Where will the shepherd let his sheep wander . . . ?

How embarrassing but not unexpected . . .

On a conservative talk radio show, the host said that Catholics could expect to be hearing plenty from their bishops this Sunday regarding the election because so much is at stake here regarding life and our religious freedoms. Immediately, someone from a city in our diocese called in and voiced what I was thinking as this was said - how the bishop hasn't come out much on the subject and the few mentions have been very, very low-key and lukewarm.

I'm a little jealous that we don't seem to have the fervor on the change we need this upcoming election to bring about. Other people continue to call the radio station and they all seem to be getting hard truths about how one cannot be a true Catholic and vote for anyone who is so adamantly against everything our Faith stands for.

The results of this lack are felt. There are people in my local parish who have stopped talking to me because I didn't back the president's election in 2008 and surely will not do so next week. They seem to live in a bubble of their own making and our bishop hasn't said or done enough to burst that bubble for them.

You have to wonder about this lack of outward concern. Where is the outcry from our clergy about what this president has done to people of Faith? The emphasis seems to be immigration, an end to the death penalty, and how obamacare might be a step in the right direction. Social values seem to ace spiritual ones.

How can a leader expect us to follow him if he doesn't, well, go out on a limb and . . . lead? In this day and age, we don't need a shepherd that leans against the open gate and lets his sheep wander in and out on their own without guidance.