LAY CATHOLICS ARE NOT AS DUMB AS SHEEP

Usually, bishops and priests are described as the shepherds of God’s flock. This is an imagery I do not feel really comfortable with. I have friends justifying the appropriateness of using this analogy because it is scriptural. The argument goes like this:

The Bible describes Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd
The Priest is another Christ
Therefore, the priest is a good shepherd.

The word “good” does not change my views on the use of this imagery. I know the good shepherd is expected to know his sheep and to care for his sheep. My problem actually is with the “sheep.” I must confess that I am also a little uncomfortable with Jesus Christ being described as the “lamb.” I know much of this is my cultural background. As a young boy, sometimes I helped out caring for my uncle’s sheep in the fields. I know how dumb and foolish they were. I may argue that my Jesus Christ is too smart and intelligent for this imagery to be used in describing him. However, I trust the wisdom of the bible writers and the inspiration they received. Jesus was a man of culture and this description was acceptable in his own culture. He is the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world.
What has this got to do with the lay people? I am afraid that sometimes when priests look at themselves as the shepherds, they think of their parishioners as being dumb and foolish. The lay people in the pews are smarter than the church sometimes give them credit for. Someone told me recently that the bishop of her diocese instructed priests not to allow the parishioners to use the official Catechism of the church for study because they were not going to understand it. Dictionary.com defines a catechism as “an elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion, esp. as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers.” Isn’t the catechism a book every Catholic should own, read and know? If the church is afraid the lay people would not understand it because they have no formal classes in theology, they should have just written “Catholic Catechism for Theologians.” As a summary of the teachings and principles of the faith, it is an easy book to read and understand. I read the new catechism right after high school and used it then to write my first book which was written between the end of my high school and my first year in college.
Another area the church is failing is in the RCIA process. All across the country, I have encountered people who have complained about the RCIA process in their parishes. Many of the teachings are approached as if these people are 5th graders trying to know about the Catholic faith. Usually, when adults enter into the process, they want to be invited into a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. They do not want 5th grade answers to questions. They want to know about the history and development of the doctrine and how that doctrine is relevant today. Many professionals who have gone through the process find themselves digging for answers to their questions or giving up the faith.
Today in our pews, we have people who are better read than many priests. The church today is not one in which only the clergy have degrees or advanced degrees. It is a church of doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, etc. Priests would be surprise to find out how many of their parishioners have subscriptions to theological journals and magazines. They should not assume they are smarter than their parishioners. Preparations for RCIA presentations, homilies, and bible studies are absolutely necessary.
You know what I think? Please allow the people to study their bibles, catechisms, Vatican II documents, etc. It does not take the brain of a rocket scientist to understand these texts.