“Rome serves as shepherds in the custody of the ultimate Shepherd.”
The Catholic hierarchy are expected to be servants of the faithful. They are to do God’s will and defend and spiritually nourish those who follow the faith.
They are not intermediaries. They do not stand between the faithful and God.
Pope Francis, in my opinion, has failed. But his failure does not in any way diminish my faith.
Well said.
Those faithful to Christ certainly ought not to view Rome as masters. But they should be careful not to fool themselves about how they actually ARE viewing Rome.
If servants, it looks like there has been a strong wave of serving themselves, taking hold here. This can’t be credible servanthood. Nobody can serve two masters.
Martin Luther had, in essence, a similar complaint. Rome had walked away from Christ, which is where he was determined to stay. This time, it looks like it isn’t just a dispute over doctrines, but fundamental attitudes themselves. Good grief, the idea that not all belief systems want peace is as old as the Old Testament.