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Pope washes feet of young Muslim woman prisoner in unprecedented twist on Maundy Thursday

Pope Francis continued his gleeful abandonment of tradition by washing the feet of a young Muslim woman prisoner in an unprecedented twist on the Holy Thursday tradition.

While popes have for centuries washed the feet of the faithful on the day before Good Friday, never before had a pontiff washed the feet of a woman. That one of the female inmates at the prison in Rome was also a Serbian Muslim was also a break with tradition.

“There is no better way to show his service for the smallest, for the least fortunate,” said Gaetano Greco, a local chaplain.

Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 inmates aged 14 to 21, among them the two women, the second of whom was an Italian Catholic. Mr Greco said he hoped the ritual would be “a positive sign in their lives”.
Catholic traditionalists are likely to be riled by the inclusion of women in the ceremony because of the belief that all of Jesus’ disciples were male.

The pontiff, who has largely disregarded protocol since his election earlier this month, urged his fellow clerics before the ceremony to prioritise the poor.

“We need to go out to the outskirts where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters,” he said at a mass in St Peter’s Basilica.

“It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord.”

Francis, the first leader of the Catholic Church from Latin America, led a mass with a mixed group of young offenders at the Casal del Marmo prison outside of Rome.

The 76-year-old, who was archbishop of Buenos Aires until chosen as pope, has already made a name for himself as a champion of the disadvantaged. In his homeland of Argentina he was known for his strong social advocacy, working in slums and shunning the lavish lifestyle adopted by some senior clerics. He lived in a small flat near the cathedral, flew to the Rome conclave in economy class, and chose to travel with his fellow cardinals by minibus rather than in the papal limousine.

AZGrizFan wrote:Didn't he also get rid of the apartment, the helicopter, and a few other pope "perks"?

SuperHornet wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:Didn't he also get rid of the apartment, the helicopter, and a few other pope "perks"?

I haven't heard that he got rid of them, but it certainly doesn't seem like he's using them, either....

GannonFan wrote:

SuperHornet wrote:
I haven't heard that he got rid of them, but it certainly doesn't seem like he's using them, either....

Yeah, the only way to get rid of the palatial living accomodations would be to knock them down, so yes they're still there. But apparently he's not living there and is instead in a much more austere living accomodation. Good for him.

AZGrizFan wrote:Didn't he also get rid of the apartment, the helicopter, and a few other pope "perks"?

grizzaholic wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:Didn't he also get rid of the apartment, the helicopter, and a few other pope "perks"?

When he gets rid of the popemobile let me know.

kalm wrote:

grizzaholic wrote:
When he gets rid of the popemobile let me know.

You in the market? I thought you were more well liked then that...

grizzaholic wrote:

kalm wrote:
You in the market? I thought you were more well liked then that...

I may be not well liked by many, but I don't need one of those things. I just think if he is so special, he shouldn't need to go around in a bullet/bomb proof bubble.

GannonFan wrote:

grizzaholic wrote:
I may be not well liked by many, but I don't need one of those things. I just think if he is so special, he shouldn't need to go around in a bullet/bomb proof bubble.

Yeah, it's not like we don't have a lot of whackos out in the world who might act irrationally.

grizzaholic wrote:

kalm wrote:
You in the market? I thought you were more well liked then that...

I may be not well liked by many, but I don't need one of those things. I just think if he is so special, he shouldn't need to go around in a bullet/bomb proof bubble.

andy7171 wrote:

grizzaholic wrote:
I may be not well liked by many, but I don't need one of those things. I just think if he is so special, he shouldn't need to go around in a bullet/bomb proof bubble.

You do know there was a reason the Popemobile was built don't you?

grizzaholic wrote:

andy7171 wrote: You do know there was a reason the Popemobile was built don't you?

Because the pope like the smell of his own farts?

andy7171 wrote:

grizzaholic wrote:
Because the pope like the smell of his own farts?

Is it humanly possible not to?

andy7171 wrote:"You're a funny guy Grizza!"

andy7171 wrote:From what I've seen so far, he appears to be a very humble and kind man. And it also appears he is going to do things very differently. Lets pray he's around long enough to make those changes stick.

Gonna be awefully hard to villify this one D1B.

dbackjon wrote:

andy7171 wrote:From what I've seen so far, he appears to be a very humble and kind man. And it also appears he is going to do things very differently. Lets pray he's around long enough to make those changes stick.

Gonna be awefully hard to villify this one D1B.

As long as he is comparing gay marriage to the devil, and saying gay adoption is one of the worst things in the world, he is still a POS

CitadelGrad wrote:

dbackjon wrote:

As long as he is comparing gay marriage to the devil, and saying gay adoption is one of the worst things in the world, he is still a POS

Those of us who support gay civil unions and marriages on constitutional grounds still think you fags are creepy and disgusting. I'll give Pope Francis a pass because he isn't subject to the U.S. Constitution.

Spoiler: show

I will keep my intake to 5 or fewer

Pope Francis reached out to gays on Monday, saying he wouldn't judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference as he returned from his first foreign trip.


"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis asked.

andy7171 wrote:
Gonna be awefully hard to villify this one D1B.