Wednesday 13 November 2013

The Pope and the Faith of the Little One


What an unusual thing for Pope Francis to do.

Surely doing this is as Catholic as making the sign of the Cross.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought, while watching it, he could be saying that the boy holds his hands like "this" (closed) now, but if he became a priest he'll be holding them "thusly" (open). Who knows. :)
- Metro

Martina Katholik said...

Regarding the video:
All this constant kissing of boys makes me sick.
In former times Popes used to give a blessing with three fingers.
Is kissing now the new blessing? Not very prudent in times of the "gay-lobby".

Nicolas Bellord said...

Maybe he was just checking his fingernails. Anyway they ended joined up!

Mike Grayson said...

If the pope was trying to separate the boy's hands then I think he's got a point. He wasn't engaged in a liturgical service or prayer so there was no need for his hands to be together like that.

Codgitator (Cadgertator) said...

Nicholas B.:

homoousios, homoiousios.

Anyway, they ended up affirming the Incarnation. It's all good. Catholicism is concerned with details, since such details are meant to be applied on a universal level.

For the record, I am NOT saying that the significance of an altar boy's hands matches that of the significance of the Leonine decree on the hypostatic union. Rather, I am saying that this episode is just one more sign that Pope Francis simply does not care about the finer points of truth and reason. He is above all concerned with 'making an effect', which is what he did here. Ohhhh, look how he cares for little boys. Kisses and touches. This video clearly shows that it is the pious closedness of the boy's hands that catch the Bishop of Rome's attention. He simply cannot leave well enough alone.

Codgitator (Cadgertator) said...

Well done, Bellord and Grayson. In your attempts to carry water for Pope Francis you ended up contradicting each other. Bellord: "It's okay, since the boy's hands ended up together." Grayson: "It's okay, since the position of th eboy's hands is irrelevant."

Elizabeth said...

I read on some other site, can't remember where, that the Pope leaned over and teased the boy about being so stiff and nervous, and then moving his hands into the folded position. We don't know for sure what he said to the little guy but he did seem to physically change the way he was holding his hands. In which case, WOW.

I was at Mass recently at a nearby NO parish sitting in the front pew, so I had a clear view. At Communion time, the priest went first to the altar boys (as is customary), one of whom was still kneeling with hands in the prayer position from after the Consecration. The priest actually reached down, grabbed his arm and pulled him up, leaned over and said something to him, THEN gave him Communion. I presume he was told that "we don't kneel for Communion". There can be no other explanation. If I were that kid's parents, I'd have a word or two with the Pastor of that parish.

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