MANILA (Reuters) - Barefoot and with their backs bloodied by repeated flogging, Catholic devotees in the Philippines defied a ban on gatherings on Good Friday to perform a ritual of self-flagellation ...

MANILA (Reuters) - A group of 20 Catholic devotees walked barefoot for hours in Manila on Thursday while repeatedly striking their backs with bamboo whips to commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ.

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Shiite Muslims across the globe on Tuesday observed Ashura, an annual commemoration mourning the seventh-century martyrdom of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Imam Hussein bin Ali’s death in the ...

MABALACAT CITY, Philippines - Catholics in the northern Philippine province of Pampanga, many bare-chested and hooded, practice self-flagellation in the sweltering heat in the week before Easter to ...

They self-flagellate for 20 minutes, approximately, hitting their backs with sharp razor blades attached to the end of a string relentlessly. Children, from age 10 up can also participate in the ...

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Medieval Christians habitually whipped themselves to show penance. Credit Suisse Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein is practising his own form of self-flagellation after ...