The Catholic Church is all about tradition.

So when Pope Francis made his way to Loreto, Italy, earlier this week, and refused to let people kiss his ring during a meet and greet, some Catholics lost their minds.

To give you some context, the traditional act of kissing of the ring — worn by bishops, cardinals and the pope — has historically symbolised respect for the office.

So it’s not a specifically religious thing, it’s just something that has been done for centuries.

Before we continue, enjoy Pope Francis ‘nope-ing’ his followers.

Nope.

According to the Washington Post, when the above footage surfaced of Francis steering Catholics away from his ring, the right-wing Catholic website Lifesite called it “disturbing.”

This is not the most disturbing thing to happen in the church this year. Calm down.

Conversely, others like the fact that Francis is phasing out stupid traditions.

Medieval church history scholar Christopher Bellitto, a professor at Kean University, said the ancient tradition of kissing the pope’s ring is not part of any formal protocol while greeting the pope, but one synonymous with patterns of behavior for how one would greet kings, queens and emperors.

…Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh said that Monday’s gestures were nothing new for Francis and merely a further effort to rid the papacy of its “monarchal encrustations” and to strip away elements of courtly rule that continue to be a holdover from a bygone era.

“He’s not trying to steer people away from showing respect to the papal office,” Ivereigh said. “For him, it’s about wanting to have an encounter, not an act of submission.”

Overall, I’m with the Pope on this one.

With all the anti-vaxxers out there, I wouldn’t want people kissing my hand, either.

[source:washingtonpost]