Hey, you bow at his feet if you wish to. If he thinks he is a humble person and rather do some bowing himself, then so be it.
Two things bothered me about this story.
One was his bowing, thrown in with the President’s bowing, one has to ask what the heck is going on with all this bowing, and why now, to Islam?
The other was that the writer implied that everyone bows to the Catholic Pope, I can see Catholics and Europeans doing that, but do Americans, would Reagan, or Rick Perry, or Billy Graham, or the squirrel hunting guy on the Walking Dead bow, to anyone?
I admire Pope Francis, but this could have come from The Onion.
She is bow worthy.
Obozo strikes again!!! Err, oh wait, Francis bowed to a Muslim? Uhhh, errrr, huh?
Obama thinks he’s the pope, and the pope thinks he’s Obama.
I spent time as a protocol officer within the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Diplomatic Corps. We had to learn the rules on all these things.
The Pope is a Head of State as far as protocol is concerned. The Queen of Jordan is consort to a Head of State, and equal in rank to one under most circumstances. Generally, men are supposed to bow on meeting a Head of State, and women curtsey. If two Heads of State meet each other, neither would normally bow or curtsey to each other because they are of equal rank - but as a matter of good manner, a male Head of State will normally bow to a female Head of State. So the Pope’s actions are in line with normal protocols, if he did bow to the Queen of Jordan.
Catholic Heads of State may treat the Pope with respect and bow because he is the earthly Head of their Church, but that is a matter of preference.
People have asked about Americans - an American President is a Head of State, and therefore equal in diplomatic rank to any King, Queen, or Pontiff (arguably the Emperor of Japan might be allowed to claim a superior status to other monarchs, as the sole remaining Emperor, but they don’t) and therefore has to bow to nobody. US Presidents have chosen to bow to monarchs on occasion - President Reagan bowed to Queen Elizabeth II on one occasion, but again, this was a Gentleman showing respect to a Lady of equal rank.
It is important to understand that all these gestures are voluntary when it comes to foreigners, even where protocol expects them. Americans therefore do not have to bow or curtsey to anybody ‘of higher rank’ and it has been generally accepted in the diplomatic community for decades that if an American chooses not to do this, they are not intending to be rude, but merely following an American tradition which is as worthy of respect as any other tradition. But if they choose to do it, that is also their right.
Yes, I agree.
The leader of a church should never bow to anyone.
Be mutually respectful, of course.
A bow is an acknowledgement of superior status.
I will say that a mutual bow as is used in Japan can be seen as different, in that it is merely a salutation, a show of mutual respect or greeting.
Bowing as Obama does, or as the Pope seems to have done here, is an acknowledgement of coming into the presence of someone with superior authority.
At least that’s the way I read it.
He understands he is only a flawed human - no real difference between him and the lowliest on the planet.
What's wrong with humility? God's humility is awesome and the reason He gave us free will. Without His humility, we would be automatons and He likely would have had no reason to create us.
This “I am humble” kick seems to be turning into “showing off.” It becomes pride. Hey, everyone, look at me! I’m HUMBLE!! I AM more humble than YOU are! Watch the news to see how humble I am going to be tomorrow.”
Just be a regular guy.
agreed
not cool for the Pope to bow to any man or woman
cheapens the act of bowing
“I came to serve, not to be served.”
Kisses Communists and bows to Muslims.
Got it.
A bow is a recognized show of respect, and only improper when performed by a President of the United States to a foreign head of state. < /sarc >
Pope Francis: Muslims and Christians must work together
13 Aug 2013
Pope Francis called on Muslims and Christians to “work together”, during his Angelus address in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.
After reciting the Angelus with the thousands of pilgrims gathered in the square, Pope Francis said he wanted to extend his greetings to “Muslims throughout the world, our brothers and sisters, who have just celebrated the end of the month of Ramadan, which is dedicated in a special way to fasting, prayer and almsgiving.”
Pope Francis had written a message to the world’s Muslims for their celebration of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the month of fasting.
Echoing the theme of the message, he told the crowd that he hoped “Christians and Muslims will work together to promote mutual respect,” especially through the way they educate the younger generation.
When you have a Pope who supports homosexual priest in the
church and wants to forgive them for their perversion, bowing
to an anti-christian rag head should be expected.
Francis is the Catholic version of Obama and is in full
support of the homosexual agenda.
I bow to no man or woman. Much less to some Islamic scum
