A person who dresses up as Jesus and sings a rock version of The Lord’s Prayer has been arrested in the Philippines. This has caused a big argument about free speech and protecting LGBTQ people.
The Philippines is a country where many people believe in Christianity, especially the Catholic Church. This church has a strong impact on everyday life and politics.
Amadeus Fernando Pagente, who is 33 years old and performs as Pura Luka Vega in drag, was accused by Catholic church officials and others of blasphemy. This happened after videos of their performance singing the Tagalog version of the prayer called “Ama Namin” became very popular online in July.
The person was arrested by the police on Wednesday for doing something that was against the law. The law says that it is not allowed to do things that are disrespectful to any religion. The information about the arrest was shared by the person’s legal team on a website called X. The claims suggest that they broke a law about cyber crime because they shared the video online, supposedly to carry out the crime that was mentioned.
The lawyers promised to challenge the accusations against Pagente and first work on getting him released on bail.
Videos of a drag performer singing The Lord’s Prayer in Tagalog with people at a bar got a lot of negative feedback from religious groups.
The show caused a big controversy in the Philippines. Pagente was seen wearing fancy clothes that looked like what Catholic priests wear, and had a golden circle above their head. The controversy lasted for weeks and was talked about a lot in the news. More than a dozen cities, including the capital Manila where Pagente lives, declared that Pagente was no longer welcome.
Pagente was arrested because a group called Hijos Del Nazareno Central filed a complaint against him. This group represents people who are devoted to the Black Nazarene, a special sculpture of Jesus that was brought from Mexico to the Philippines in 1606. These people believe that the sculpture has magical powers.
The group famously plans a big yearly religious parade in Quezon City that attracts a large number of religious followers.
Hijos Del Nazareno Central posted on Facebook after Pagente’s arrest, saying that its followers will not tolerate any disrespect towards the name of Jesus of the Nazarene. CNN has contacted the group for more information.
Many politicians, including senators, also appeared on Philippine television shows to express their disapproval of the drag artist’s performance. They found it disrespectful,offensive, and blasphemous.
The drag artist said sorry to people who didn’t feel good about their show. But they also argued that the act was a type of art, explaining to CNN affiliate CNN Philippines in an interview that the performance portrayed the sense of being left out as a queer individual in a heavily Catholic nation.
I know that some people think my performance is disrespectful,rude, or unfortunate. But they shouldn’t tell me how to follow my religion or how to do my drag performances. The show wasn’t meant for you from the start. This is my personal experience and how I feel about not being allowed to have my rights, the performer wrote in a message on July 13 on X.
Father Jerome Secillano, who speaks for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that the church found the performance disrespectful because it didn’t show proper respect.
“He said that the performance made fun of our beliefs, and he believes that aspects of our beliefs should not be used for worldly purposes, particularly for amusement. “
But Secillano did not say whether the church thought that arresting Pagente was the correct action to protect the faith.
Almost 80% of people in the Philippines consider themselves to be Roman Catholic and the church is still very influential and powerful.
The Philippines is one of the few countries, alongside Vatican City, where divorce is still not permitted. Same-sex marriage and abortion are not allowed or permitted. A law that prevents discrimination and helps minorities has not been making progress in congress because of opposition from conservatives.
Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that Pagente’s arrest was very upsetting and an excessive response by those who were offended.
As mall group of people who claim to be offended by Pura Luka [Vega] are the ones pushing this case, not all Filipinos. They are using existing laws to target and harm LGBT people. This was stated by Conde in an email to CNN.
Pagente was a participant on the reality competition show called”DragDen,” which started in December 2022 and is available on Amazon Prime.
The show, directed by Rod Singh, who is a transgender person from the Philippines, took place in an underground location. It showed the drag queens’ lively and bold characters while also highlighting their need to stay rebellious in a society that has traditional beliefs.
After Pagente’s arrest, Singh supported and spoke out for him, as she considers him both a friend and coworker. She stated on X that the problem at hand is no longer just about a drag performance or one’s beliefs in God or religion. Whether you like to accept it or not, your unfair judgment against our community and the rights we need is the main issue.
When you have your eyes open, you have faith and show respect to a God that you can’t see, but you ignore the important aspects of life and human rights when you close your eyes and ignore them. You learned how to pray, but you didn’t learn how to comprehend. Singh said that you shouldn’t ask for something if you can’t give it.
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Pura Luka Vega detained after Jesus performance sparked Catholic criticism
