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Can you imagine their pope washing someone's feet.

Exactly! For appearance sake only - for photo op purposes - it's not from the heart when there is a mindset you must kiss my ring and genuflect when in the presence of the Pope and then off to the marble palace. And I will tell you what to believe, I will explain the decrees to you, my little subjects of my 'religious' empire.

All the pomp and circumstances with head gear, glittering robes, bowing and 'proper protocol' - all secular, all power driven and NOTHING to do with how Jesus lived his life or Paul or Peter BUT everything to do with King Herod.

“you must kiss my ring and genuflect when in the presence of the Pope and then off to the marble palace. And I will tell you what to believe, I will explain the decrees to you, my little subjects of my ‘religious’”

Yes, and if you don’t, the Swiss Guard will throw you in a pit to be nibbled to death by ducks.

Further, each Holy Father discards all the work and revelation of those who came before him, and reinvents the Catholic faith from the ground up. That is why *he* must explain everything to us.

Oh, if *only* the Holy Father would pass along the Deposit of Faith intact, together with the commentary of the wisest and holiest men and women of the past 2,000 years, as guided by the Holy Spirit. What tremendous riches must lie there. (The term “deposit of faith” refers to the entirety of Jesus Christ’s revelation, and is passed forward to successive generations in two different forms, Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition.)

How sad that I have only the understanding of the Bible that my meager intellect can cobble together to guide me. Oh, if only I were as intelligent, wise, and holy as Aquinas.

Hey, wait, I know: I’ll just claim that the Holy Spirit guides me *every* time I read the Bible, and I shall be as a god...err, no, cancel that...

I’ll just claim that the Holy Spirit guides me *every* time I read the Bible, and my understanding will be as valid as that of men with a hundred times my education, ten times my intelligence, and a thousand times my wisdom, and who actually *were* guided by the Holy Spirit.

By gum and by gar, ain’t *nobody* gonnal claim I ain’t as good as them, or that there ever was anybody smarter or more holy than me.

Can you imagine their pope washing someone's feet.

Exactly! For appearance sake only - for photo op purposes - it's not from the heart when there is a mindset you must kiss my ring and genuflect when in the presence of the Pope and then off to the marble palace. And I will tell you what to believe, I will explain the decrees to you, my little subjects of my 'religious' empire.

Next Holy Thursday, find a Catholic Church, slip in the back and watch the pomp and the photo ops of the pastor or deacon. Judge the amount of pride for yourself. Judge the hubris and the self importance of the priest for yourself.

See if the participants emulate Jesus or Herod for youself. You may wind up eating those words.

Exactly! For appearance sake only - for photo op purposes - it's not from the heart

Ah, and if this was for photo op purposes, then why exactly has this been followed by every priest celebrating a mass SINCE APOSTOLIC times? Go to your local Church on Maundy Thursday and you'll see the celebrant washing the feet of 12. Every pope has done it -- way before the word photo-op was invented

Finally, you guys first make a false statement "Why doesn't he do this?"

Then when shown that he does do that you say "Naaah, that's just a photo-op"

brilliant...