How many of you have seen the Gregory Peck/Richard Basehart version of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick? Remember the fiery sermon delivered by the minister who was portrayed powerfully by Orson Welles? The priests I grew up with (I was a military "Brat"), were of the same sort. They were men who knew the Sacred Scriptures. Men who inspired a sort of military-like zeal with regard to evangelization and the spiritual life.
In a previous post, I wrote that, "A testosterone-free Church is not appealing to men. Effeminate priests and ministers do not inspire healthy young men to consider a vocation within the Church.." An article which may be found here, is saying essentially the same thing. The writer asserts (and I couldn't agree more) that, "All of the outward facing disciplines within Christianity, such as apologetics, theology, ethics, etc. are de-emphasized, censored or resisted in feminized churches. There is no place for rationality, moral judgments and boundaries, debates and disagreement, confrontations and persuasion, or other manly Christian practices."
I've personally encountered such resistance toward apologetics and spiritualities which are decidely masculine (such as the Ignatian model). I'm convinced that the effeminization which has take place within the Catholic Church in this country is one reason I am not welcome at my own parish and have been (like so many other healthy young men who are not homosexual or crippled by effeminacy - see Michael S. Rose's book Goodbye, Good Men) excluded from consideration when expressing interest in pursuing a priestly vocation.
The Catholic Church is plagued by homosexuality and effeminacy. These cancers are metastasizing and rotting the Church from within. It is time to remove these plagues from the House of God.
Related reading here.
