Ruptly
"Several Filipino Catholics marched towards San Felipe Neri Church in Mandaluyong, performing traditional acts of self-flagellation as a form of religious penance on Maundy Thursday. Footage shows penitents whipping themselves until bloodied, while others were seen lying on the ground. A lay minister can also be seen anointing penitents with holy water while another participant marches the streets bearing a giant cross. "I'm doing this penitence so that my family won't get sick, and so I can have a healthy body to continue working," Arnel Sanchez, a penitent who has been performing self-flagellation since 1988, said. "I also pray that the crisis overseas will be resolved, so that all people in the world can live peacefully," he continued. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week declared a national energy emergency due to a fuel shortage caused by the global energy shock resulting from US-Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as Iran's retaliation and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The country is heavily dependent on energy supplies from the Middle East, with over 90 per cent of its fuel passing through the Strait. "This tradition here started around the 1970s, and new generations are continuing it to express their faith, as they have their own personal prayers," another penitent, Danilo Torres, explained. "Doing this penitence of self-flagellation is not only to ask forgiveness for our sins, but also as a prayer for the good health of our families," he added. Even though the Catholic Church has repeatedly disapproved of the practice, self-flagellation remains a Holy Week ritual in many parts of the Philippines, as penitents believe it allows them to connect physically and emotionally with the suffering of Jesus Christ."
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