Filipinos Reenact Jesus’ Ordeal

Dozens of people lugged heavy crosses through dusty streets and whipped their backs into a bloody pulp today in a reenactment of the torture Christians believe Jesus suffered before his Crucifixion.

The annual rituals, highly criticized by the nation’s Roman Catholic leaders, will climax Good Friday as some devotees are nailed to crosses on the day Christians mark the Crucifixion of Jesus. The rituals are part of the four-day Easter celebration, the most important festival in Asia’s only Roman Catholic nation.