Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis, said the Catholic Church is heading into dangerous times — that a “man-crisis” is indeed toppling its mission and radicalized feminism is destroying the rightful roles of the family unit.
“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,” Mr. Burke said, The New Emangelization website reported. “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.”
Mr. Burke pointed fingers at radicalized feminism.
“Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church,” he said, Newsmax reported, “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.”
He went on to say that church traditions normally held “the manly character of the man who sacrifices his life for the sake of the home” in high regard, Newsmax reported. But those days are gone, he said, addressing questions about whether a “man-crisis” has affected the church, its mission and ultimately, the family unit.
“So much of this tradition of heralding the heroic nature of manhood has been lost in the Church today,” he said, Newsmax reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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