On January 9, millions of devotees gathered in Quiapo to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Just like what happened in the past years, commotion ensued as people tried to go near the statue of the Black Nazarene, or at least be able to get hold of the rope that was pulling the statue to Quiapo Church. The celebration ended with hundreds of people injured, crushed by the large crowd. But that’s still better than last year’s celebration where two people died.
This year, the organizers decided to change the route of the procession to avoid past mishaps. But the veteran devotees–who are used to the old route of the procession–diverted the Black Nazarene to its usual course. In the end, the police were able to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the diverted route.
It is clear that there were changes made in the celebration this year and fortunately, minor mishaps were remedied. The Church, however, failed to change the most important part of the celebration—the attitude of the devotees.
Call it religious fanaticism. That seems to be how a lot of the devotees—especially those from the lower class—have grown up to believe expression of faith is. It’s true that participating in the celebration is a good way to show one’s faith. But the scene in the Feast of the Black Nazarene, where people would go to the extent of pushing each other around, hurting each other to get near the statue, is anarchy.
Many of the Black Nazarene’s devotees go in the hopes of being granted a miracle. They believe that the Black Nazarene will relieve them of their suffering, or at least lessen it. It says a lot about the Philippine psyche–we rely on others to solve our own problems, from politics to our economic status.
What does the Church think about this? The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines talks about their stance regarding certain socio-political issues, like the Reproductive Health Bill and Charter Change. Yet, the people never get to hear much from them on basic things like living out faith. Instead of leading the community in a truly meaningful celebration, the Church is prioritizing speaking out their advocacies to the government.
Instead of teaching why such a procession like the Feast of the Black Nazarene is celebrated, the Church chooses to let this religious fanaticism continue. It is as if the Church gives more importance to addressing political and socioeconomic issues, instead of a people’s faith. This is problematic because the Church’s primary task, after all, is to guide spiritual growth, not to criticize the government and participate in political discourse.
Although addressing socio-political issues is important, the faith of the people is just as important. After all, the people who went to Quiapo on January 9 make up a sizeable population of the Church. There must be a proper way of professing one’s faith without having to squeeze oneself amongst a million other devotees. Instead, we get devotees praying for a miracle, trampling each other in the process.
