Crucifixion is unchristian, bishops say

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said flagellation and crucifixion as a form of penance during the Holy Week are not approved by the Catholic Church. The CBCP cautioned that such practices are rooted on animism. Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, CBCP spokesman, said those who crucify themselves misunderstood the meaning of the most important season in Christianity. “They think that when they do that they will receive blessings for the coming year. That is not a Christian idea. If you have Christ in you, that’s enough blessing. You don’t need to duplicate what He did on the cross," Quitorio said. Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the Catholic Church does not require its followers to inflict pain to themselves to show their sacrifice. “It is too much because God already did that for us," Cruz said, adding that such practice is an “exaggeration" of how people should observe the season. The CBCP’s stand echoes the belief of evangelical churches that consider the practice of flagellation and crucifixion an act of blasphemy. The Bible says Jesus was sent to die for mankind for their salvation and He was the only one who is worthy to do that because He was sinless. Evangelicals also believe that man gets saved from eternal damnation by receiving Jesus’ crucifixion and not by doing good works alone. “In Christianity whether that’s born again or protestant, you don’t see Christ as one who will inflict pain. He already carried pain for us. Crucifying yourself is wrong because nobody can pay for what Christ did for us. What you need to do is say ‘thank you,’ that’s all," said Quitorio. While the church has no formal statement against these traditions, Quitorio is confident that those who practice flagellation and crucifixion are not Catholics. “If that person is Catholic he will not do that. If he believes in the things that we do during Holy Week and he goes to church he will not do that. But if he is doing that, he is not a good practicing Catholic," he said, adding that some people misunderstood the idea of penance. - GMANews.TV