source: gmanetwork.com
Reflection and recreation
-- the Holy Week priorities of Filipinos collided noisily in the mostly online outcry over Facebook photos of tourists posing gleefully next to life-size crosses in Pampanga.
One viral photo of a grinning young woman in shorts and shades showed her in a quasi-crucifixion pose.
The photo was taken by a certain Maike Domingo in Bgy. Lourdes in Angeles, Pampanga. His Facebook album would reveal that others had similarly posed, including a Caucasian woman and two men who appeared to be Filipinos.
Another photo showed children climbing up the cross, as if let loose in a playground.
Pampanga draws hordes of tourists every Holy Week to watch devotees have themselves nailed on crosses. Most of those "crucified" do so out of a deep sense of commitment. But many who come to watch are camera-happy tourists who seem more interested in gory entertainment.
GMA News Online has stumbled upon another photo which appeared to have been taken in the same place in Angeles, Pampanga. The photo, taken by photographer Jay Javier, is a joyful "jump shot" of two girls in front of the cross.
Javier, on his Facebook page, said the photo was taken on Good Friday and commented, "Even non-believers will cringe at the sight of this blatant show of disrespect and impropriety."
The photo of the woman in shades had over 5,000 shares on Facebook as of posting time and has sparked online rage for the "disrespect" she showed to the most sacred religious symbol for Christians.
Others opted to pray instead for her and other crucifixion tourists, quoting Luke 23:34: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
'Officials didn't do anything about it'
Javier told GMA News Online that he approached the event officials/organizers to "do something about it, but they just appeared to have tolerated it."
"They made a feeble attempt to stop these follies, but the person tasked to that left immediately after," Javier said. "The 'set' with the crosses were left unattended, for anyone to play in, and do poses like [these] photos."
Caritas Manila executive director Fr. Anton Pascual said over Catholic station Radyo Veritas that today's youth seem to have lost respect for spiritual matters along with their moral values, and need to be educated about it.
"Kaya’t ipagdasal natin ang ating mga kabataan ngayon at mabigyan ng tamang pag-aaral ng paggalang sa mga bagay na esperitwal tulad ng crucifix at malaman din ng mga kabataan na ito ang identity at moral values at paggalang sa relihiyon," Pascual said.
source: gmanetwork.com
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Pasaway talga...!!!
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