LOOK: More than a million devotees join Black Nazarene procession

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdbMVHCrow9oi92D3yg-9KbjZEo7U5vPCEpN3pyH2RLajLUjG31SgoZoiewiFlXg_okD0fYtJjqtfahVivZ6BpEZFC1Pf3EsMh_wE8LDuIlgNxNnG3BQyantY4FxPTkACWcVQSHfCNJE/s1600/Screenshot_47.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdbMVHCrow9oi92D3yg-9KbjZEo7U5vPCEpN3pyH2RLajLUjG31SgoZoiewiFlXg_okD0fYtJjqtfahVivZ6BpEZFC1Pf3EsMh_wE8LDuIlgNxNnG3BQyantY4FxPTkACWcVQSHfCNJE/s1600/Screenshot_47.png" /></a></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> Masses of Catholic devotees in the Philippine capital braved sizzling weather and terrorist fears on Monday in a frenzied bid to touch a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ that is believed to have miraculous powers.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The annual parade, which police said attracted more than one million people, is one of the world's biggest displays of Catholic devotion and showcases the Philippines' status as the Church's bastion in Asia.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> Many Filipinos believe touching or getting close to the life-sized statue, which was brought to the Philippines in the early 1600s when the nation was a Spanish colony, can lead to the healing of otherwise incurable ailments and other good fortune.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> "If you seek a favor it will be granted as long as you pray hard," Lolit Gonzales, 45, told AFP as she sat on the sidewalk after taking her turn pulling on a thick length of rope that moved the statue's carriage forward.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The Manila manicurist attributed the healing two years ago of a painful right knee, which her doctor had told her required surgery and medicines that she could not afford, to taking part in the procession at that time.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> <span style="font-size: 16px;">Gonzales said she had returned on Monday to ensure her knee ailment did not recur, since she had no health insurance and was the only breadwinner in her family.</span></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The pilgrims walked Manila's concrete streets as the temperature climbed above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) without footwear as a sign of penance and to imitate a barefoot Jesus carrying the cross before he was crucified.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> As the procession continued into the night, the Philippine Red Cross said its medical staff had treated about 1,200 people along the route for dizziness, bruising and sprains. However, there were no major casualties.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The statue is called the Black Nazarene because of its charred color, believed to have occurred when it survived a fire aboard a ship when being brought to the Philippines from Mexico.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> Replica crosses and other religious icons and images followed the cross carriage six abreast, borne on the back of trucks, atop pedicabs and manually drawn carriages in an extremely slow procession.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> One small truck carried nuns in white robes sprinkling holy water on the sweaty pilgrims and reciting the Holy Rosary prayer in Spanish.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> Such extreme forms of worship are a hallmark of the Philippines which is 80 percent Roman Catholic, a legacy of four centuries of Spanish colonialism that ended in 1898.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> President Rodrigo Duterte often gives conflicting signals about his religious convictions and criticizes the Church's leaders, but he offered encouragement on Monday to those involved in the procession.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> "Prayers are likely answered because we do not give up or get tired from asking God for the fulfillment of our heart's desires," Duterte said. </div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> "Such is the phenomenal expression of faith of the millions of devotees in the form of gratitude, petition, and sacrifice shown in the image of the Black Nazarene every feast day on the 9th of January every year.".</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> This year's event was held under the threat of Islamic militant attacks, with authorities reporting more than 5,700 police had been deployed to provide security.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> National police chief Ronald dela Rosa had said repeatedly in recent days that extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group may try to stage an attack.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The Philippines has a Muslim minority that is mainly based in the south of the country and has long resented the Catholic domination of their ancestral homelands.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> A separatist rebellion in the south has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The major rebel organizations are now involved in peace talks with the government and no longer waging armed conflict.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> But small hardline groups still carry out attacks, particularly against Catholics.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> The most recent was a bomb blast at a crowded market in Duterte's hometown of Davao in September last year that killed 15 people.</div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> SOURCE: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/09/17/more-than-a-million-devotees-join-black-nazarene-procession">ABS-CBN</a></div> <div style="font-family: franklin-gothic-urw, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; padding: 10px 0px;"> <br /></div>

Catholic Church Local News World News LOOK: More than a million devotees join Black Nazarene procession

Masses of Catholic devotees in the Philippine capital braved sizzling weather and terrorist fears on Monday in a frenzied bid to touch a ...

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PANOORIN: Nasa Jones Bridge na ang andas ng Itim na Nazareno.

<center> <br /></center> <center> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><u>PLAY VIDEO BELOW</u></b></span></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fvideos%2F10154728514355168%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> SOURCE: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS/videos/10154728514355168/">ABS-CBN</a></center>

Catholic Church Local News PANOORIN: Nasa Jones Bridge na ang andas ng Itim na Nazareno.

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PANOORIN: Nasa bahagi na ng Bonifacio Shrine ang andas ng Poong Nazareno.

<center> <br /></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><u><b>PLAY VIDEO BELOW</b></u></span></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fvideos%2F10154728351185168%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> </center> <center style="text-align: left;"> SOURCE: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS/videos/10154728351185168/">ABS-CBN</a></center>

Catholic Church Local News PANOORIN: Nasa bahagi na ng Bonifacio Shrine ang andas ng Poong Nazareno.

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WATCH: Tinatahak ng andas ng Poong Nazareno ang bahagi ng P. Burgos St. hanggang Maria Orosa St.

<center> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><u><b>PLAY VIDEO BELOW</b></u></span></center> <center> <br /></center> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fvideos%2F10154727960515168%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> <br /></center> <center style="text-align: left;"> SOURCE: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS/videos/10154727960515168/">ABS-CBN</a></center>

Catholic Church Local News WATCH: Tinatahak ng andas ng Poong Nazareno ang bahagi ng P. Burgos St. hanggang Maria Orosa St.

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Church's message President Duterte: "Thou shall not kill", MUST READ!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtOgyy1W12U7bAfR-mWV6Glq3L2yIlImjNyh2odl6IT8uuuuIPrn7aoKsp-hyGndp5kt7CziRItplWlJ_4vJpRsEwSX4BUCScqBn44KvLnWIe0fVtSonGuqn_hHep4o_5CF1Lb4X96kWD/s1600/Screenshot_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtOgyy1W12U7bAfR-mWV6Glq3L2yIlImjNyh2odl6IT8uuuuIPrn7aoKsp-hyGndp5kt7CziRItplWlJ_4vJpRsEwSX4BUCScqBn44KvLnWIe0fVtSonGuqn_hHep4o_5CF1Lb4X96kWD/s1600/Screenshot_3.jpg" /></a></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thou shall not kill.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sixth Commandment is the message for President Duterte that will emanate from a Mass which the Archdiocese of Manila will hold Monday afternoon as he delivers his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) to Congress.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mass will mark the launching of the “Huwag Kang Papatay” (Thou Shall Not Kill) campaign, which aims to bring together the families of the victims of extrajudicial killings that have come with the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those people—drug users, pushers and dealers—can no longer change their ways because they are already dead, according to an official of the Archdiocese of Manila.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We believe, especially in the Year of Mercy, that we have a chance of showing our love of God. But because of this (the extrajudicial killings), there’s no more love because there’s no more life who will ask for forgiveness and mercy,” Fr. Atilano Fajardo said over Radio Veritas on Saturday.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fajardo is the director of the Manila archdiocese’s Public Affairs Ministry, which will hold the Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church on San Marcelino Street in Ermita district.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mass, which will start at 5 p.m., includes prayers for the victims of the extrajudicial killings and police operations and their families.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Churchgoers have been asked to wear black and bring candles for a program that will start at 4:30 p.m., by which time President Duterte will have begun to address Congress.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since Mr. Duterte took office on June 30, more than 300 suspected drug users, pushers and dealers have been killed by police or vigilantes across the Philippines.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 10,000 drug dependents have turned themselves in to police out of fear for their lives.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the campaign for the May 9 presidential election, Mr. Duterte promised to stamp out illegal drugs and wipe out crime within the first six months of his presidency.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Duterte, who has been linked to vigilante killings in Davao City, where he served as mayor for 23 years, gave the police the go-signal for a merciless campaign against drugs even before he took office.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Catholic Church officials have slammed the “lack of moral outcry” among the public over the killing of drug suspects.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fajardo said the killings were equivalent to robbing the suspects of their right to due process and a chance to change their lives.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We will pray for the souls of our slain brothers. We invite the families of those slain to attend,” Fajardo said.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He said he would make a personal appeal to Mr. Duterte concerning the extrajudicial killings.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Masses will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Church every last Monday of the month as part of the campaign against extrajudicial killings, Fajardo said.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Campaigners will wear black shirts marked “Huwag kang Papatay” and posters will be put up in schools, churches and public vehicles to drum up support for the campaign</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“There will be talks and forums on the Sixth Commandment and how [extrajudicial killings are] becoming the new normal. We are consolidating all [opponents] of extrajudicial killings,” Fajardo said.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We denounce the extrajudicial killings happening in the country, done by men in uniform, by vigilantes and other groups … under the baton of the maestro. We uphold due process of law and the dignity of human life,” he said.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The latest to fall in the government’s narcotics campaign was a suspected drug lord, Chinese national Meco Tan, who was killed by police in Valenzuela City early on Friday.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Duterte has said some local officials, including governors and mayors, are among the protectors of drug syndicates, although he has not named them.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Saturday, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad urged Mr. Duterte to name those local officials in his address to Congress on Monday.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I want to hear in the [State of the Nation Address] the names of those governors and mayors allegedly coddling illegal drug syndicates,” Jumoad said in a statement.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Duterte has named five high-ranking police officials allegedly protecting drug syndicates.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The five officials—Chief Supt. Bernardo Diaz, retired Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo, retired Chief Supt. Vicente Loot, Chief Supt. Joel Pagdilao and Chief Supt. Edgardo Tinio—have denied the President’s accusations.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Romblon Bishop Arturo Bastes also issued a statement, saying Mr. Duterte should respect the rule of law in his campaign against drugs.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I hope he will respect human rights by not introducing the death penalty and by following the rule of law in punishing drug offenders,” Bastes said.</span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/798551/church-thou-shall-not-kill" target="_blank">INQUIRER</a></span></div> <div> <br /></div>

Catholic Church Controversial Duterte News Local News Church's message President Duterte: "Thou shall not kill", MUST READ!

Thou shall not kill. The Sixth Commandment is the message for President Duterte that will emanate from a Mass which the Archdioce...

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