Bishop: Nazarene devotion not fanaticism

MANILA -- An official of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) defended On Wednesday the devotees of the Black Nazarene against critics that they are being “fanatics” and not “faithful” during the procession.

In an interview, Manila auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the acts being done by devotees every January 9 cannot be labeled as “fanaticism” since they are done peacefully.

“Dito, hindi natin makikita ang fanaticism kasi mapayapa ang mga tao, nagdarasal sila ng taimtim at gumagawa sila ng sarkipisyo alang-alang sa pananampalataya,” Pabillo said.

At best, the prelate said the practices of devotees can only be seen as a manifestation of “folk religiosity.”

“Ang folk religiosity ay pagpapahayag ng pananampalataya ng mga ordinaryong tao… ito yung malalim ang pananalig nila kaya hindi ito matatawag na fanaticism,” Pabillo explained.

On Wednesday, an estimated nine million devotees flocked the feast of the Black Nazarene to join the traditional annual procession in Quiapo Church, Manila.

Some 1,500 individuals got injured in the process during their separate attempts to get near the Black Nazarene image enshrined atop the carriage.

The image was only able to enter the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene at 1 a.m. of Thursday, 18 hours after it begun and traversing the route from the Quirino Grandstand to the church.

And to further prove that they are real devotees of Christ, the administrator of the Quiapo church is urging the devotees to go beyond showing faith every January 9 only.

“The best we can say is that we encourage our devotees to deepen their faith and have their conviction,” Ignacio said in an interview.

The challenge comes as a spin-off to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle’s previous statement, where he scored some Catholic faithful that are being “practical atheists.”

These, Tagle defined, are those who would say that they have faith in God but, in practice, would seem that they also do not have a God. (HDT/Sunnex)