Last week on Maundy Thursday the pope washed the feet of 12 people in a prison. One of those people was a Muslim woman.
Catholic traditionalists argue that this annual rite should be reserved to men only, because Jesus' 12 disciple were all male. I am less interested in the gender debate and more intrigued by the Pope washing the feet of a Muslim.
There are two possible concerns that Christians could have with the Pope's actions. First, we may wonder if he is endorsing Islam by his act of contrition. Second, he potentially violated Islamic custom by touching the woman.
I find the Pope's action both courageous and incredibly humble. I cannot infer that he is "endorsing" Islam or any of its tenets simply by the act of washing a woman's feet. He was showing compassion to a human being who happens to be a Muslim. He was not saying anything (necessarily) about Islam.
Certainly Pope Francis might have broken Islamic tradition by touching the woman. It seems to me that he has a good example - Jesus himself, who healed on the sabbath and touched a number of otherwise "unclean" people.
I wonder what the world would be like if more Christians took Pope Francis' example and humbled ourselves to serve the world - even in some radical ways. We might just taste a bit of Shalom.
Catholic liturgical rubrics (which are often violated on Holy Thursday, at least where I live), restrict the washing of the feet to male participants. This is why some Catholic traditionalists were upset by the Pope's actions. The written rubrics dictate what should happen during the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, in any parish. Pope Francis departed from these norms, for reasons known only (as of now) to him.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that our new Pope plans to set a personal example for the Catholic Church (and, perhaps, for the world, although I would not presume to know what he is thinking) by his own life and his actions, just as some of our modern Catholic saints have done. (Mother Teresa, St. Maximilian Kolbe, etc.) By doing this, Pope Francis will draw attention to the joy that can be found in the Christian way of life, a life of service, humility and dedication to God's Will. As you say, Brian, the world will be a better place if more Christians focus their attentions on "the least of these," the people whom Jesus loved best of all.