‘Traslacion’ echoes Church, flock’s outrage vs corruption
“Mahiya naman kayo.” (Have some shame.)
The homily at the High Mass launching this year’s Feast of Jesus Nazareno not only addressed the spiritual yearnings of devotees but also echoed the Church and public clamor for accountability over the public works corruption scandal.
Taking off from the Gospel reading about St. John The Baptist and his willingness to “step down” in order to make way for the ministry of Jesus Christ, Balanga Bishop Rufino Sescon spoke of government officials now facing graft investigations yet still clinging to their posts.
“In our nation today, there are still those who refuse to step down even after being caught and exposed for their wrongdoing,” Sescon said in his sermon during the predawn service at Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
“They refuse to step down after causing hardship among the people, with the plight of the poor getting worse. They refuse to step down even as the country gets devastated by floods, even if they’re no longer worthy.”
‘Out of love for us’
Jesus Christ, the Nazarene being glorified in the feast, he said, provided the supreme example of selflessness: “Christ himself stepped down—not because of defeat, weakness or becoming powerless. This was out of love for us.”
Sescon’s sermon set the day’s tone as a massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics joined the annual procession of the centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ on Friday.
After the midnight Mass joined by tens of thousands of worshippers, the wooden Jesus the Nazarene statue was placed on a four-wheel open carriage before dawn for the procession.
Some of the devotees themselves used the gathering to express outrage over the corruption scandal, which involved not only public works officials and private contractors but also influential legislators.
This year’s Nazarene procession coincided with growing public outrage over a major corruption scandal, which erupted last year and implicated dozens of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who allegedly received huge kickbacks from construction companies.
The scandal involved thousands of substandard or nonexistent flood control projects across an archipelago that is prone to some of the deadliest flash floods in Asia.
‘Jail them now’
Several government engineers and construction company executives have been detained while facing corruption trials. Many Filipinos have expressed frustration over the delay of implementing President Marcos’ vow to have legislators accused of wrongdoing locked up in jail by last Christmas.
As they marched, large numbers of worshippers repeatedly chanted: “Jail them now, jail them now.”
“Enough is enough. Have mercy on the people. Have some shame. Step down voluntarily in the name of mercy and love,” Bishop Sescon said in his homily.
Citizen’s prayer
Venus Lopez, a 62-year-old devotee, who carried a replica of the Nazarene statue, made a similar call.
“I hope those corrupt government officials will go away. They don’t deserve to be seated in power,” Lopez told The Associated Press (AP) and added that she would pray to the Nazarene to help banish corrupt officials from government.
One of Asia’s major religious spectacles, the often-raucous procession of the life-size statue meanders through nearly 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) of Manila’s congested narrow roads near the heavily guarded presidential palace.
The procession is also a security nightmare for the authorities. About 15,000 police officers, backed by intelligence agents, were deployed to keep order.
Authorities imposed a gun and liquor ban, prohibited drones and backpacks, and jammed cellphone signals along the route of the procession. —WITH A REPORT FROM AP
