Kissing rings and "mano po"

I am an American, and the reason a lot of our ancestors moved to the USA was because we objected to royalty and rich people bossing us around.

so no, we yanks don't bow before kings and princes, so don't see what's the fuss with this kerfuffle about kissing the Pope's ring:

From AnnAlthouse:

Pope Francis jerks his hand away from people trying to kiss his ring. He seems to think it's funny, his withdrawal of consent to this old-time practice:

the Catholic blogs see this as a political statement: as a subtle way of making the church egalitarian, so that they can replace the traditions and doctrines. Althouse, a non believer, links to John Allen at the wapo and here is a link by the ubertraditional Father Z.


However, I see it as ignorance and a disrespect for the cultural practices of older Italians, who see it as a sign of respect for his office (not his person).

And the Pope's aggressive rejection of their respect as a cultural faux pas at best, and maybe even could be seen as a rejection of themselves as unworthy or inferior.

In family oriented cultures, showing respect to your superior is not degrading but emphasizes respect for mutual ties of respect and responsibility between family members, and there are various ways that the cultures shows this respect.

which brings us to the equivalent of kissing the Pope's ring: the Philippine custom of "Mano Po".

"Mano po" is the way one shows respect to one's elders (including the priest), and is still common in our rural town.

From the Phil Inquirer:

This is the season for “mano po”—a traditional Filipino gesture to honor our elders by bowing to them or pressing one’s forehead on their offered hand. The person giving respect may say “mano po” (literally, “your hand, please”) to the elder to initiate the gesture, while the elder normally responds with “God bless you” or a silent blessing on the person giving respect. ...

Beyond Christmas, we also do it with our elders upon leaving or coming home, or upon seeing them after some absence. Catholics do it at the end of a Mass or family prayer, and is especially done to a priest or bishop as a gesture of respect and subservience. It’s not only children or young people who do it, as any elder or anyone to whom respect is due, whether older or younger than us, is considered worthy of the gesture.  

and here is a short funny film that shows how it is done here: