Pope Washes Feet And Breaks Liturgical Law

[mortify ii]

I just don't get, why can't our Holy Father respect liturgical law in this matter? People have accused him of being a liberal, and I really don't know what to make of it.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/europe/pope-francis-washes-feet-of-disabled-people/

[Fidei Defensor]

I would guess because he views his duty to service as service to everyone, not just men.

[CrossCuT]

Run away the liberals are taking over! :evil:

[KnightofChrist]

If he is going to do this however, he should revise Liturgical Law than just ignoring it. There is great danger in ignoring Liturgical Law because it could lead to Liturgical lawlessness. 

[mortify ii]

If he is going to do this however, he should revise Liturgical Law than just ignoring it. There is great danger in ignoring Liturgical Law because it could lead to Liturgical lawlessness. 

 

Exactly! Isn't it an act of humility to submit to liturgical law?

[KnightofChrist]

Exactly! Isn't it an act of humility to submit to liturgical law?

 

Yes.

[NotreDame]

My contacts in Argentina don't complain about him for being liberal so much as being annoying. 

 

The whole foot washing thing is weird.  We don't do this in the Eastern Rite.   I never went to a Roman holy Thursday celebration until a couple of years ago.  All I remember is that it was really long.  

 

Yesterday I thought I'd avoid traffic by going to the local Roman Rite Mass.  The priests said it changed and they washed the feet of "ministers" - no idea who these people were, but I'm assuming eucharistic ministers - and then the "ministers" were supposed to wash the feet of anyone who got in line, I guess.  It was really, really, really, weird to me and someone's perfume was making me sick so I just walked out.  It's really a testament to the faith and Eucharist that people are still converting to the faith despite how horrible masses and sermons are at most churches.

 

I'm not up to speed on the liturgical value of including this whole foot washing thing in the mass.  Washing the feet was symbolic of the need for humble service (at least I thought) and I'm not sure it's reflected in these ceremonies.  It's very difficult for humility to be attached to something so ostentatious. 

[LaPetiteSoeur]

I know that the guideline of men only was only written in 1955!!! There were two forms before: Mandatum Pauperam and Mandatum Fratrum. Pauperam = pauper, so "washing of the poor" and Fratrum = brother so "washing of the brothers." It wasn't part of the Holy Thursday liturgy, but a way for popes and bishops to show their humility and call to service.

 

It 1955, when the practice was brought in the Holy Thursday liturgy, everything changed because AT THE TIME, women were not allowed to have any part of the Mass other than reception of the Eucharist. So it became the 12 men. It's still supposed to be, however, a reminder of humility and service, not a redoing of Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles. (but if you really want to get into it, Mary Magdalene is considered the Apostle to the Apostles, so one could go there, but let's not)

 

During Vatican II, no one ever talked about the feet washing during Holy Saturday. Many churches started washing the feet of anyone. I've never been to a Holy Thursday liturgy that didn't have women and children present in the 12. One church even had anyone who wanted in the congregation come up! It has become the custom, as discussed here that in the United States, men and women are allowed to participate. It's an act of "ecclesial unity and Christian charity." 

 

It is so interesting that the Pope is now washing the feet of people of different faiths--perhaps it is a sign that he really is here to serve all, like Christ did! But I don't know, since I'm not a pope or a theologian, just someone who likes books and thinks women should really be participating.

 

​Anywho, if you are interested, there is a great book by Peter Jeffrey called A New Commandment: Toward a Renewed Rite for the Washing of Feet. Go forth and read if you are a totally nerd like me!

[mortify ii]

 

 

​Anywho, if you are interested, there is a great book by Peter Jeffrey called A New Commandment: Toward a Renewed Rite for the Washing of Feet. Go forth and read if you are a totally nerd like me!

 

 

Why can't the Holy Father just follow liturgical law? Or if he feel it needs updating, why not change it? Instead, he chooses to nonchalantly break it. 

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Why can't the Holy Father just follow liturgical law? Or if he feel it needs updating, why not change it? Instead, he chooses to nonchalantly break it. 

 

From the Holy Thursday Mandatum 1987:

 

"Because the gospel of the mandatum read on Holy Thursday also depicts Jesus as the "Teacher and Lord" who humbly serves his disciples by performing this extraordinary gesture which goes beyond the laws of hospitality,² the element of humble service has accentuated the celebration of the foot washing rite in the United States over the last decade or more. In this regard, it has become customary in many places to invite both men and women to be participants in this rite in recognition of the service that should be given by all the faithful to the Church and to the world. Thus, in the United States, a variation in the rite developed in which not only charity is signified but also humble service.

 

While this variation may differ from the rubric of the Sacramentary which mentions only men ("vidi selecti"), it may nevertheless be said that the intention to emphasize service along with charity in the celebration of the rite is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, "who came to serve and not to be served," that all members of the Church must serve one another in love."

 

[NOTE I don't know why it won't go in the quote box but it won't]

 

Anyway, he may not feel like he needs to change the law since it is now the custom. Also, I don't know how complicated it is to just change liturgical laws but if it is anything like changing the translation of the Mass I would suspect it is rather difficult. It would also be controversial from both sides and start arguments within the church about the roles of women even though the official law was only codified in 1955. 

 

So I don't know why he chooses to break the laws, but it is custom in Italy, in much of Western Europe, and in the United States to include women. Therefore it is accepted by the Church. 

[mortify ii]

"Canon lawyer Edward Peters, who is an adviser to the Holy See’s top court, noted in a blog that the Congregation for Divine Worship in 1988 said in a letter to bishops that “The washing of the feet of chosen men … represents the service and charity of Christ who came `not to be served, but to serve.’”

"Peters noted that bishops over the years have successfully petitioned Rome for an exemption to allow women to participate, but that the law on the issue is clear.

“By disregarding his own law in this matter, Francis violates, of course, no divine directive,” Peters wrote Thursday. “What he does do, I fear, is set a questionable example.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/28/pope-francis-sparks-controversy-after-breaking-liturgical-law-with-surprising-act/

[Fidei Defensor]

Why can't the Holy Father just follow liturgical law? Or if he feel it needs updating, why not change it? Instead, he chooses to nonchalantly break it. 

Being that he is the supreme and sovereign Pontiff, he can choose do do as he wishes. I wish, as well, that he would simply change the law if he doesn't feel it adequately serves the purpose it was created.

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Sorry to be a butt but in the same article it says:

 

"“The pope’s washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on — and even banned — in some dioceses,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of “The Jesuit Guide.”

“It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile,” he said"

Tbh, last year when the pope washed the feet of teenage prisoners, he not only showed them that he cared and that they were people--something many penitential systems (especially ours don't)--but also showed the world. He gave them hope and showed love. That's more important to many Catholics and nonCatholics than liturgical law. Not to say liturgical law isn't important (trust me, I like my masses liturgically correct and with no liturgical dancing tyvm) but I think the pope knows what he is doing. 

[mortify ii]

Sorry to be a butt but in the same article it says:

 

"“The pope’s washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on — and even banned — in some dioceses,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of “The Jesuit Guide.”

“It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile,” he said"

Tbh, last year when the pope washed the feet of teenage prisoners, he not only showed them that he cared and that they were people--something many penitential systems (especially ours don't)--but also showed the world. He gave them hope and showed love. That's more important to many Catholics and nonCatholics than liturgical law. Not to say liturgical law isn't important (trust me, I like my masses liturgically correct and with no liturgical dancing tyvm) but I think the pope knows what he is doing. 

 

Most Catholics and Clerics don't care about liturgical law, and that is in part why we see the abuses we do. If the Pope has an issue he should formally change it, otherwise be humble and submit to tradition.

[arfink]

I dunno, if Pope Francis' greatest sin is ticking off conservative taddy types by washing the feet of women in violation of the rubrics of the Missale Romanum, I guess I'll just have to live with it. He hasn't dug up any previous popes to accuse them of heresy and throw their bones into the Tiber. Or fathered children while under the vow of celibacy. Or started a Crusade in order to obtain money. And popes who did that were still legit popes who people were still bound to obey in all matters of faith and morals, despite their horrible sinful example.