Francis, the good shepherd

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ontheway1

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“The shepherd has the ability to go in front of the flock to show the way, stay in the middle of the flock to see what happens within, and also be at the rear of the flock to make sure that no one is left behind,” he said. “Clericalism, on the other hand, demands that the shepherd always stays ahead, sets a course, and punishes with excommunication those who stray from the flock.”

“On the other hand, great shepherds give people a lot of freedom. The good shepherd knows how to lead his flock without enslaving it to rules that deaden people,” he said.

The pope gives a warning about excommunication and states that rules only deaden people. I have never heard of anyone being excommunicated (in my lifetime) so I don’t quite understand why this is a threat. As to following rules, I do try to follow them when I drive. There seem to be consequences.
 
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ontheway1 said:
I have never heard of anyone being excommunicated (in my lifetime) so I don’t quite understand why this is a threat. As to following rules, I do try to follow them when I drive. There seem to be consequences.
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I’m not sure how old you are, but surely you’ve heard of the SSPX and their illicit consecration of four bishops? All five of those men were excommunicated. Lefebvre died still excommunicated. One of them was the Superior General of the SSPX (Bishop Bernard Fellay) until the end of his term this past year. The four bishops though have since had their excommunications lifted though.
 
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I am old enough to remember this, but either my memory is failing me, or more likely, I have not been paying much attention to the SSPX controversy. Having said that, why would this be such a major issue to the pope at this or any other time? Why would he even bring this up, unless …? Hmmmm.
 
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