Cardinal wants gays barred from Santacruzan

MANILA, Philippines - If Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales would have his way, gays or male homosexuals would not be allowed participation in the traditional Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo. According to Rosales, allowing gays to be part of the Santacruzan “defeats the real purpose of the religious procession." “Instead of giving honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary, you are destroying the devotion by having gays there instead of women. As a result it becomes a laughing matter," the Cardinal told Radio Veritas in an interview. The country observes the Flores de Mayo festival every month of May, and the highlight of which is the Santacruzan, a procession that features beautifully dressed young women portraying queens from the past. During the radio interview, Rosales recalled that there was a time when he called the attention of a fiesta organizer for having gays in the procession. “I told them that’s not right because that’s a procession. You are destroying the purity of the devotion," he said. He added that the incident prompted him to issue a circular saying that any parish or chapel that will use gays in a procession honoring the Virgin Mary will not be allowed to have Mass. Rosales, however, clarified that he is not against gays or homosexuals, but rather merely keeping the “sacredness" of the Santacruzan. “We should keep sacred what is sacred," he said, adding that organizers who want to have gays to instead organize a parade and not a procession. “The procession is religious. What the baranggay can do is organize a parade. It cannot be a Santacruzan because you have the Blessed Mother there. That’s horrendous. I don’t know how to put it. That’s an insult to the Blessed Mother," Rosale said. - GMANews.TV