Now Pope Francis (who has since becoming pope disregarded the law of the Church) has decided to change the Roman Missal so that each Holy Thursday in Catholic parishes around the world priests and their deacons will now imitate Pope Francis rather than Jesus Christ by washing the feet of women. Ahhh...progress! I bet Nancy Pelosi's toes are wiggling in expectation already!
Quote from Pope Francis: “After careful consideration, I have decided to make a change to the Roman Missal. I therefore decree that the section according to which those persons chosen for the washing of the feet must be men or boys, so that from now on the Pastors of the Church may choose the participants in the rite from among all the members of the People of God. I also recommend that an adequate explanation of the rite itself be provided to those who are chosen.”
What's next...washing Muslim feet? Oh wait...
*sigh*
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
Source: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/de/bollettino/pubblico/2016/01/21/0041/00085.html
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/01/21/pope-francis-opens-holy-thursday-foot-washing-rite-to-women/
"Now Pope Francis (who has since becoming pope disregarded the law of the Church)..."
ReplyDeleteThis statement is true but incomplete, as the present pope actually began disregarding the law of the Church in this matter while he was a bishop.
There are photos of him, available on the Internet, washing the feet of females during Holy Thursday services at a time when that was forbidden.
So much for rules. The pope doesn't have much use for them.
Difficult to see why anyone would feel compelled to follow his directives when he himself, while bishop, did not follow directives.
In any event, the ritual of foot washing on Holy Thursday is optional and wasn't really prevalent until modern times.
For those of us who don't attend Roman Rite churches on Holy Thursday, we don't even have the practice, and never have. It's not part of the liturgical tradition.
It is a very sad day when a pope of the Holy Roman Church has forgotten or ignores the example of Christ with regards to the rituals directly oriented to sacerdotal service. What kind of remedy for a loss of faith is an abandonment of meaning and the avoidance of the responsibility to hand on the Faith?
ReplyDeleteFeelings and politics have trumped (historical, theological and liturgical) facts.
For what does it profit a pope to gain the whole world and forfeit the sacred Tradition of the Church?
Perhaps this is a sign to leave the Roman family and head east to the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
@ Julie:
ReplyDeleteAnd yet right there in Vatican II Nostra Aetate, we have a very clear departure from reality - that is clarity - in the following:
"... In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship."
...and:
"....The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting."
********
If one holds that VII is perfectly in line with Catholic tradition then one must assent to the assertion that Muslims are seeking to carry out the inscrutable decrees of God (not being allowed to act by way of God's permissive will). That said, why intimate that washing the feet of Muslims is somehow beyond the pale? If the new walking orders are to focus on what we have in common instead of promoting that which is Catholic and true?
What I'm saying is that if we expect Church hierarchy to behave in an Orthodox fashion, we cannot endorse VII as merely problematic by way of interpretation or dismiss those who call it into question. The documents introduce novelty by way of "pastoral" speak, the very same "pastoral" speak that allows for Pope Francis to pretend that the washing of the feet has some other inclusive meaning that would allow him to dismiss rubrics long before becoming Pope.
It's all about blurring the lines of truth, Julie. In 'her task of promoting unity and love among men,' seems to be trumping the duty to safeguard and hand down the full Deposit of the Catholic Faith. As if doing the latter is an obstacle to true unity and 'true' love among men.
The Holy Father is acting in full accord with the propositions of change in VII -'pastoral' changes that are really code word for leaving the doctrine untouched while doing whatever one deigns necessary to play nice. That's a promotion of false unity. So fasten your seatbelts because it's going to be a bumpy night.
There's absolutely no point in blaming Francis. He's just part of the collective. Unfortunately those who see Christ (Truth) as a stumbling block are not those who will be rewarded. Likely that is why we are warned not to build out house - or our catechism - on a foundation of shifting sand.
@ Isten Joe:
ReplyDeleteThere are photographs of those offering a prototype of the Novus Ordo Missae when it was forbidden, too. Same thing with communion in the hand here in the States, pressed upon the faithful as a liturgical abuse until it was seemingly established as a 'cultural norm' so that the USCCB could petition Rome for an indult. Kind of like a girl getting pregnant so that her family will be forced to allow a marriage that her parents otherwise would have never approved.
Francis is just following the norms under which he was formed. Move where thou wilt, call it the Spirit, and we're all good as we jump off the cliff at the behest of Satan because, after all, it is written that the Angels will not let you dash your foot against a stone.