House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) prepares to pour water on the feet of Yamile Cruz, 10, with the help of Bishop Marc Andrus during a Holy Week foot-washing ceremony at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle
Double Barf. If such immigrants voted Republican, she would be chopping their feet off to keep them from crossing the border.
Triple Barf.
April 18, 2014 at 5:17 pm
Well, Ninny is only following the examples set by bright (?) boys like O'Malley!
April 18, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Comment I made over at Father Z's was this.
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By expanding the Mandatum to include everyone and making it all about “service”, it seems to be taking something that was part of the Holy Thursday liturgy for symbolic purposes and turning it into some manner of spectacle. Where before you could easily see the connection between Christ washing the feet of His priests in the context of the institution of the priesthood, the open calls or even choreographing of this event to include a diverse representation of people will only make this a man-centered distraction IMHO. In fact, I now look for Holy Thursday’s news soundbite every year to be “who was chosen to have their feet washed by the Pope” and why didn’t he choose a homosexual or Asian or whatever.
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And then I see this. Didn't take long.
April 18, 2014 at 5:36 pm
As to chopping off feet, she already supports that for unborn humans.
April 18, 2014 at 5:38 pm
She's not doing it during Mass. Anyone can wash anyone's feet any time except once a year. So get out there!!! Wash some feet!!!
April 18, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Why wouldn't Pelosi wash some TEC feet? Having washed her hands of Jesus Christ and His Church, she could care less whose butt she kisses, er, washes as long as she can use a photo op to get votes.
Andrus, readers might recall, is the whiny attention hound who felt dissed and left Archbishop Cordileone's installation because he wasn't seated promptly after arriving late.
Andrus, no friend to Catholics, grossly misrepresented the Catholic teaching on sexuality in the Prop 8 battles.
Andrus and Pelosi are a perfect fit for each other. Heretics love company, and Andrus' dwindling flock needs all the irreverent and irrelevant company it can get. Birds of a feather. So why doesn't Pelosi simply flock off and join the Episcop-aliens?
April 18, 2014 at 6:45 pm
I doubt Pope Francis will mind. 🙁
April 18, 2014 at 7:08 pm
I thought she claimed to be a 'devout katholyc'? But the Episcopal church is definitely more her style because anything goes there and they vote on what their 'doctrine' is as the world dictates.
April 18, 2014 at 7:16 pm
There were two kinds of foot-washing rituals before Pius XII brought the ritual into the Holy Thursday liturgy. One was a foot washing of "the poor" to demonstrate the humility of the office. the other was the foot washing of "the brothers" that was more closely aligned with the Last Supper. Pius XII, moved the latter into the liturgy and essentially dropped the former.
I think the former is more valuable in our current times, but the rubrics are for the latter. I don't care a whole lot if the Pope changes the practice, and see a lot of reason to do so, I just wish he would change the rubrics if he is going to change the practice. I don't care if women or even non-Catholics get their feet washed in the Holy Thursday liturgy, I only care that clergy are ignoring the rubrics to do it.
As a parent, it's really hard to have the lesson I'm trying to teach that we need to obey the laws of the Church constantly undermined by the clergy and others in authority positions in the Church.
April 18, 2014 at 7:25 pm
Indeed, either change the rules or follow them. Easy.
But still, changing and making it part of the Liturgy is only going to create more crap like we see here. Plus, bringing up random people comes across as contrived. Leave the symbolic alone (that is keep it reserved to men who represent the Apostles) and then add something outside of the Liturgy for the masses.
April 18, 2014 at 7:40 pm
To speak from my liturgist armchair, I would prefer to see the "apostolic" foot washing be part of the Chrism mass, a liturgy that is already very clergy-focused. That would really emphasize the apostolic nature of the action much more than having a bunch of random guys get up there. I would then prefer to see the "populous" foot washing be a rite *before* the Holy Thursday liturgy .. if we are to do it at all in our parishes.
This actually gets to a general thought of mine: there is a real difference between a liturgy celebrated by a priest and a liturgy celebrated by a bishop and I don't think we express that well. I think that our historic attempts to make our parish churches "mini cathedrals" has been very bad for church architecture, and I think that our blurring of the lines between priests and bishops liturgically has been bad for liturgy. Just because something is in a liturgy celebrated by a bishop does not mean that it needs to be in a liturgy celebrated by a priest. And I think the foot-washing kerfluffle exemplifies this.
Sorry for the slight tangent.
April 18, 2014 at 7:47 pm
Good tangent. And I have had a similar thought that the Bishop should do the foot washing only but to his priests.
But this…"I would then prefer to see the "populous" foot washing be a rite *before* the Holy Thursday liturgy"
Seems like such a "bolt-on" addition that is out of place. I just assume get rid of it altogether. And I believe that is what is ultimately going to happen as priests just exercise the option of not doing it. It avoids the headache of "who get's their feet washed" and puts the focus back on Holy Week.
April 18, 2014 at 7:55 pm
I don't know if its a bolt on. As I understand it (and I'm more than willing to be corrected if I am wrong), that is where it used to be. And when you think about it, Jesus did it before the last supper, so doing it before the mass makes a certain sense.
I think we would really lose something if we lost the rite completely. The expression of humility is a good antidote for the ever-present and multifaceted problem of clericism. But you also see how it eclipses the rest of the liturgy in some parishes, and that is a real problem as well.
April 18, 2014 at 8:10 pm
Jesus did it before the Last Supper to his Apostle. He didn't have a "free-for-all foot washing." It very well may have been before the Mass in the past, but there was probably a reason, out of natural development that it was removed. Perhaps because it became a spectacle and eclipsing things as you point out. Indeed, it might be a bit of humility for some priests, but if you start making it such an event, it will become a source of pride for the laity.
April 18, 2014 at 8:42 pm
I doubt Jesus would approve of murder of babies into the many millions, condoned and encouraged by this foul hypocrite for power.
April 18, 2014 at 8:44 pm
This is very curious. What is Nancy Pelosi doing at an Episcopal church on Holy Thursday instead of a Catholic Church? She claims she's a very devout Catholic. One wonders if this newest recipient of the Margaret Sanger award has had a call from her Archbishop, recently.
April 18, 2014 at 11:34 pm
Caption: Those awful Republicans would charge you for the foot washing, or tell you that you must wash your own.
April 19, 2014 at 2:41 am
Today is the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena. Bring all mankind, especially sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.
Hey nan, today is a most fortunate day for you! Not going to verbally chastise you about your unbelievable and outrageous nonsense, today. You are going to be the recipient, of a heroic act of charity, today. It is taking thoughts and prayers of Jesus and Mary, not to be provocative about this latest escapade with a protestant bishop, today. Enjoy the moment, don't know how long I can hold out with out God's grace! Your incredible indescretions and antics just go begging for coherent response. Protestant, really?
April 19, 2014 at 2:45 am
Amen! Divine Mercy Novena begins today 😉
April 19, 2014 at 3:41 am
With a trail of martyrs' blood all the way back to 1535.
April 19, 2014 at 4:10 pm
MaryW1 and M P P, Pelosi claimed to be an observant Catholic not a devout Catholic. Huge difference. Unfortunately the term observant Catholic fits way too many poorly catechized Catholics. The form is observed without much if any content. Especially during Holy week, this brings to mind the Pharisaic Jews of Scripture and we know what they ultimately did.