A sign stating “Non-Catholics please do not go forward” was placed at the front of the Macau Cathedral recently and has become a hot topic in the city. Despite its wording however, the sign reflects a deeper problem: how to handle the rising number of tourists visiting heritage sites and places of religious worship?
插畫 ILLUSTRATION RUI RASQUINHO
Some come with their maps in hand, some with audio guides playing in their ears, nearly all with cameras at the ready. But tourists to Macau have had one thing in common recently. When entering the Macau Cathedral, located in the central district, they have all been confronted with a sign saying “Non-Catholics please do not go forward”, written in Chinese and English.
Placed inside the Cathedral, the sign also bans non-Catholics from sitting on the wooden pews – at least comfortably. When they enter the church, the only places available for non-Catholics to sit down and take a rest are the remaining benches. Even here it is difficult to sit for too long since they are arranged so closely together that there is no space to stretch your legs.
This was not a big problem for a couple from Malaysia who visited the Cathedral recently. They just passed the sign and sat on the benches to pray. Both are Catholics, but even so, they don’t appreciate what the message expresses.
“I don’t think it is friendly. For me it would be enough if there was a ‘Silence’ sign instead. People would also understand the request”, says the man.
Another group of tourists from Mainland China share the same view and suggest that a more subtle approach would be better.
Since being placed at the Macau Cathedral a few weeks ago, the sign has generated a buzz within the local community. The reason behind the decision to place the sign is quite evident. In 2010, on average about 61,400 tourists entered Macau each day in the month of June. Four years later that number has increased to 78,453 a day – 28 percent more.
Even tourists seem to be aware of the problem.
“I don’t know [the reason behind the sign], but it must have something to do with the number of tourists in town, so I understand why there is a sign like this”, says a tourist from Taiwan. “Sometimes visitors can disturb those who are here to worship and pray. So for me this sign is OK. I also took my hat off when I entered”, adds the man, also a Catholic.
Vicar Luís Sequeira, who was not personally responsible for the sign, used precisely the same argument while giving his views on the issue to Macau CLOSER’s sister publication, Portuguese-language newspaper Ponto Final.
“It is unpleasant for those praying to be constantly disturbed by people that don’t remain silent and are even taking photographs”, stressed the vicar.
The priest also pointed out that there were “Silent” signs in the Cathedral, but these weren’t enough, as the distressing situations persisted.
Admitting that the Cathedral’s method of conveying information through the sign was not ideal, the priest nonetheless understands the decision in general terms.
“The number of tourists has been rising and since these visitors are not Catholics, they are noisy and not used to respecting a place of worship”, justifies the priest.
Vicar Sequeira also mentioned cases of tourists who joined the queue to receive Holy Communion without realizing that it is against the norms of the Catholic Church – the act is reserved for baptized people, according to the Canon Law.
There are even reports of people washing their hands in the holy water basin.
Questioned as to whether he considered that the message on the sign could be seen as too blunt for those who do know how to behave, the priest admitted that the sign could “leave a bad impression” on them.
Caritas Macau Secretary General. Mr. Paul Pun agrees and stresses that if a sign like that had been placed in the church decades ago, his life might have turned out very differently.
“Forty years ago I was just someone who was trying to become a Catholic and [if I had seen that sign] I couldn’t have prayed in the church”, he notes.
He considers that the Catholic Church’s mission should be to “embrace people, even tourists who profess other religions or even those without any faith. I hope this sign is not in any other church”.
It fact, of all the nine Catholic churches in Macau, this type of sign has only appeared at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, as it is the Mother Church of Macau. However, the question remains: how to address the problem of too many tourists?
“The fact that the Church has decided to post a sign like this is symptomatic of how difficult it is to manage the number of tourists in the city. It is a pity”, regrets Rui Leão, vice-president of the Architects Association and also a member of the Heritage Council.
Anthony Wong, assistant professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies, agrees. For the scholar, this situation is a sign of saturation in terms of the number of visitors in Macau.
“In fact, the Cathedral (located in the center of a busy tourist area) has welcomed the influx of tourists up till now, even though it may have disrupted the church operations and church-goers”, recognizes the specialist.
However, Mr. Wong stresses that the question should be handled with care.
“Putting a sign like this should be executed with caution, because for tourists, it could be an indication of religious discrimination or hostile attitudes towards them. If the church is truly open to the public, then the content of the sign should better explain why some people – tourists – are not allowed to enter. Otherwise, they may feel unwelcome”, says the scholar.
“This is especially important to Macau’s tourism industry as the Cathedral has been promoted as a major heritage site. You certainly don’t want to promote the site to tourists and then tell them they are not welcome”.
Responding to CLOSER’s enquiries, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) mentions that both sides need to play their part.
“When visitors go to different temples and churches they must observe certain behaviours and rules. At the same time, we are convinced that the entities in charge of the temples and churches must keep an attitude of respect so that visitors can have a special experience”, stresses the department.
But the strategies on how to best cope with the problem differ from one specialist to another.
For architect Rui Leão, for instance, the Cultural Institute “can establish some policies such as hiring security guards” because “it is not difficult to do that”.
In fact, this has already been done, but not in an official way. During the day there are two women in the Cathedral who are engaged to help guide the tourists, occasionally telling them what they can and can’t do.
Vitor Teixeira, a lecturer at the University of Saint Joseph’s and a specialist in issues of Heritage Conservation, suggests another solution.
“Probably we can follow the example of churches in Spain as a temporary solution: charging a small fee to enter – just to improve safety and also train technicians for these purposes”.
Anthony Wong advises a different approach.
“I would encourage the church to work with MGTO and other departments to provide large signs explaining that during certain times the Cathedral is reserved for religious practices. I would also place a large computer screen outside the Cathedral (actually all other heritage sites as well) explaining its significance.”
“Once visitors understand that this particular site is not only a heritage place for tourists, but it still functions as a sacred place for religious practices, I believe they will respect the place and the religion better”, explains the scholar.
Despite the criticism regarding the sign at the Cathedral, the Macau Government did not receive any complaints about it.
On the other hand, there have been complaints about the rising number of visitors in Macau. Between January and June the MGTO received four complaints from visitors about the excessive numbers of tourists near the Ruins of St. Paul and Avenida Almeida Ribeiro.
Whether you agree with the sign or not, one thing is certain; when tourists are asked if it is the first time they have seen a sign like this, they all give the same answer: yes.
Temples not affected
Some rest and eat in the temples, but those responsible for the temples do not accuse tourists of being disrespectful. To cope with the large numbers of tourists during the festive dates, they simply limit the number of visitors who can enter the sacred spaces at any given time.
“On Chinese New Year the police do control the number of people who enter so we don’t have to worry. On regular days, groups don’t cause problems. We welcome everyone. Sometimes we do control the number of people, but we let everyone in”, explains Seng Yuk, the monk in charge of Kum Iam Temple.
“They eat and rest here, but we do not stop them. Kun Iam Temple is a place where their ancestors are, so families come here to pay their tributes to them. As long as they are sincere and do not damage anything they are welcome. Usually, visitors respect our culture, sometimes they even buy incense and pray”, says the monk.
In the most visited temple of Macau, A-Ma, the approach is similar.
“We have an area where visitors can rest, eat and smoke. For us it is not a problem for them to eat. We are open to everyone. See this sign here? [(萬派朝宗] it means that all branches point to the same deity”, says Vicente When, who is in charge of the temple.
The control of visitors is also applied at Na Tcha Temple – only groups of 15 to 20 people are allowed in at a time.
“We cannot let them all in at the same time. But that doesn’t mean that they are not all welcome,” say Vicente. “Tourists come from so far away to visit us, so of course they are welcome”.
