A Crisis of Clerical Manhood, by Stephen Wynne

By Stephen Wynne, Church Militant, June 26, 2019

Priestly ranks must recapture masculine virtue

A half-century of withering holiness and metastasizing homosexuality has decimated Catholic clerical ranks. The strength of the priesthood has been sapped by an inrush of emasculated men — men for whom self-sacrifice is a mystery and self-indulgence the norm.

Along the way, the will to war against the diabolical has been lost. Pews have emptied. Churches have closed. Boys have been raped.

Emasculated bishops — whether homosexual, homosexualist or cowardly — have failed in their spiritual fatherhood.

Choosing to protect the institution instead of the innocent, these “deadbeat dads” have open the door to unprecedented spiritual and sexual abuse. Lives have been wrecked. Souls have been lost.

These same clerics have allowed evil to infiltrate the Church and saturate society. They bow to abortion activists, look past Islamist radicals, “dialogue” with Communist persecutors and open diocesan doors to LGBT zealots. Meanwhile, they skewer men who stand strong against the spirit of the age.

Emasculated clergy are inept at evangelizing, as they are incapable of sacrificing.

The role of a father — biological and spiritual — is to sacrifice himself for the sake of his family. The weak, the cowardly, the emasculated cannot and do not inspire men to follow; instead, they repulse them. This is why, since the 1960s, the Church has been bled nearly dry of committed Catholic laymen.

Lay Catholic men have a pivotal part to play in rebuilding the priesthood. They must return to their God-given roles as priests, prophets and kings of their homes and ensure their family’s fidelity to the Faith.

In doing so, they’ll make men of their sons. Some of these will go on to establish their own households. Others will repopulate the priesthood’s depleted ranks as faithful spiritual fathers.

Catholic clerics must give their all to cultivating holiness in themselves and in their flocks. By challenging men spiritually strive, faithful shepherds inspire men to follow their lead and grow their numbers. Until priestly ranks recapture authentic masculinity, pews will continue to empty.

Watch the panel discuss the crisis of clerical manhood in The Download—The Church Milquetoast.