Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis is misleading his Flock
By Philip F. Lawler
(2018 Regnery Gateway, Washington DC)
Many of us know Philip Lawler as a sharp-eyed critic of the media and Catholic institutions. On his Catholic Culture site and in his book The Faithful Departed, he provides perceptive and honest commentary on the press and the (pathetic) state of the institutional Church. He shows a special talent in dissecting official pronouncements and press releases to reveal what is being said or not said.
In Lost Shepherd he attempts to make sense of the pontificate of Pope Francis. But it is one thing to provide running commentary on current developments. It is quite another to attempt to understand a revolutionary movement and put in its political and historical context. The recent Dictator Pope made a commendable first effort to do just that. Lost Shepherd is less successful.
A Catholic Conservative is at a distinct disadvantage here. Since 1968 or so his entire “ideology” (a perhaps inexact term) has been unswerving loyalty to the papacy. He saw his mission as defending it and (depending on the writer)other Church institutions against both the attacks of so-called dissenters and the all too frequent failings of the local hierarchy. This framework of analysis and the a priori positions it entails are totally inadequate to deal with the phenomenon of Francis. For the fundamental problem is that, after his initial reluctance to face the truth, Lawler has to admit:
[E]very day (I am exaggerating, but only slightly ) the pope issues another reminder that he does not approve of Catholics like me.
Indeed, as chronicled in this book, Pope Francis and his team have specifically rejected all the characteristic positions of Lawler and his fellow American Conservative Catholics. The pope even may be a “radical.” But for Lawler to acknowledge that the papacy has gone over to the progressives would be too much; instead, he has to speak of Francis “misleading” or “confusing” the Church.
One largely misses Lawler, the biting commentator, in this book. Only here and there do we encounter his usual style:
His (the Pope’s – SC) warning about being “obsessed” with abortion and contraception made many loyal Catholics uneasy; it hardly seemed necessary to complain about a “obsession” with issues that are rarely even mentioned in a typical parish.
Instead, in an attempt to be even-handed, we are offered blander prose, studded with quotes from fellow conservatives and “centrists.” Now and then Lawler even falls into sycophantic church-speak, such as, when discussing Evangelii Gaudium:
Francis provides a rich variety of useful suggestions for pastors and for lay people who wish to share their faith.
Lawler discusses the 2013 papal election, the failed economic and organizational reforms at the Vatican, Amoris Letitia and the reaction thereto and Francis’s style and leadership. I didn’t find his analysis of any of these topics particularly insightful. At no time does he provide a detailed comparison of the policies of Francis with the reigning ideas of progressive Catholicism or indeed of the secular establishment. That would show that Francis’s policies are a lot less confusing than Lawler makes them out to be.
The author provides only sketchy historical background. And what he does provide is incomplete and superficial – such as his contrast of a supposed age of stability and sanctity under John Paul II and Benedict with the current regime. For as Lawler himself acknowledges in Lost Shepherd, this prior era of Vatican excellence may not always have made any difference in the life of Catholics at the parish level. Moreover, when our author praises the laissez-faire appointment policies of John Paul and Benedict, we must question his judgment. For are not their incompetent appointments one main reason that we have the Francis pontificate today? And if Lawler finds that:
Pope Francis has not taught heresy.
he has done so without having stated or responded to any arguments of those who presumably think he has.
It is of course a welcome development that yet another conservative feels compelled to disassociate himself very publicly from what is going on at the highest levels of the Church today, And readers wanting a reasonable summary of the last 5 years of Pope Francis may appreciate this book. It’s certainly miles ahead of the Francis biographies put out by the Pope’s media claque. But Lost Shepherd is unlikely to satisfy those seeking for real answers to how things could have come to this state.
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