In 2002, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – then the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — said that “a bishop must do as Christ did: precede his flock, being the first to do what he calls others to do and, first of all, being the one who stands against the wolves who come to steal the sheep’ [emphasis added].  For a typically mild-mannered Ratzinger, his words were untypically sharp.  They were also warranted.  Ratzinger was well aware, from long experience, that whenever the Church does good work, she draws the attention and resentment of those who oppose her – not just from without, but even more painfully from within.