Voor het overige bereidt het land zich voor op het bezoek van Paus Franciscus, dat van 15 to en met 19 januari aanstaande plaats zal vinden. In mijn 'Sketches of the Philipines' staat het volgende stukje over geloof en religie op de Filipijnen.
Faith
plays an important role in the life of almost all Filipinos. Less than 1% of
the population is atheist or agnostic. Without any doubt for the Roman Catholic
Church the Philippines is a stronghold. More than 90% of the population is
Christian. In January 2015 Pope Francis will visit the country and I am quite
sure it will feel like coming home to him. Millions of people will cheer at him
as if he were a pop-star. The influence of the Church goes back to the Spanish
occupation that started in 1521 and lasted until 1898. Also the countries name
refers to that period, because it is named after the Spanish King Felipe
(Philip) II.
Jaime
Cardinal Sin (what’s in a name?), for quite some years the archbishop of The
Philippines, played an important role in the two people’s revolutions in 1986
and 2001 that overthrew the regimes of Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada (by
the way nowadays still the Mayor of Manila). Sin once said: “We got rid of Ali
Baba (Ferdinand Marcos), but the forty thieves remained.” This still might be
an accurate description of the (political) situation in the country.
The
Philippines not only have political dynasties, but also a religious one. In
1914 ‘Iglesia Ni Cristo’ (INC) was
founded by Felix Manalo. 2014 was officially declared by the government the
centennial year of INC. This shows the huge influence of INC on the
countries politics. The third generation Manalos is in charge now in the person
of Eduardo V. Manalo. Traveling in the country you will immediately notice the
churches of INC, compared to which those of the Church of Rome look as ruins.
The latest achievement of INC is the Philippine Arena, the world’s largest
multi-purpose indoor accommodation, with a capacity of 55.000 people, which was
officially inaugurated on July 21th 2014. Not a common project for a religious
group, but it is an example for the still strong interrelation between Church
and State.
Another
example of the importance of religion in the Filipino society is the procession
of the Black Nazarene, the largest procession in the country. It takes place on
January 9th and on Good Friday through
the streets of Quiapo, a small part of metro Manila.
The
procession dates from the 17th century. Thousands of men parade barefoot through
the streets with the life-sized, black wooden statue of Jesus (of Nazarene).
The event is attended by millions of people and everybody wants to touch the
statue.
On
their Facebook pages my Filipino friends on a regular basis post messages and
pictures in which they put their future and that of their country in God’s
hands. Everything happens for a reason. If one door closes, another one opens.
God knows what is good for you. You just have to trust Him. Visit a church on
Sundays and there is a good chance that you will have to attend the mass
standing outside. I am convinced that faith, religion and the organizations
that incorporate them, offer comfort to a lot of people. The question is how
sustainable this will be, once the country’s and people’s wealth will increase?
