Images of the Lord as shepherd dominate the readings for this Sunday’s solemnity of Christ the King. The psalmist, for example, wants for nothing because the Lord is the shepherd. The American Catholic bishops, in their role as shepherds of the U.S. church, expressed their dissatisfaction at the state of religious liberty in the nation during their annual three-day fall assembly in Baltimore this week.

The psalmist says that the shepherd “guides me in right paths.” The bishops, however, feel stymied in their efforts to help guide the debate over moral issues in the public square. Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., the chairman of the bishops’ newly established committee on religious liberty, said the church would urge priests and laypeople to take up the religious liberty cause.

Some commentators have criticized the bishops’ priorities, saying they are playing into the culture wars. John Gehring, Catholic outreach coordinator with Faith in Public Life, a religious advocacy group in Washington, said: “The bishops speak in hushed tones when it comes to poverty and economic justice issues, and use a big megaphone when it comes to abortion and religious liberty issues.”

Sources: Articles by Nancy Frazier O’Brien, Mark Pattison, Patricia Zapor, and Carol Zimmermann
for Catholic News Service and Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times