When we see the discussion groups and the democratic style (at least in appearance) of the current Synod, we immediately realize that what is being proposed to us is a different model of the Church.
When writing is not just a passion but your profession, you have many pages and articles at your disposal to unfold your thoughts. In every line, in every text, you strive to express what you understand, what you experience, responding to substantial questions or the challenges of the day. And, when such an effort reaches a certain amplitude, you expect that everything you wanted to say has already been expressed in one of the many articles you’ve scattered along the difficult path of the art of words. I thought so too, until I recently read an article by Luisa-Maria Papadopoulos titled “German Catholics Shrug at the Pope’s Heresy.”[i]
I read this short essay breathlessly from the first to the last line, realizing with each word that the author managed to articulate everything that not only I but many other Catholics in these multicolored times would like to say but cannot find the words for:
“Sheep without a shepherd, that’s what we’ve become. Rome has done nothing meaningful to save us from the treacherous shepherds who guide us towards an inevitable abyss. There’s been talking, yes, lots of talking, but what of it? The Rock of Peter has become something that exists in name only for us. I don’t condone sedevacantism, but in our daily lives, we German Catholics certainly act as if there is no pope. We would hardly know the difference. I, for one, have ceased to care.”
From the above quote, one phrase stuck with me, becoming the title of this article: “Sheep without a shepherd.” I’ve thought about my situation, my family’s, and many acquaintances’ thousands of times, concluding that this is what we are: sheep without shepherds. When we look towards the church hierarchy, we find so many examples like those Louisa-Maria mentioned that we can’t arrive at any other attitude than the one she expressed: placidity and resignation. Again, we would conclude that we are sheep without shepherds. Of course, for members of the only true Church, whose Creed includes belief in the establishment of the ecclesiastical hierarchy by God Himself, this is at least troubling. However, on the other hand, it might remind us of a significant episode from the Gospels.
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