There is a question I am asked more than any other. It comes in different forms but it is always the same question. Father Thomas, where are the bishops? Where are the cardinals? Where is the Church?
It is a fair question. And it deserves an honest answer.
The shepherds are silent because silence is safe. A bishop who speaks up risks his reputation. He risks his friendships. He risks being called political or divisive. And so he says nothing. He writes careful statements about unity and peace and the dignity of all people. And he says nothing at all.
I understand the temptation. Staying quiet is comfortable. The Church is a family and families do not like members who make noise.
But Scripture does not give me that option.
In the book of Ezekiel, God spoke directly to the shepherds of Israel. He said: you have not cared for the weak. You have not healed the sick. You have not gone looking for the ones who wandered away. You ruled over my people harshly. And so they scattered. And so the wolves found them.
That was written over two thousand years ago. I have read it every week for the past month.
The people in the pews are not foolish. They can see what is happening to their country. They can see the family being torn apart. They can see children being taught things that would have shocked their grandparents. They can see a media that mocks their faith and treats their values like a problem to be solved. They come to church looking for someone to say what they are all thinking. And they leave having heard nothing.
So they go looking elsewhere. They find voices online that will say what the pulpit will not. Some of those voices are good. Some of them are not. But they all have one thing in common. They are not silent.
The Church did not lose its people to the modern world. It lost them to silence.
I want to be clear. I am not saying the Church should become a political group. The Gospel is not a party and it should never be treated like one. But there is a difference between taking political sides and simply telling the truth. A shepherd does not need to tell his flock who to vote for. He needs to tell them what is happening and what God says about it.
That is not politics. That is his job.
The wolves are not silent. They have television networks and universities and government offices. They speak loudly and constantly and with total confidence. And into all of that noise the Church has chosen to say almost nothing.
Ezekiel tells us what God said to the shepherds who abandoned their flock. It is not a comfortable passage. I would encourage you to read it.
And then I would encourage you to find a shepherd who is not silent.
That is why I am writing these letters.
— Father Thomas