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By Joanna DelBuono
Brooklyn Daily
I think that I just may like this new pope.
Although very early in his reign, Pope Francis the First is kicking the heck out of the same-old same-old and kicking old dogma to the curb by going against tradition.
Not in the papacy more than one month, the new pontiff has knocked the sox off the faithful by washing the feet of two women on Maundy Thursday while celebrating the rituals of holy week.
No pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church has ever washed the feet of women before in following this ritual. This single exception has the traditionalists shaking in their boots and eyeing the radical move by Pope Francis the First with trepidation.
Could this be? Is there a fresh new wind blowing through the Vatican? Has the time for women in the church finally arrived?
Traditionally, the pope washes the feet of 12 men on Holy Thursday to emulate the act of Jesus Christ as he washed the feet of his apostles at the last supper.
In the past, the chosen 12 have usually been priests. In all its history, rarely has the pope gone outside the Vatican box when choosing the 12, let alone out of the religion to include non-Catholics.
This year, the wearer of mighty mitre not only chose two females, but one was Muslim.
No pope has ever washed the feet of woman, or a Muslim for that matter, in all 2,000-plus years of the church.
Traditionalists have always maintained that only men should have their feet washed and venerated in this way because the apostles were all men.
However, this pope apparently sees the value of women in the church, and it’s about time.
After all, women are 50 percent of the population and should be given a whole lot more credence than they’ve been given in the past. Women can be so much more than just nuns.
One just has to examine the works of women throughout the church’s history and view the sacrifices that women have made for the good of the church to realize the importance that females hold in the clergy — Mother Teresa, Mother Cabrini, St. Therese of Lisieux and many more. Being female didn’t stop their works of charity or sacrifice, so why should it stop women from being recognized and venerated by the church?
It’s time the papacy jumped into the 21st century, and hopefully this pope just might be the Papa to do it.
The time has come for women to move out of the back seat and take the wheel, and for the Holy See to acknowledge their significance in the church and Catholicism.
Not for nuthin™, but hopefully Pope Francis the First will truly be the first, and will open the doors to allow women more involvement and a path to ordination.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
Joanna DelBuono writes about national issues every Wednesday on BrooklynDaily.com. E-mail her at jdelbuono@cnglocal.com.