In today’s first reading St. Peter exhorts the church leaders to “tend the flock of God.” Peter, through his own experience, knows what it means to both confess Christ and to deny Christ. He recognizes that all religious leaders are fallible and exhorts them to exercise their ministry “not for shameful profit.” He reminds them that they are called to a ministry of service and challenges these presbyters and shepherds: “do not lord it over those assigned to you.”
Today we celebrate the Chair of Saint Peter. One of the Pope’s titles is servus servorum Dei (“servant of the servants of God”). The pope, like all Christians, is called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus’ own ministry was one of service and sacrifice: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Today as we celebrate the chair of St. Peter we recognize the holiness of many popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests. But we must also acknowledge that they are fallible and sometimes sinfully so. The clerical abuse scandal continues to remind us that some popes, bishops, and priest have failed Peter’s exhortation to “tend the flock of God in your midst” and have failed to protect the “little ones.” As we pray today for all the victims of clerical abuse let us also be diligent in our own responsibility to protect all these little ones and to stand up to any presbyter and shepherd who fails in this duty.