Outrage of crucifixion stunt

Devout Catholic followers of Good Friday’s crucifixion rituals in the rural Philippines village of Kapitangan are outraged and devastated to learn that an Australian comic’s nailing to the cross alongside local penitents was a TV comedy show stunt.

Identifying himself as John Michael from Melbourne, 33-year-old John Safran reportedly went through the ordeal for an upcoming ABC Television series.

Safran joined three local men and one woman in being nailed to wooden crosses in Kapitangan town, just outside Manila.

Local media reported that villagers in the isolated part of Bulacan province north of Manila were bewildered to learn after the event that Safran was not even a Christian.

Safran, who is Jewish, is infamous for his radical attempts at religious satire, including running nude through Jerusalem’s streets and asking forgiveness from a priest for masturbating in his bed.

Buboy Dionisio, nailed to the cross along with Safran, said he could not understand why the comedian and his producers had falsely claimed to be making a serious TV show.

"John Safran gave us a false name. He said he was John Michael and he never told us he wanted to make a show that would say funny things about our religion and that would be anti-Christ," Dionisio said.

"John Safran’s producer told us he was making a National Geographic kind of show about different religious practices."

Safran, Dionisio said, suffered some bleeding to his hands and feet after the crucifixion but otherwise seemed OK.

The comedian and his crew — believed to be filming for an ABC TV series John Safran’s Race Relations to be screened this year — were threatened with deportation and forced to sign an affidavit pledging not to use footage mocking crucifixion rituals.

Dionisio realized he had been used after photographs were published showing the Australian media personality hanging from a cross.

Dionisio tracked the team to its Manila hotel before its flight to Australia and forced the members to sign an affidavit promising not to use the footage for comic purposes.

The ABC team was also forced to pay Dionisio for the use of jeepneys, the food they consumed and the medical assistance offered during the ritual.

Kapitangan Village councillor Cleotilde Gaspar was shocked Safran was making a comedy show because he had "really been crucified with the nails going all the way through his hand".

"But if he is making fun of us and what we do that is very serious for us because for us it is not funny," she said.

The Philippines is renowned for its gory annual Good Friday rituals imitating the suffering of Jesus.

Although the rituals are not formally endorsed by the Catholic Church, they are carried out as part of religious practices.