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Good shepherd. Russian icon, 19 c. Niederland, private collection
Feb. 24, 2020
Veronica Szczygiel
Sheep respond to only one voice: their shepherd’s. When strangers call out to them, they ignore the illegitimate voices. When their own shepherd calls, they follow.
Extending this metaphor to today’s Catholic Church, the sheep (us lay people) are hearing multiple legitimate shepherds’ voices, but they are asking us to go in disparate directions.
This divisiveness in church leadership can be summarized and simplified as traditionalists vs. progressives. The traditionalists emphasize church teaching and doctrine, especially in the sanctity of life at conception. The progressives, alternatively, have a prerogative to loosen some strictures and welcome all peoples.
Two legitimate shepherds; two very different voices. What these shepherds don’t seem to recognize is that polarity is damaging to the church. They are simultaneously calling out to the flock, but how are we to follow when they lead us down seemingly different paths?
This problem is not new. St. Paul also experienced divisiveness in the early church. He begged the Corinthians to work together: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
The lack of a singular voice and purpose in our leaders will only beget further divisions. Unity is of utmost importance in today’s highly secularized world but can only happen through the deeper realization that what may seem disparate are actually two parts of a whole. Progressives embrace the marginalized; traditionalists concentrate on message. But in order to enact authentic evangelization – one of the missions of the church – actions and message must be intertwined. Because action without clear, value-based teaching is aimless, and teaching without doing is pointless.
We only need to look to our one true shepherd to recognize the falseness of the dichotomy that some have embraced. Jesus welcomed societal outcasts, but not without a strong message: “Love one another” (John 13:34) and “unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). He taught a way of life that was virtuous and worthy in God’s eyes. He was both a teacher and a fisher of men; a preacher and a healer. In Christ, one cannot exist without the other. Jesus led with conviction and clear message: We are children of God and must act as such to enact the kingdom of God on earth. This is one strong voice. It’s not always an easy voice to follow, as it is difficult to love your enemy, to live righteously, to forgive, to act in mercy. But that is the challenge Jesus our shepherd calls us to, and we must follow if we call ourselves Christians.
The church must return to this figure of Jesus. It serves no one’s interests to be at odds, least of all God’s. It is only when traditionalists and progressives acknowledge that they need each other – and that they love each other – that the church can once more have necessary and authentic conversations to be “united in the same mind and in the same purpose.”
In fact, some church leaders are already striving toward this singularity. In 2019, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed, after some contentious debate, to approve a new Introductory Letter to their document “Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship,” where they aim to prioritize all issues of life, from conception to natural death, including abortion, immigration, racism, euthanasia, etc. They state that this approach is “first and foremost rooted in our identity as followers of Christ and as brothers and sisters to all who are made in God’s image.” Additionally, U.S. bishops have been meeting Pope Francis in 2020 during their “ad limina” visits to Rome, and they are returning energized and ready to be “builder[s] of unity” (Catholic News Service). This gives us great hope, but there is still much work to be done.
In the meantime, how do we as the lay flock cope in our daily lives? We should pray for our church leaders, so they may be reinvigorated with St. Paul’s call to unity. We should read the Bible, especially the New Testament, to know Jesus more closely through Scripture. This closeness will give us clarity and the strength to remain steadfast in our beliefs. In these ways, we will act as examples of Christ. In this way, we can remind the shepherds that we, their sheep, can only heed one voice.
Veronica Szczygiel, Ph.D., is the assistant director of online learning at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education and a contributor to The Tablet, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn. www.veronicaszczygiel.com