VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- More than just a good metaphor, the "good shepherd" is a concrete role model for Christian leadership.

"The fathers of the Bible" -- those, like Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Moses and David -- who God chose to lead his people, "are all shepherds of sheep," in the real sense that they spent years with staff in hand feeding, protecting and caring for wooly ruminants, said Sister Elena Bosetti, a member of the Sisters of Jesus Good Shepherd.

Just as Jesus told the fishermen Simon Peter and Andrew to become fishers of men, God transformed his chosen shepherds of sheep in the Old Testament into pastors of people, she said, showing sheep husbandry as a kind of internship program for God's leaders. 

The Old and New Testaments are replete with imagery of sheep and shepherds, and Pope Francis gave these figures renewed emphasis, most notably with his memorable insistence to priests and bishops to spend more time among the people and be "shepherds living with the smell of sheep."

Pope Leo XIV ordained 10 priests on Good Shepherd Sunday, April 26, in St. Peter's Basilica, telling them the people they will serve "inhabit pastures that you must come to know" so they can find the many people who feel lost and help lead them "beside still waters."

The priest’s service, Pope Leo said later before praying the Regina Coeli with those gathered in the square, mirrors what Jesus has said, "that he is bound to us by a relationship of friendship, for he knows us, calls us by name, guides us, and -- just as the shepherd does with his sheep -- searches for us when we are lost and binds up our wounds when we are sick." 

Sister Bosetti, a professor and biblical scholar specializing in pastoral symbolism, told Catholic News Service in 2015, that, unlike the secular logic of power, the Christian model of leadership and authority is rooted in the process of making oneself similar to, not separating or differentiating oneself from, the people to be served.

In fact, it takes a real shepherd years of being with the flock every day to gain their trust, said Fabrizio Innocenzi, who once owned about 60 sheep in the hills of Roviano, 40 miles east of Rome. 

Sheep "at first glance seem docile, simple, but they're not. They're very complicated and need lots of care and attention," he had told CNS. 

"They need a guide, a shepherd" because there is no natural leader or hierarchy within their group, he said. Their movements are dictated by what the others are doing around them, creating a kind of "domino effect" that can easily break into panic if just one sheep gets spooked, he said.

The role of the shepherd and the sheep dog are essential then, he said, to keep the sheep calm and away from danger such as steep cliffs, roads, cars, wrong turns and predators.

The sheep learn to trust the shepherd, Innocenzi said, as "they hear and understand the voice, the smell, the behavior of the person who is looking after them every day.

He said a shepherd needs to be someone who is "in tune with nature, decisive" and willing to lovingly bear the long hours, inclement weather, hard work and sacrifice and they should "not be afraid of anything."

The trust that develops is forged not out of fear, he said, but from the instinctual knowledge that the shepherd and the sheep dog are there not to punish, but to keep them safe.

"For them, the dog represents security" and makes them "feel at ease and peaceful."

In a similar way, Sister Bosetti said, pastoral leadership is about offering "comfort, consolation and encouragement," while being "in the midst of the sheep, defending them, assuring them, 'I am here, do not be afraid.'"

The shepherd's staff, for example, "is not used for hitting," she said. It provides the shepherd with the support he needs to clamber over rough and steep ground, and it lets the sheep, whose view is limited with their low hanging heads and eyes focused on grass to graze, know their guide is there as the staff rhythmically strikes the ground.

"If I hear 'thud, thud,' it means that he is here. Maybe I don't see him, but I hear him, his voice, his staff. In the Bible, it is not the eye, it's the ear that's fundamental. The sheep listen. The ear is the essential organ for knowing God," she said. 

In Psalm 23, she said, "The Lord is my shepherd," who fulfills every need, who leads, restores and guides, and whose "rod and staff comfort me" because they are used to conquer evil and not to abuse one's own flock.

The saving power of the pastoral staff is further evident with Moses, she said. Through God's intercession, Moses uses his shepherding stick to part the Red Sea and lead his people to safety, as well as to split rocks in the desert so water gushes forth to quench people's thirst. 

The humble shepherd's stick "is turned into God's presence, it performs miracles," she said.

The Catholic Church uses more than just a bishop's crook or staff to communicate his role as shepherd. Archbishops receive a pallium, a narrow band made of wool with long strips hanging down the front and the back, tipped with black silk to recall the dark hooves of the sheep the archbishop is symbolically carrying over his shoulders.

The pallium is meant "to restore, to actualize the symbol, to remember that it's not about having another garment. No, you have to remember that pastoral ministry is carrying the flock on your shoulders," she said. 

Sister Bosetti's order, the Sisters of Jesus Good Shepherd, are also known as the "Pastorelle," the little shepherdesses, to underline the importance of women religious in the pastoral mission of Christ.

Women shepherds appear often in the Bible, she said; and encouraging their pastoral side isn't about ordination to the priesthood, but about collaboration and complementarity.

Taking care of God's people "must not be reduced to the priesthood," she said. "We need a prophetic pastoral ministry" made up all faithful modeling the Good Shepherd himself: encouraging, consoling and leading the way forward with hope.

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A version of this story was originally published in 2015.

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MALABO TO ROME (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV, who has repeatedly called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, went a step further April 23, condemning the unjust taking of life by governments as violence continues in Iran.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal flight back to Rome after an 11-day trip to Africa, the pope said, "As a shepherd I cannot be in favor of war," while addressing the escalating conflict involving Iran.

Since the start of the conflict Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes in Iran, more than 3,000 people have been killed, including an estimated 1,700 civilians, according to human rights groups and Iranian media. A fragile ceasefire remains in place, even as tensions continue to rattle global markets and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Until now, Pope Leo had limited his public remarks on the conflict to appeals for peace and dialogue. On the return flight, however, he directly addressed the moral implications of state violence.

"If there is regime change or no regime change, the question is how to promote the values in which we believe without the death of so many innocents," he said, responding in Italian. "The question of Iran is evidently very complex."

Responding to a similar question in English, asking whether he directly condemned the reported state violence aimed at Iran's citizens, he said, "I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people's lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people, from conception to natural (death), their lives should be respected and protected."

"So when a regime, when a country takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned," he said.

Continuing his broader call for peace rooted in dialogue, he said in Italian, "I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to look for answers that come from a culture of peace and not from a place of hate and division."

The comments came after a week of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the pope was "terrible for foreign policy" and questioned his stance on the conflict. Pope Leo declined to engage directly.

"I have no intention of getting into a debate," he said April 18, adding that he would continue to advocate for peace.

Throughout the in-flight press conference April 23, the pope also reflected on themes that emerged during his Africa trip, including governance, and he answered questions on migration and the blessing of same-sex couples.

The pope reaffirmed the position spelled out in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's publication of "Fiducia Supplicans" ("Supplicating Trust"), which allows Catholic priests to bless a same-sex or other unmarried couple. However, it cannot be a formal liturgical blessing, nor give the impression that the church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage.

The pope was asked how he intended to preserve the unity of the global church on the matter, given a recent decision by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising to allow priests to bless same-sex couples in his archdiocese, and the clear opposition to such practices by a number of church leaders, particularly in Africa.

"First of all, I think it's very important to understand that the unity or division of the church should not revolve around sexual matters," he said.

"We tend to think that when the church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual, and in reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue," he said.

Pope Leo underlined that the Vatican does not agree with "formalized" blessings of homosexual couples or couples in "irregular situations," as is spelled out in the Vatican document.

He recalled the meaning behind Pope Francis' expression of "todos, todos, todos," meaning "everyone," as being "an expression of the church's belief that all are welcome, all are invited, all are invited to follow Jesus, and all are invited to look for conversion in their lives."

"To go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity, and that we should look for ways to build our unity upon Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches," he said.

In another question, the pope defended the Vatican's practice of maintaining diplomatic relations with political leaders, including those criticized by human rights groups, saying such engagement can create opportunities to advocate privately for justice and humanitarian concerns.

"We are actually trying to find a way to apply the Gospel to concrete situations so that the lives of people can be improved," he said.

On migration, he questioned the role of wealthier nations in driving global inequality.

"What does the global North do to support the global South, and those countries where young people today find no future?" he said, pointing to economic disparities that fuel migration.

While acknowledging the right of nations to control their borders, he stressed that migrants must be treated with dignity.

"We need to treat human beings in a humanitarian way and not treat them worse than house pets," he said.

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