Since our new Holy Father washed the feet of two women, the issue took on a whole new look after I wrote that post (which was merely a re-write of my previous year's post on the same topic). The fact that the media picked up on the significance of the Holy Father's controversial act makes it quite evident that just about everyone knows that the washing of women's feet is not permitted - otherwise Pope Francis would not have made such a news splash!
If you haven't seen them, here are links to some excellent analysis by Dr. Ed Peters:
Women of course is the big news. But what about the additional "let's-just-wing-it" move of also including non-Catholics (Muslim). Lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the links to Dr. Ed's posts. Unfortunately, mastery of canon law should not be a requirement for the average person. When it gets down to such minutiae, that is a sign of trouble.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is that it appears that Pappa seems to have set a bad example which undercuts the authority of the Church. We need a good shepherd.
On the other hand, note that Jesus did wash the feet of his betrayer (Jn 13:10-11).
Too bad there is so much discussion about the rubrics of the ritual rather than the meaning and significance. What is Jesus calling us to do (Jn 13:14-15)?