In the midst of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, there
have been some questionable notions that have been promoted by some Church
leaders as “pastoral.” One is the so-called “pastoral” technique of “graduality,”
in which certain moral obligations are, in a sense, relaxed with the
expectation that the person whose dedication is lacking will be moved by the
outreach of the Church. Another presumed notion of “pastoral” action calls
Church members to avoid language that is precise because its use could be inflammatory,
thereby supposedly shutting down any opportunity of showing the merciful love
of God. In the name of “pastoral sensitivity” the faithful have even been
cautioned against bringing up certain topics, such as contraception, abortion,
and homosexual behavior, because these issues are said to prevent the Church
from reaching out. These notions about how the Church should proceed in
relating to its body reveal a fundamental flaw in the understanding of what
“pastoral” means.
Pastoral action is love and law, united perfectly. To love is
to will the good of the other. God wills that we have all the goodness He has
to offer, and He has made us to desire the love that only He can give. Through
the study of Christian anthropology, philosophers and theologians have been
able to come to a deeper understanding of the essence of the human person.
Humans innately desire union with God, union that can only come from following
His laws that He has written on every human heart and has further defined
through the authority of the Church. In softening these teachings for the sake
of “reaching out,” Church leaders risk delaying the union that the Holy Spirit
seeks for a great many souls. They become the shepherds who allow unruly sheep
to lead the rest off a cliff.
Pastoral action is grounded in true and quiet humility that
seeks only to draw focused attention to the matter at hand. Its fruit is
clarity and union among those who honestly seek holiness. It does not promote
unity for the sake of doctrine, but it rests peacefully in holy division (Mt.
10:34), always welcoming those who are touched by a moment of grace, by an
event of transformation, by a tearful recognition of one’s own sinfulness.
Church leaders who constantly chatter, using terms and phrases that are
ambiguous and misleading, become accessories to unholy division, causing the
faithful to doubt and argue among themselves, and further blocking the process
of true conversion by confusing the message of the Gospel. They become
shepherds who give unclear signals to the sheep, causing them to scatter in
every direction, according to their own misguided instincts.
There are a good number of pastors, true
shepherds, who have been so dedicated and disciplined in guiding their sheep
that the sheep themselves have become conditioned to function despite the
occasional bad shepherd that comes their way. These sheep know to stay out of
the thorny bushes, they can smell a wolf coming from miles away, and they know
where to go for nourishment. Thankfully, a good number of these sheep exist,
but they are becoming weary of steering their misdirected brothers and sisters
away from the shepherds who have these new ideas about shepherding. Strong
leaders, clear teachers, and humble servants to the truth of the Gospel are
needed in this modern time. Please, dear pastors, don’t fall into the
temptation of thinking that shepherding has changed all that much from the time
of when the Good Shepherd walked this earth.
This is a great insight: "This is a great good, but it is also a risk in our modern time, since so many of the sheep are misguided and a great number of the shepherds have decided to follow where the sheep decide to go."
ReplyDeleteHere in the US this is a common malady - it comes from thinking that the Church is a democratic institution, and that we should 'give the people what they want.' But Mother Church should not give her children what they want, she should give her children what they need. You also point out that ambiguity leads to ambiguity not clarity. Nice post.