St Mary of the Cross is canonized: alleluia! and may she pray for us!
But did her spiritual daughter, the Josephite sister who has been the postulator for her cause, deliberately refrain from kissing the Pope's episcopal ring? I have been watching the live coverage on ABC24, and while each of the other five postulators clearly did so, so far as I could see – and the video will confirm this – Sr Maria Casey did not, although she seemed otherwise so friendly, patting His Holiness's hand as she did.
(UPDATE: I see that Terra over at Australia Incognita confirms this independently.)
(And one of the deacons at the throne noticed the Holy Father was none too pleased with the scarf-wearer.)
(UPDATE: I see that Terra over at Australia Incognita confirms this independently.)
(And one of the deacons at the throne noticed the Holy Father was none too pleased with the scarf-wearer.)
In Rome, such things are noted. Was this a quite deliberate refusal to follow expected protocol, and "send a message" both to Rome and back home to the sisters in Australia?
On a similar note, only a late intervention by the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See obtained tickets to the canonization ceremony for the Australian seminarians in Rome: it appears the Josephites ignored them.
In Rome, such things are noted.
Let the Holy Father have the last word, in the pointed remarks made in his homily relative to St Mary:
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Let the Holy Father have the last word, in the pointed remarks made in his homily relative to St Mary:
“Remember who your teachers were – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” ... Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility!
I think certain ladies wearing secular clothes and pale scarves in place of their spiritual mother's brown habit could do with the hint: rediscover your charism, and through persevering prayer, be faithful to God and the Church with humility.
A final note: a retired Dominican of my acquaintance said of those religious sisters, once habited and convent-dwelling, now semi-retired, in secular clothes, living in suburban bedsits, that they have simply reverted to type – as homemakers. Ouch!
A final note: a retired Dominican of my acquaintance said of those religious sisters, once habited and convent-dwelling, now semi-retired, in secular clothes, living in suburban bedsits, that they have simply reverted to type – as homemakers. Ouch!
