Pope’s Foot-Wash a Final Straw for Traditionalist Catholics
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world’s poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.
Francis’ decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls — a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic — during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict’s papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.
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This guy is really making some of the Traditionalist Catholics angry by actually doing Christianity-you know that charity and humility stuff. Santorum and other radical right Falangists must be really outraged, which I think is very amusing… A Pope acting like a christian and not a Roman Emperor. Is he trying to revive the teaching of that radical who stopped the stoning of the woman caught in the act with the statement “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. What are they going to do with their arsenal of rocks?
But I have to hold my breath to see if he will do right by the abused and the other all too real scandals plaguing his branch of the church universal. I pray he is the real deal and, as I said, things like Thursday give me hope for this Bishop of Rome.
Happy Easter!