A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
On Friday, over a hundred people watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter. The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has turned Enaje into a village celebrity for his role as the “Christ” in the Lenten reenactment of the Way of the Cross.
Ahead of the crucifixions, Enaje told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday night that he has considered ending his annual religious penitence due to his age, but said he could not turn down requests from villagers for him to pray for sick relatives and all other kinds of maladies.
fair enough. it’s definitely a complex topic and i’m glad to see there are at least some individuals on here who don’t just divert to insults and thinly veiled racist remarks. thx 4 being chill and not like the guy who assumes i am christian and is currently trying to convert me via harassment? i assume?
lemmy has shown some interesting colors lately lolol
re your edit:
yes, neither am i for or against the practice. i value informed consent and i value when people bring attention to global violence. and when those come together in a disturbing way that hits the associated press, that’s also cool i guess.
not cool with people invoking bigoted rhetoric against the people protesting. guess that’s the tldr of my position.