Fr. Jerry Pokorsky: Religious Fads

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture, May 12, 2025

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington who has also served as a financial administrator in the Diocese of Lincoln. Trained in business and accounting, he also holds a Master of Divinity and a Master’s in moral theology. Father Pokorsky co-founded both CREDO and Adoremus, two organizations deeply engaged in authentic liturgical renewal. He writes regularly for a number of Catholic websites and magazines.

In the 1980s, during an ordination Mass in the upper Midwest, a kindly bishop offered a thought-provoking contrarian homily. He said priests should not treat the people like sheep. Sheep are, well, kind of dumb. A bunch of sheep is a flock, not a herd. But they have a passive herd mentality as they silently line up for the slaughterhouse. A sensitive, educated priest should never malign his sensitive and educated people by calling them sheep. But this bishop’s advice soon became just another tired—and soon to be retired—religious fad.

In the 1980s religious and cultural milieu, the Catholic press echoed the enlightened glow of the insight. Catholics are highly intelligent. Some of them even went to college. Never treat them like dumb sheep. Priests heard from their parishioners: “Father, don’t treat us like sheep.” …

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