Why are the vast majority of Catholics staying quiet on many things this Pope has asserted?
Jesus Christ didn’t come up with the Sheep metafor randomly. It appears He understood human nature.
Most Catholics, when it comes to the Pope, hold to the dictum of Thumper’s Mom—If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
He’s doing an admirable job in practically reminding some people that very few Papal musings are authoritative, and even fewer are infallible. He is very good in illustrating that the magisterial teachings are not individual isolated statements that solve everything, but part of a complex tapestry that needs to be appreciated to enter into a sophisticated understanding of Church teaching. He is a good reminder that in addition to the current Pope we have many other sources of magisterial teaching and tradition that we can delve into. And he exists. And God wills his good so much that He died to give him a shot at dwelling with Him forever.
I just said five nice things about him. But finding nice things to say about him is, for me, a little harder than it was with his immediate predecessors.
If I were Catholic, I would be even more outraged than I am.