Priest tells Halloween revelers: Dress up as angels, not devils

Party with angels and saints instead.

 

This was the advice Tuesday of a church official to Catholics who want to have Halloween festivities, a tradition observed by Western countries on the eve of All Saints’ Day and adapted by Filipinos.

 

“You can have a party pero hindi yung puro mga multo, hindi puro mga patayan, mga gory sceneries,” Fr. Francis Lucas said in an interview Tuesday on GMA News TV.

 

“Kasi isa ito sa walang patumangang pagpatay natin sa pagpapahalaga sa buhay,” added Lucas, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines- Episcopal Commission on Social Communication and Mass Media.

 

The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) earlier called on its member schools to shun Halloween parties as they should instead uphold the dignity of the deceased.

 

 

On Halloween, where participants are mostly children, most activities tend to highlight death, ghosts, evil, magic, and monsters. 

 

The Catholic Church has been against the idea of glorifying evil during Halloween rites.

 

Lucas said there should be a new way to enjoy Halloween parties.

 

“Ito yung sinasabi kong new culture and new ways, kaya itong sinabi ng CEAP na iwasan ang Halloween parties, kailangan din naman yan ipagpatuloy pero mga alternative na page-enjoy… you have to insert something new to the celebration,” he said.

 

Asked if it would be fine with the Church if partygoers wear angel or saint costumes instead, Lucas said: “Oo, yung mga ganyan.”

 

He added that partygoers should also refrain from wearing devil costumes. Original purpose

 

Lucas said the public seemed to be forgetting the original purpose of observing All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which is to honor the saints and praying for all the faithful departed.

 

“Kasi nga nagiging enjoyment na lang, hindi na naiisip yung malalim na kahalagahan ng mga santo na dapat nating tularan,” he said.

 

He asked if those attending Halloween parties are thinking, for example, of the victims of Hurricane Sandy in the United States.

 

“Sa dami ng sakuna na nangyari sa bayan natin, tayo ang 2nd most disaster prone country, naisip ba natin saan napunta ang kaluluwa ng mga namatay na yan? Nakapagbalik loob kaya sila? Kailangan ba natin silang ipagdasal?” Lucas asked.

 

He said it is the duty of bishops and priests to guide people and one way of doing that is correcting what has been done in the past.

 

“Wag nating kalilimutan na tayo ay may trip to heaven, byaheng langit tayo at maraming obstacle dyan. Ngayon, kung tatahimik ang Simbahan at sila nga ay mapariwara, aba’y sisisihin ang mga obispo at pari na ‘wala naman kayong sinasabi’,” he said.       

 

“Pinagbabalik aralan natin where did we go wrong, ano ‘yung mga pagkakamali natin? Paano natin maisasalin ang mga pagpapahalaga sa buhay ng isang Katoliko sa bagong kultura, sa bagong lengguwahe ng sambayanan sa panahon ngayon,” he added. — with Amita Legaspi/RSJ/HS, art by Analyn Perez, GMA News