Shocking news from Rome today.
The pope has always washed feet on Holy Thursday, just as priests do the world over.
Today, for the first time ever, the Pope washed (and kissed!) the foot of a woman--in fact two. One of them was even a Muslim prisoner.
I'm curious to hear what the diehard conservative Catholics are going to do about this. The Catholic clergy wash the feet of men because they believe that all of Jesus' disciples were men. To wash and kiss the feet of a woman is simply shocking, radical. What will the traditionalists do? Diss a sitting pope, who is infallible?
Beyond this radical act, he also urged Catholics to "go out to the outskirts where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord.”
It's not the first time that Pope Francis has washed and kissed the feet of women--he has already done so in jails, hospitals, and old people's homes, including pregnant mothers and AIDS patients.
I know that the Catholic church is not going to be ordaining women anytime soon, much less supporting gay marriage, but this is an amazing step forward for the church.
The pope has always washed feet on Holy Thursday, just as priests do the world over. Today, for the first time ever, the Pope washed (and kissed!) the foot of a woman--in fact two. One of them was even a Muslim prisoner.
I'm curious to hear what the diehard conservative Catholics are going to do about this. The Catholic clergy wash the feet of men because they believe that all of Jesus' disciples were men. To wash and kiss the feet of a woman is simply shocking, radical. What will the traditionalists do? Diss a sitting pope, who is infallible?
Beyond this radical act, he also urged Catholics to "go out to the outskirts where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord.”
It's not the first time that Pope Francis has washed and kissed the feet of women--he has already done so in jails, hospitals, and old people's homes, including pregnant mothers and AIDS patients.
I know that the Catholic church is not going to be ordaining women anytime soon, much less supporting gay marriage, but this is an amazing step forward for the church.
Thank your for your insightful comment! It's rare to see such innovation from the Catholic faith. I hope this is the beginning of the long road to accepting gay marriage/homosexuality in general and ordaining women in the church.
ReplyDelete