Pope washes women's feet in break with church law

ROME (AP) — In his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center — a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men. No pope has ever washed the feet of a woman before, and Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who lamented he had set a "questionable example." Liberals welcomed the move as a sign of greater inclusiveness in the church. Speaking to the young offenders, including Muslims and Orthodox Christians, Francis said that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.
source

Something tells me that this is genuine.

Despite being a non-Christian, I will say that this is the kind of leaders the world needs.
Its a great reminder that leaders are meant to serve, not rule over the people like royals.

I know a lot of people will dismiss this as a photo-op, but such people damn the Pope regardless of what he does anyway.

Or is this a sign of something else? Like how the candle burns brightest just before it goes out?

Originally posted by sk0rpi0n
Something tells me that this is genuine. ...
Or is this a sign of something else? Like how the candle burns brightest just before it goes out?

BOTH. IMHO

I believe he is genuine. A true christian.
Someone who has Jesus Himself as his role model.
And I fear for his safety.
ETA - the 'candle burning out' ... that's the Catholic Church imploding ....

Quite the controversial ritual.
Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come.
However it is going to take a lot more than washing feet to change perception of the Vatican.
I'd start with firing the child molesters.


Takes humility, especially seems out of character considering the alleged things he has said about women in the past.

I'm not religious in the slightest but I'm seeing the actions of the new Pope and like what I'm seeing , I hope its not just the enthusiasm for his new job and he can continue on this reform path in the years ahead .

I like Pope Francis better the previous Pope and wonder how his Papal reign will shape the future of the Catholic Church.

It usually takes time for a pope to earn any respect from me as a non religious person.
Francis is blowing me away

A true christian with the original values in mind it seems
Let's hope other leaders learn to follow his exemplary example to date

Cody

to all the people saying , i like him, he's cool blah, blah....

would you trust him with your 8 year old kid?


....no?

i thought so

reply to post by jazzguy


Until proven otherwise
Why not ?

Unless you can enlighten us as to why it would be unsafe, with, direct connections to Francis, and actual proof.

Cody

reply to post by jazzguy

would you trust him with your 8 year old kid?

Would I trust you with my 8 year old kid .
No

Judging a person on the actions of others makes no sense .

I'd like to think he's a genuinely humble person, that's the feeling I get when I hear him speak and how he has acted until now, definitely a departure from the previous pope.
But could he be just a puppet? Hmm, the conspiracy theorist inside me says that nothing is as it seems. The Roman Catholic church in need of a boost in ratings?

Originally posted by athousandlives
I'd like to think he's a genuinely humble person, that's the feeling I get when I hear him speak and how he has acted until now, definitely a departure from the previous pope.
But could he be just a puppet? Hmm, the conspiracy theorist inside me says that nothing is as it seems. The Roman Catholic church in need of a boost in ratings?

I agree. Something seems not right about this......hook, line, and reel em in.....then surprise!

Honestly not being crass... but people who truly do act as Christ did tend to end up martyred. For some reason true kindness and selflessness scares the Hell out of some people and they react homicidally towards it.

I'm not Catholic but the more I learn about this man, the more I respect him as a human being and as an example of what we are all supposed to aspire to.

I agree. Something seems not right about this......hook, line, and reel em in.....then surprise!

My thoughts exactly. I actually have found myself amazed by this Pope and feeling quite good about him. That right there makes me step back for a moment and r-examine. What must be going on for ME to be excited about a pope?
I do hope, however, that he is the real deal. I hope for humanity's sake that he is.
I guess I have Pope Hope.

Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who lamented he had set a "questionable example."

I honestly wonder what that "questionable example" would be. Now, I'm not much of a Catholic, but while I understand the tradition of only washing twelve feet of the male variety, to mimic Christ's actions with the Apostles, I fail to see what is wrong about washing a woman's feet.

And I'm surprised that the real uproar isn't over the fact that one of the women was a Muslim (again, I don't have an issue with that, but if the grousing is related to the implication that a woman could be an Apostle, what about the implication that a Muslim could be an Apostle?)

Like a few other posters, I have some level of concern for Francis' well being. Though there is a lot of praise for him from both within and outside of the church (our priest referenced this foot-washing incident in his Holy Thursday homily last night,) all it takes is one kook within the Vatican to take matters into his own hands, and we'll be back to another conclave (especially considering Francis eschewing the security previous Popes have had.) I'd like to see more favourable reactions from within the Vatican, particularly as regards things like this, which aren't really all that important and demonstrate that the church cares about all people, not just a select group.

You know, I'm kind of worried for the safety of this pope.

Some may argue that Mary was the 13th apostle as well as the beloved apostle. The council of Nicea changed a lot of things in the Canon. So it is possible, as the 13th apostle, Christ did in fact was the feet of a woman. Remember, Christ was not discriminate of anything. He often hung around the outcast and sinners more because they were the ones that needed him most, the apostles were all sinners, Mathew for example was a tax collector. And at that time women were considered dirt, pretty much. That is why there isn't much mention of women in the canon and when some of them are mentioned they aren't mentioned in a good way.

Francis reminds me of this other pope Pope John Paul I
He was dubbed the smiling pope, for his gentle communicative skills with the people, much like Francis.
He only lasted 33 days (numerologists have a go). Conspiracy theories abound around his sudden death.
Hope this one doesn't have the same fate.

Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories

reply to post by kimish


No, there was no 13th Apostle, any more than Mary is the fourth person in the Trinity.

There's nothing wrong with thinking Mary Magdalene (or any Mary, Martha or Simone) on an equal footing with the male disciples, but that is 20th Century western thinking, not First Century Judaic thinking, or the reality of that patriarchal society.

And the Council of Nicaea had nothing to do with the selection of Biblical canon. That is a known and demonstrable fact, and I wish I had a dollar for every time I have to point it out.

Originally posted by gortex
reply to post by jazzguy

 

would you trust him with your 8 year old kid?

Would I trust you with my 8 year old kid .
No

Judging a person on the actions of others makes no sense .

Well in a sense that is not true. Think handing your 8 year old over the a notorious motor cycle gang for the day. Maybe they have not all committed crimes or will be rough and harmful for the kid to be around...but really the group has a reputation.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n

Isnt he from Brazil or something?

Hes probably a pervert and loves big booty freaks.

Good for him.