Cardinal Burke and the war against masculinity in the Church

La Salette Journey ^ | January 9, 2014 | Paul Melanson

[cleghornboy]

In an article which may be found here, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke says, "I think there has been a great confusion with regard to the specific vocation of men in marriage and of men in general in the Church during the past 50 years or so. It’s due to a number of factors, but the radical feminism which has assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalized.

Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men; the importance of the father, whether in the union of marriage or not; the importance of a father to children; the importance of fatherhood for priests; the critical impact of a manly character; the emphasis on the particular gifts that God gives to men for the good of the whole society.

The goodness and importance of men became very obscured, and for all practical purposes, were not emphasized at all. This is despite the fact that it was a long tradition in the Church, especially through the devotion of St. Joseph, to stress the manly character of the man who sacrifices his life for the sake of the home, who prepares with chivalry to defend his wife and his children and who works to provide the livelihood for the family. So much of this tradition of heralding the heroic nature of manhood has been lost in the Church today.

[Arthur McGowan]

According to many theologians (e.g., Fr. Paul M. Quay, SJ) the attack on masculinity in theology began around 1200.

Masculinity, femininity—i.e., matrimony—is the central issue in both the Old and New Testaments.