Pope Francis allows nuns and priests to kiss his papal ring during his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, two days after he pulled his hand away from several faithful.
85-year-old sister Maria Concetta Esu kisses the hand of Pope Francis as he presents her with a Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award during his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. 85-year-old sister Maria Concetta Esu is an obstetrician who gave birth to some 3,000 children during her 60 years of missions in Africa, that the pontiff met during his trip to the Central African Republic.
Some conservative Catholics think Francis has abandoned church doctrine and saw his jerking his hand away from people who hoped to kiss his ring as evidence of him shunning age-old traditions.During a visit Monday to Loreto, a major Italian pilgrimage site, Francis received a long line of faithful, some of whom shook his hand, while others kissed his hand or bowed down in a gesture of reverence. He only began pulling his hand away after having greeted a large number of people.
The video clip also became material for comedians. Trevor Noah, host of American TV program “The Daily Show”, on Tuesday imitated Francis pulling his hand back and quipped, “I am impressed at how quick he is, like every single time.”One of them was Sister Maria Concetta Esu, an 85-year-old nun and obstetrician who has delivered around 3,000 babies during more than 60 years of missionary work in the Central African Republic.
“This is a sign of our affection, and thanks for all the work you have done among our African sisters and brothers in the service of life, of children, of women and of families,” Francis said, presenting the nun with a medal. She then bowed and kissed his hand.
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