders in the Philippines, Asia’s largest predominantly Roman Catholic nation, have frowned on the Easter week rituals, stating the crucifixions and self-flagellations are an “imperfect imitation with doubtful theological and social significance.”

================

Nicolo Rizzuto, a reputed Mafia don, was given a Roman Catholic funeral in Montreal, known as a Mass of Christian Burial, but the church has in the past denied mobsters’ funerals.The church’s code of conduct states that “manifest sinners” cannot be given a funeral mass if it would result in public scandal of the faithful. It’s been a dicey dilemma for Catholic leaders in the past: to agree, or not to agree, to provide a church funeral for a well-known gangster?

The church has occasionally refused such rites to Rizzuto’s counterparts in the past under a set of guidelines that provide it with considerable interpretive leeway. One Catholicism expert states that under the church’s Code of Canon Law, Mafia dons could be denied a funeral ceremony. In the past, church officials have decided against holding Catholic funerals for other mob leaders, including John Gotti and Paul Castellano. Both Gotti, who died in 2002, and Castellano, killed in 1985, were former heads of the notorious Gambino crime family. Gotti ordered Castellano killed and was linked to other murders.

“One would think that that may raise a question mark,” McGill University’s Daniel Cere stated, pointing to the world of organized crime. Rizzuto, on the other hand, was convicted of several crimes, including gangsterism, and his clan is suspected of killing many rivals over the years. But he was never convicted of murder. Cere stated the church tends to have a loose interpretation of the funeral guidelines unless the deceased has formally repudiated the Catholic faith. “My impression is that the church has been reluctant to get into debates,” the religious studies professor stated. “It would probably be a bit messy if they started to try to provide tighter criteria in terms of denial of funerals, so I think they tend to take a fairly relaxed attitude towards the issue.” When the decision whether to permit, or disallow a funeral ceremony is up for debate, Cere states the local bishop has the final call.

Under canon law, there are three categories for refusing to provide a Catholic funeral. Someone could be denied a funeral unless they gave, before dying, some sign of repentance for the following:

— Being notorious apostates, heretics and schismatics.

— Choosing the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith.

— Being manifest sinners who could not be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.

“It looks like there’s a lot of leeway in all of these,” stated Cere. He added that canon law is a collection of guiding principles, not absolute rules.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ont., is looking into a popular statue of the Virgin Mary in Windsor that witnesses state weeps. Worshippers state the statue at a Windsor home has healing powers and the diocese wants to determine if any miracles have been performed.
Spokesman Mark Adkinson stated it’s the first time the diocese has been presented with this kind of situation. Adkinson stated the diocese can’t explain the weeping Virgin Mary, but it’s going to try.

The diocese will also contact the homeowner to offer assistance and protect the statue if necessary. Windsor officials say a structure housing the statue violates building and zoning rules and has ordered the homeowner to remove it.