The People Speak Out

After his resurrection, Jesus had lit a charcoal fire on the beach and called out to his seven gloomy fisherman apostles in the boat who had fished all night and caught nothing, to cast their net to starboard, breaking the rules of seamanship. (Jesus sometimes made a point of breaking rules.) They immediately netted a large catch. While his friends dragged the net ashore Peter, typically driven more by love than logic, jumped half naked into the water, his eyes filled with tears as he remembered his own cowardly betrayal of his loving Master. The other six knew, in defiance of all human logic, that this “was the Lord”, but where afraid to admit it. As they barbecued some of the fish, between mouthfuls Jesus asked his first pope three times if he loved him. Increasingly desperate, Peter told him he did. Priests preaching on this gospel explain, lamely, that Jesus was making Peter un-say his thrice-spoken denial. I think this is an unconscious attempt not to hear our Lord’s true warning, “Feed my sheep.” I think Jesus broken-heartedly saw how Peter’s successors through the ages would fail to hear his command. Pope Francis could be the first of those successors to put an end to this shameful neglect and feed the sheep, the sacramentally starved millions around the world denied this essential food for the sake of man-made rules – be they priestly celibacy, male-only priesthood, or worst of all wielding the power of blackmail over those who break church rules. Francis, end this starvation of the flock entrusted to you!