Atlanta archbishop orders men only for foot-washing rite

Published: 2004-04-07

ATLANTA (CNS) -- No women should be allowed to participate in the Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual in the Atlanta Archdiocese, Archbishop John F. Donoghue of Atlanta said in a memo sent to all his priests before Holy Week. In churches that perform the optional ritual, he said, "it is my decision that the rubric of the Roman Missal shall be observed, that is, that 12 men -- 'viri selecti' -- should be chosen from the community to take the part of the Apostles during this rite." The Latin phrase in quotes means "chosen men (adult males)." The archbishop asked the priests to explain to their people that the washing of the feet is "a representation of Christ's linkage of the institution of the Eucharist to the establishment of the ordained priesthood and the burden of service placed upon those who are called to the priesthood." It was the second time Archbishop Donoghue has instituted a ban on washing women's feet. When he did so as bishop of Charlotte, N.C., in 1989, about 50 men, women and children protested by holding their own foot-washing ceremony outside the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.

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