If people actually paid attention to what Pope Francis says and writes – that includes bishops and cardinals, even those retired – they would not be at all confused about where he’s trying to move the church. And one thing they’d grasp immediately is that he has little tolerance for clericalism and those ambitious for ecclesiastical promotion.
Francis has spelled out in no uncertain terms that being a priest and bishop means being a servant-leader. And, using the traditional biblical image of the shepherd, he has said the ordained must not only lead, but must also walk among the sheep and “many times behind [them], to help those who are falling behind and also to follow the scent of the sheep that know where the good grass is.”
At Mass last Sunday the pope quoted various qualities of “closeness and tenderness” that the prophet Ezekiel identifies with the truly good shepherds, saying, “Those of us who are called to be pastors in the Church cannot stray from this example, if we do not want to become hirelings.” And then he added, “In this regard the People of God have an unerring sense for recognizing good shepherds and in distinguishing them from hirelings.” The pope’s point was clear. Catholics are not fooled by pious acting clerics that are aloof from their people and show them no compassion.
“The starting point of salvation is not the confession of the sovereignty of Christ, but rather the imitation of Jesus’s works of mercy through which he brought about his kingdom,” he said. “If we truly love [people], we will be willing to share with them what is most precious to us – Jesus himself and his Gospel.” No doubt, that also means the real presence of Jesus, which every orthodox Catholic – ordained and non-ordained – knows to be the Eucharist.
