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Eco group warns vs. lead paint in John Paul II statues
Days ahead of Blessed John Paul II's canonization this Sunday, an ecological group warned Filipino Catholics against buying statues of the late pontiff that it said contained lead paint.
The EcoWaste Coalition said such statues are sold in religious craft stores and sidewalk vendors in Oroquieta and Tayuman Streets and outside Quiapo Church in Manila.
"All five samples of (John Paul II) statues donning different liturgical vestments and costing between P200 to P650 were found to contain lead up to almost 10,000 parts per million (ppm), way above the regulatory limit of 90 ppm, as per screening ... using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device," the group said.
It asked Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas to "seriously look into our findings and back our proposal for religious statue makers to voluntarily switch to lead-safe paint coatings.”
John Paul II remains very popular with Filipinos. He visited the Philippines in 1981 and 1995. He and Pope John XXIII are to be canonized this Sunday.
EcoWaste coordinator Aileen Lucero added that since John Paul II had taken a "clear stance against chemical pollution, we find it only fitting that the statues and other mementos made in honor of the ‘environmental pope’ should be safe from health-damaging substances like lead.”
“In fact, all religious statues, which many Catholic adults and (children) customarily touch and kiss as an expression of faith and reverence, should be toxic-free,” she added.
“We further hope that the Church, inspired by SJPII’s teachings on protecting human health and the environment, will go beyond making statues lead-free, but take further action to ensure that paints used in churches and other church-run institutions such as schools, hospitals, orphanages and other child-occupied facilities are compliant with the country’s regulatory policy for lead,” she said.
Contaminated with lead
The group said the statues of the late Pope were found contaminated with lead:
- a nine-inch statuette wearing yellow chasuble had 1,401 ppm of lead. It was bought from a Quiapo Church sidewalk vendor for P200)
- a 12-inch image donning a yellow chasuble had 1,214 ppm of lead. It was bought from HF Religious Art Shop, Tayuman St., Manila, for P250
- a nine-inch statuette in yellow chasuble had 1,146 ppm of lead. It was bought from a Quiapo Church sidewalk vendor for P200
- a 12-inch statue in white chasuble and sitting on a papal chair had 1,069 ppm of lead. It was bought at Sto. Niño Catholic House, Inc., Tayuman St., Manila, for P650
Also, the group said lead exposure is detrimental to everyone, and harms children, especially those aged six years and below.
Other religious images the group screened for Holy Week were likewise found contaminated with lead, including an 11-inch “Santo Niño de la Pera” that had 33,300 ppm of lead.
The group said John Paul II is regarded by many as an “environmental pope,” having spoken about the environment and good stewardship of the Creation.
It added he had spoken about the threat of pollution of the natural environment and the protection of citizens from exposure to dangerous pollutants. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News
