LESSONS FROM SHEEP-HERDING

Lessons from sheep-herding
The website - cinops be gone – Sunday, November 9, 2008

Thank you Homiletic & Pastoral Review, November, 2008, by Jay Boyd:
“When bishops are unfaithful to their promise of obedience, it seems that several messages are sent to the faithful.”…

Priests and bishops want to protect their flocks, keep them together, prevent strays. They may even have some “instincts” that help them to achieve this, and they certainly are given graces by virtue of their ordination that enable them to accomplish God’s will. BUT THEY MUST ALSO BE ATTENTIVE TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD; they must be aware of his plan and carry out his instructions. OTHERWISE THEY ARE WORKING FOR THEMSELVES, AND NOT FOR GOD….

In the Church, our Holy Father is issuing commands to the bishops. Certainly, he is infallible in matters of faith and morals, BUT WE ARE ALL REQUIRED BY OBEDIENCE OF FAITH TO FOLLOW HIS TEACHING EVEN IF IT IS NOT ISSUED ‘EX CATHEDRA.’ Most importantly, the bishops must follow the pope’s directives, or their flocks are going to scatter…. we have had many instances of bishops failing to obey the commands of the Holy Father, resulting in confusion among the sheep… er, laity,

My admittedly limited reading of historical Church documents and their implementation in the U.S.A. had led me to the conclusion that American bishops, especially since Vatican II have felt they are entirely within their rights to disregard these documents. I believe that this is an outgrowth of the fact that our nation was founded and shaped primarily by Protestants who sought freedom both from foreign monarchs and from the limits those monarchs set on religious practice.

As Catholics we became increasingly integrated into mainstream American life, they too came to view that “bishop of Rome” as a foreign domination they’d rather avoid. This image must have been made even more apparent during the time of John F. Kennedy’s political career, as allegiance to the pope as a potential threat to the integrity of JFK’s presidency was made an issue at that time. I’ve heard more than one Catholic refer to “that bunch of celibate old men in Rome” making rules that grate on American sensitivities….

Consider the confusion that has ensued in wake of passive opposition shown by many U.S. bishops to the encyclical, HUMANAE VITAE. This document was controversial at the time it was promulgated, with many predicting that the Holy Father would reverse a longstanding tradition of the Church and allow the use of artificial contraception. When this did not occur, the search began for the loopholes that would allow contracepting couples to continue violating Church teaching. The shepherd was clear and correct in issuing his directive, but the dogs have failed to follow his commands. …

…several messages are sent to the faithful. First, these bishops imply that they do not consider the faithful intelligent to recognize the disparity between their actions and the words of the various documents… Second, the bishops seem to be saying that they can ignore the directives of the Vatican with impunity, the third message: “Do as I say, not as I do.”…
George H. Kubeck