Pope Francis Decrees Ceremonial Foot Washing Should Include Women
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pope Francis decrees the ceremonial washing of feet during the Holy Thursday mass as part of the rites leading to Easter should no longer be restricted to just men.
Father Dennis Gill, director of the Office for Divine Worship for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, says the pope's decree is one aimed at diversity.
He says it embraces the message that Jesus gave his life for love of all humankind.
Gill says the pope wants representatives from what he calls "all the people of God" to be part of the ritual.
Here in the archdiocese, he says, "the practice has been, in many places throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for men and women to be invited to participate in the foot washing."
So, Gill says, it legitimizes the practice and offers an explanation for the theological reason for it.