From: Dragon lite 
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WISH I WAS JOKING

Wednesday March 19, 02:45 PM
 Philippines warns 'crucifixion bad for health'
 
 http://au.news. yahoo.com/ 080319/19/ 1679i.html
 
 MANILA (AFP) - Philippine health officials Wednesday warned people taking 
 part in Easter crucifixions and self-flagellation rituals to get a tetanus 
 shot first and sterilise the nails to avoid infections.
 
 Every Good Friday in this predominately Roman Catholic Southeast Asian 
 nation dozens of men re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by having 
 themselves nailed to wooden crosses.
 
 At the same time hundreds of others, mostly men, strip to the waist and 
 whip themselves until their backs are cut and bloody as a way of atoning 
 for their sins over the past year.
 
 The Catholic church frowns upon the crucifixions and self flagellations 
 which have become a tourist attraction in a number of towns around the country.
 
 The department of health issued a health warning advising people taking 
 part in the rituals this Friday to have tetanus shots and to check the 
 condition of the whip they will use before lashing their backs.
 
 It warned that dirty whips could lead to tetanus and other infections.
 
 Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that as was hard to discourage 
 "flagellants from whipping their own flesh, the best penitents can do is 
 ensure that their whips are well-maintained. "
 
 According to the Manila Times, in San Fernando City, Pampanga, some 23 
 people, including two women, plan to reenact the crucifixion on Friday.
 
 "We are not trying to go against the Lenten tradition here because whipping 
 has somewhat already become some form of 'atonement for sins' for some of 
 us," Duque said.
 
 "But this advice is important to make sure that no one will land in the 
 hospital due to tetanus or other infections that penitents might get in the 
 process," he said.
 
 The health department has also warned that the six-inch (15-centimetre) 
 nails used in crucifixions should be sterilised.
 
 :-)
 

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