Limbo’s impact on Philippine folk beliefs
So now the Vatican has officially declared that Limbo does not exist as it had taught since the 13th century.
Limbo, from the Latin word meaning “border” or “edge,” was considered by medieval Catholic theologians to be a state or place reserved for the unbaptized dead, including good people who lived before the coming of Christ.
The declaration was made by the International Theological Commission, a body of Vatican-appointed theologians who advise the Pope and the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The present Pope, Benedict XVI, headed the Congregation for 20 years before becoming Pope in 2005.
According to the news item that appeared in the Inquirer on April 22, “while the report does not carry the authority of a papal encyclical or even the weight of a formal document from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it was approved by the Pope on Jan. 19 and was published on the Internet—an indication that it was intended to be widely read by the faithful.”
ImplicationsThe implications of this declaration, that Limbo does not exist and therefore infants who die without being baptized can still be saved and enjoy eternal happiness, will be debated for years to come by theologians. Let us leave the debate to them. What interests me at the moment is what impact this reversal of a long held Church teaching will have on Philippine folklore, on the beliefs and practices of Filipino albolaryos, healers, occult practitioners and mystics.
Philippine folk religious beliefs often mimic or follow the outward rituals of the Catholic Church while changing their meaning or intent. For example, the Catholic belief that unbaptized infants who die go to limbo has given rise to the folk belief that such infants become tianaks, or engkantos who are mischievous elemental creatures. The negative engkantos are believed to be those who die without being baptized and therefore are still tainted by original sin.
Another example of such mimicry is in the practice of sorcery. I learned that one well-known and confessed sorcerer of Siquijor Island (who died already), used to go to the oldest Church in the island to pray for the success of what he was about to do, i.e. to inflict sickness, harm or even death on his victim. He would ask the help of God and his angels to help him succeed in his task, saying it is not his intention to harm this person but was only hired to do so. This is similar to the perverted reasoning of a hired killer who justifies his action by saying he is only doing a job he is being paid to do and had nothing against the person he was going to kill. And therefore the assassin should not be blamed for the crime.
A French film company actually filmed the entire process of sorcery performed by this sorcerer, from the initial preparation to its actual execution. It’s a sickening and shocking movie to watch. Only the victim’s identity was not shown. What was shocking to me was that all the preparation the sorcerer made followed exactly the rituals of the Catholic Mass and asked God’s blessing for what he was about to do.
How the Filipino folk belief in the unbaptized children as the bad guys will evolve, now that limbo has been eliminated, remains to be seen. Will belief in tianaks or negative engkantos be redefined too? We can only speculate what will happen.
Revised teachingsThis is not the first time the Catholic Church has reversed its own teaching or belief. The Church used to believe that the sun revolved around a stationary earth. And Galileo was arrested and put on trial for saying otherwise. He would have been executed had he not retracted his statement. Centuries later, the Church apologized to him.
A worse fate befell the young French peasant woman, Joan of Arc. She was burned at the stake as a witch. Four hundred years later, the Catholic Church declared her to be a saint!
The late Pope John Paul II, now in the process of being declared a saint, also issued an apology to those who suffered from the persecutions of the Church, referring to the excesses of the infamous Inquisitions during which tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children were mercilessly tortured and killed for allegedly “practicing witchcraft” or “being in league with the devil.”
As science advances our knowledge of the universe we live in, more outmoded teachings of the Church will be revised or redefined in the near future, just as it happened to the belief in Limbo.
Would it be farfetched to speculate that when science finally proves the possibility of multiple rebirth, the church may also reverse its current stand against reincarnation?
Note: For inquiries on books, paranormal services and seminars on Inner Mind Development, ESP and Intuition Development, and Soulmates, Karma & Reincarnation conducted by this writer, call 8107245, 8926806; or fax 8159890. E-mail the author at innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=64637
Limbo, from the Latin word meaning “border” or “edge,” was considered by medieval Catholic theologians to be a state or place reserved for the unbaptized dead, including good people who lived before the coming of Christ.
The declaration was made by the International Theological Commission, a body of Vatican-appointed theologians who advise the Pope and the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The present Pope, Benedict XVI, headed the Congregation for 20 years before becoming Pope in 2005.
According to the news item that appeared in the Inquirer on April 22, “while the report does not carry the authority of a papal encyclical or even the weight of a formal document from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it was approved by the Pope on Jan. 19 and was published on the Internet—an indication that it was intended to be widely read by the faithful.”
ImplicationsThe implications of this declaration, that Limbo does not exist and therefore infants who die without being baptized can still be saved and enjoy eternal happiness, will be debated for years to come by theologians. Let us leave the debate to them. What interests me at the moment is what impact this reversal of a long held Church teaching will have on Philippine folklore, on the beliefs and practices of Filipino albolaryos, healers, occult practitioners and mystics.
Philippine folk religious beliefs often mimic or follow the outward rituals of the Catholic Church while changing their meaning or intent. For example, the Catholic belief that unbaptized infants who die go to limbo has given rise to the folk belief that such infants become tianaks, or engkantos who are mischievous elemental creatures. The negative engkantos are believed to be those who die without being baptized and therefore are still tainted by original sin.
Another example of such mimicry is in the practice of sorcery. I learned that one well-known and confessed sorcerer of Siquijor Island (who died already), used to go to the oldest Church in the island to pray for the success of what he was about to do, i.e. to inflict sickness, harm or even death on his victim. He would ask the help of God and his angels to help him succeed in his task, saying it is not his intention to harm this person but was only hired to do so. This is similar to the perverted reasoning of a hired killer who justifies his action by saying he is only doing a job he is being paid to do and had nothing against the person he was going to kill. And therefore the assassin should not be blamed for the crime.
A French film company actually filmed the entire process of sorcery performed by this sorcerer, from the initial preparation to its actual execution. It’s a sickening and shocking movie to watch. Only the victim’s identity was not shown. What was shocking to me was that all the preparation the sorcerer made followed exactly the rituals of the Catholic Mass and asked God’s blessing for what he was about to do.
How the Filipino folk belief in the unbaptized children as the bad guys will evolve, now that limbo has been eliminated, remains to be seen. Will belief in tianaks or negative engkantos be redefined too? We can only speculate what will happen.
Revised teachingsThis is not the first time the Catholic Church has reversed its own teaching or belief. The Church used to believe that the sun revolved around a stationary earth. And Galileo was arrested and put on trial for saying otherwise. He would have been executed had he not retracted his statement. Centuries later, the Church apologized to him.
A worse fate befell the young French peasant woman, Joan of Arc. She was burned at the stake as a witch. Four hundred years later, the Catholic Church declared her to be a saint!
The late Pope John Paul II, now in the process of being declared a saint, also issued an apology to those who suffered from the persecutions of the Church, referring to the excesses of the infamous Inquisitions during which tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children were mercilessly tortured and killed for allegedly “practicing witchcraft” or “being in league with the devil.”
As science advances our knowledge of the universe we live in, more outmoded teachings of the Church will be revised or redefined in the near future, just as it happened to the belief in Limbo.
Would it be farfetched to speculate that when science finally proves the possibility of multiple rebirth, the church may also reverse its current stand against reincarnation?
Note: For inquiries on books, paranormal services and seminars on Inner Mind Development, ESP and Intuition Development, and Soulmates, Karma & Reincarnation conducted by this writer, call 8107245, 8926806; or fax 8159890. E-mail the author at innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=64637
posted by Misteryo Philippines Network (MPN) at 2:49 PM
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