Following the election of Pope Francis, many were asking “What do you think of the new Pope?”
Judging from the responses, there was general satisfaction with the election of the Argentinian pontiff. His “humility” and “genuineness” seemed to top the list of reasons explaining this satisfaction.
Then came Holy Thursday and the foot washing. The new Pope washed the feet of women, including Muslim women.
This action raised a few eyebrows, especially on the part of conservative Catholics. “There were no female apostles,” was the standard response.
Questions were raised, too, especially on the part of the American catholique left.
“Was the Pope signaling ‘openness’ to new forms of ordained ministry, perhaps women deacons and priests?” those asking the question were wondering…and, truth be told, hoping.
Just as some conservatives correctly opined early into this new pontificate, that “signal” is now being taken as “fact” by some on the American catholique left.
According to a press release, Dr. Debra Meyers is to be “ordained” as Cincinnati’s first woman, Roman Catholic priest on May 25, 2013, at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church. Dr. Meyers’ ordination follows upon the April 27, 2013, “ordination” of Dr. Rosemarie Smead in Louisville, KY.
The press release states:
Women priests are leading the Catholic Church into a new era of justice and equality for women in the church. We are the “Rosa Parks” of the Roman Catholic Church….Since two-thirds of the world’s poor are women, justice and equality must be top priorities for our church. Our world and church can no longer function without the voices of women’s lived experience. Women priests are visible reminders that all women are images of God.
Okay. That’s what the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) thinks. That’s nothing new.
But, the press statement offers two “signals” indicating that Pope Francis has encouraged their extra-ecclesial conduct:
The first signal: “We are encouraged by the tender gesture of Pope Francis who washed the feet of women in prison on Holy Thursday, thus breaking the sexist tradition of washing only men’s feet.”
The second signal: “During the Easter homily Francis affirmed women as the first witnesses to the Resurrection. ‘This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria….The women are driven by love and know how to accept this proclamation with faith: they believe, and immediately transmit it, they do not keep it for themselves.’”
The important point is not that ARCWP types are “cutting” and “pasting” snippets of the Holy Father’s actions and statements into statements to indicate his support of their erroneous beliefs. That’s bad enough. The important point is that those actions and statements lend themselves to this type of propaganda.
In response, some have opined that Pope Francis is “learning how to be Pope.” People should calm down and expect some bumps as the neophyte pontiff navigates that learning curve.
Perhaps there’s some merit to that opinion.
That said, it doesn’t take a member of Mensa to know that greater savvy is required on the international stage. Might it not be better, especially at the beginning and early months (or first year) of a pontificate, for the Pope just to “do the red” and “say the black” until he’s clearer about his responsibilities as well as the scope and impact of the exercise of those responsibilities as the Chief Shepherd?
Yes, the American catholique left would get angry with him. But, they’d argue, he’s been a Vaticanista apparatchik all along. He wasn’t created a cardinal advocating for women’s ordination or anything else on their agenda.
When the Pope’s opponents on the American catholique left see the Holy Father betraying his “social justice” roots, they won’t just be angry. No, that won’t express sufficiently the depth of their outrage, and perhaps that of the 70% of American Catholics who allegedly support the ordination of women.
That potentially could fuel even greater resistance than there is at present among a much broader swath of the Catholic populace in the United States than if the Holy Father had simply let the American catholique left portray him as a Vaticanista apparatchik. Amidst their griping, complaining, and moaning, he would be steering the ship of Holy Mother Church directly toward the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
To read the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests press release, click on the following link:
http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.it/2013/05/is-cincinnati-enquirer-afraid-of.html?utm_source=feedly&m=1
The thing I didn’t understand about the foot washing was why didn’t Pope Francis simply wash the men’s (bishops/priests/deacons) during the ceremony, and then, as a group (after the ceremony) go wash the feet of those in the jails, highways, byways, etc.
His papacy to date has an unsettling similarity to those US Supreme Court justice appointments which caused much dismay to the appointing president who thought he knew everything he needed to know, only to be greatly surprised at the result once the lifetime appointment was made. So far not too much damage, but I think we were all hoping for more efficiency and less seemingly autocratic and impulsive activity.
The thing about the “second signal”: The business about the role of women at the Resurrection was taken almost verbatim from Pope Ratzinger’s second volume of his study of Jesus.
It’s hard to say whether Pope Francis is arrogantly imprudent, obtusely naive, overly subtle, or skillfully navigating a complex course.
Maybe he is simply acting as his conscience demands and moving as the Spirit directs.
I find his ceaseless energy, ready smiles, unabashed criticism if the entrenched evil in the Church, and willingness to get up close and personal, inspiring.
What do you make of the exorcism being reported today. The video suggests that something extraordinary occurred.
Philly has Chaput and the world has Francis… Things are looking up!
Maybe I’m missing the point of this post and maybe missing the point entirely, but didn’t Jesus wash the feet of his disciples to show them that they should first of all be SERVANTS? And therefore, shouldn’t the pope and all priests in the church be servants to EVERYONE, including women? I personally don’t agree with the ban on women priests, but I didn’t take the pope’s actions as his endorsing the idea. And frankly, at this point, I don’t care. I’d rather he clean up corruption, help heal the church after the sex abuse scandal and remind priests of their true role in the church. I’ve seen too many of them coming out of the seminary with “holier than thou” attitudes. And maybe they are holier, but they should be a little more humble about it and remember why Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
Please pardon my naïveté, but how can anybody be ordained a Roman Catholic priest at a Unitarian Universalist Church? The underlying arrogance of that maneuver is apalling. Just like every other act of the Self-Worshipping Left, they bend form to their own purposes while completely ignoring “inconvenient” substance. Maybe I should have myself inaugurated Governor of Indiana the next time I’m on spring break in Florida.
The respect and honor we owe women is equal to that which we owe men. That does not change the differences between men and women or the parts each play in the life of the Church. A man can be priest, baptize me, absolve me from sin, say Mass and consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Savior and thereby put His life in us. Our mothers give us life and that is no trifling thing. Our Holy Father is human. He will make his share of missteps as do we all. Partisans of one sort or another will seize upon these in typical human fashion. We are still delighted with him and his bringing to the fore such simple matters as the reality of the devil, the commonality of destructive gossip and, we expect to come, much more needing our attention. Is not the Holy Spirit in charge?
David Spaulding:
Do you have links to the exorcism story and video? Please post them.
I don’t know how to capture links on the Ipad.
A search for “Pope Francis exorcist” in Google brought up a number of mainstream articles. The YouTube videos are interesting, particularly the ones from Italian TV.
The reaction from the MSM is interesting. Such fascination with the Church but in a pop culture kind of way… Like the Church is putting on a magic show that can be critiqued…
The Telegraph had the best headline two days ago. It was something like “Pope Francis in Exorcist Scandal” – like a priest driving out demons is a bad thing.