The problem of Effeminate Men, Priests, and Parishes – Part 2

The problem of a large number of Catholic clergy being effeminate and too many of our parishes gravitating toward a feminine nature has created a scandal that opposes God and drives away many lay faithful.

Part one of this three-part series of articles introduced the concern of how the culture derides masculinity in our young adult and adult males. This article delves deeper into how many in the Church’s priesthood sadly often mimic the secular world’s preferred type of effeminate men. And effeminate priests create effeminate parishes.

Many Catholic congregations develop soft, weak, and unmanly men.  This is due in large part to pastors not showing much manliness in their administrating, decision-making, and preaching. Creating overly effeminate parishes that celebrate overly feminine-appearing Masses does not make sense. The Church is Patriarchal. We call God, “Father,” and Jesus is a man.

Jesus Was Truly Masculine

Real masculinity doesn’t mean being physically strong and rugged. The symbolically masculine traits of toughness, combativeness, and a drive to be dominant are the manly attributes we need our priests to at least figuratively represent. After all, they are representing Jesus in His perfect model of masculinity.  He was certainly being masculine when he engaged in spiritual combat, defended women, spoke of protecting children, and loudly proclaimed against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

In other words, when Jesus was in human form, He was more than the loving, tender, compassionate – some would say “feminized” – person that today’s cafeteria-Catholics often describe Him. At times He could be stoic, intense, fearless, or aggressive – common descriptors of a masculine man. In his human life, Jesus Christ demonstrated that true masculinity contains remnants of a desire to lead, control, and command, while also featuring the traits of serving, guiding, and protecting. We can find the fullness of masculinity in the Son of God.

There is a good reason why priests and bishops are called “shepherds” – the Latin word for “pastors.” They are called to imitate Jesus, who called Himself the Good Shepherd. He even emphasized that “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus referred to people as His sheep since sheep are a unique type of livestock who require much attention, care, and guidance. Catholic clerics must have the masculine traits that leaders, gatherers, providers, and protectors possess in order to properly shepherd their flocks.

Sadly, a large number of today’s Catholics hear their shepherd at the ambo sounding nothing like a bold leader and strong protector. These effeminate pastors won’t speak up about the hard, counter-cultural or politically-incorrect topics. Instead they simply spew empty platitudes on soft, gentle topics like saving the earth from climate change or tolerance being a virtue (which it is not).

Through either words that oppose Catholic doctrine or silence on matters of eternal importance, unmanly priests end up giving their congregations the wrong impression. They wrongly create the belief that the Church needs to change with the world, instead of the Church needing to change the world. They do not possess the fortitude to adhere to biblical principles and values that stand in contrast to the prevailing norms and practices of society.

These types of clergy are exactly modeling the effeminate man that Saint Thomas Aquinas warned was too soft and too yielding. Aquinas in The Summa Theologica states than effeminacy is a vice. An effeminate man is soft, readily yields, and is reluctant to suffer due to an attachment to comfort.

Men Don’t Want to Be Shepherded by Non-Manly Priests

An effeminate pastor is likely to celebrate the Mass in a soft, campy, or dainty manner. This softness is a big reason why over the past 50-some years the Church has seen a decline in Mass attendance. Effeminate priests constructing overly feminine congregations are a recipe for driving away male parishioners.

Generally speaking, Catholics attend either Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) or Novus Ordo Masses. The Latin Mass (aka Tridentine Mass or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) was codified in 1570. Novus Ordo Masses have only been around since 1969.

Proponents of the TLM argue that the modern way to celebrate lacks the rigorous process, robust actions, and stout words that were portrayed by all Catholics for at least 400 years prior. Men and boys especially seem to prefer experiencing the regimented, orderly actions of the priest and altar boys at the TLM, where the liturgy appears more disciplined and almost militaristic in its precision.

It is possible to find reverent Novus Ordo (non-TLM) parishes that also celebrate regimented, traditional liturgies and whose pious priests epitomize masculinity. You just have to search for them. But the reality is the majority of modern-day (Novus Ordo) priests don’t seem to ooze any ounce of masculinity when celebrating the Mass.

From the moment such clerics process up to the altar to Communion time when they acquiesce the distribution of the Eucharist to lay members of the congregation, “manliness” is not a descriptor of what the men in the pew are witnessing. A weak leader who demonstrates unmanly characteristics and is too cowardly to proclaim tough truths does not win over your typical man (the traditional type of man, not modern culture’s emasculate type).

Evidence here and here support the claims that the traditional, more orthodox Catholic parishes have been gaining parishioners this century. Meanwhile, parishes celebrating the latter type continue losing parishioners at a declining rate.

Furthermore, results from various polling sites in recent years reveal there has been an exodus of Catholic men from Mass attendance and parish participation. They are not being fed by casual, lukewarm Catholicism’s over-emphasis on permissiveness and toleration over hard truths and sacrifice.

Of course the Mass is neither male nor female. It is the sacrifice of Christ Himself.  And he offered this sacrifice for men and women alike. While the sacred liturgy should not be explicitly masculine, the problem with many parishes since the 1970s is their Masses have deviated so much the other way that they now explicitly feel softly feminine.

Effeminate Pastors Construct Effeminate Parishes

Using the label “feminine” to describe Catholic parishes isn’t referring to having a sense of motherly caring and nurturing. These virtues would be suitable for a church community and their leadership to display at times.  But when a parish is overly feminine, it does not help promote the masculinity its male members need in its liturgies, preaching, and fostering of community.

It is wrong for a Catholic parish to be “feminine” if that translates to developing docile, delicate parishioners and employing parish and school staff who are squishy in their ideology.

The feminizing of a parish can often result when its spiritual leader is effeminate himself. This is the pastor who is either homosexual, same-sex attracted, or a heterosexual supportive of the so-called “gay agenda.” (This topic will be discussed in detail in the forthcoming “Part 3.”)

But even setting aside the matter of sexuality, a non-masculine priest is synonymous with a cowardly priest. Pastors who refuse to speak counter-culturally from the ambo due for fear of hostility or unpopularity lead their parishioners to erroneous conclusions. These men of the cloth are guiding their flocks to conform to the secular world’s way of thinking.

By refusing to bluntly preach on Biblical truths that today’s culture considers politically-incorrect or hateful, priests end up feminizing their approach in their evangelizing and instructing. Their homilies are like watered-down pabulum, and the lay faithful wither due to lack of nourishment.

Some examples of truths that the Church loudly proclaimed up until current day, but many men of the cloth nowadays are too weak to address include:

• Christ founded only one church – the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” Church. Catholicism is considered the “one true Church” unlike later, man-founded denominations.
• Hell is more than a concept or a scare tactic. It is a real place where people go and spend eternity if they commit a sin of grave matter, with full knowledge, and deliberate consent, and never repent of it, thereby rejecting the dominion of God.
• People are either male or female. Surgeries, medications, or someone’s “truth” cannot change this reality. Thus, so-called transgenderism is both nonsensical and anti-God.
• Human life begins at conception and any deliberate participation in the killing of that defenseless life – such as a mother having an abortion, the father supporting the abortion, or her doctor performing the abortion – are mortal sins.
• “Love is love” – the mantra of the so-called LGBTQ movement – is just a slick form of propaganda to candy-coat the poisonous pill of homosexual sin. The accurate mantra we Christians should be reciting is, “Truth is love, and Jesus is the Truth.” When discussing truths, we must support a basic, moral truth about human sexuality. Our Almighty Father created sexual acts to be an ordered, part of a lifelong, mutually exclusive union between one man and one woman, open to the gift of new life.

When a congregation does not hear these hard truths preached, they will most likely assume that the secular culture’s views are correct or at least not really sinful. A priest is not charitable when he chooses to meekly not take a stand or speak up regarding abuses that put his flock’s souls in jeopardy. Silence gives consent. Followers perceive their passive leader’s toleration of dissent as approval.

No better example of an effeminate, weak, and downright heretical cleric than Fr. Fred Daley. This New York priest leads his parish by scandalously blending depraved, secular ideology with sacred worship. If you dare watch this video of a recent Mass in his parish, you will find countless acts of ridiculous and blasphemous liturgical abuses.

Daley begins the Mass with a Hindu greeting, “Namasté,” rather than a Catholic Sign of the Cross. His next violation or theological error is when he refers to the Holy Spirit as “she.” This unmanly man of the cloth allows a so-called transgender to give the homily and flies a so-called pride flag in the sanctuary. This type of priest both confuses the faithful and disrespects the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Gregorian Chant and the Organ Exude Masculinity

One more striking representation of parishes becoming overly feminine is the choice of music at Mass. A pastor who allows his music minister choose Mass hymns that focus more on the music’s rhythm than theology in its lyrics is doing a disservice to his flock. He is extinguishing any feelings of masculinity in the Mass as many modern hymns express sickly sweet feelings and sentimental fluff which turn off most men.

Music in the Mass is not meant to make us feel good and get us dancing and prancing. Music in the Mass is to a way to praise God, give Him glory, and draw us deeper into a relationship with Him. Liturgical music is meant to express God’s dominance and stimulate a more sacred and transcendent experience. Many contemporary hymns either don’t foster these or even express false teachings.

Scores of pastors have directed their choirs and cantors to move away from previously rugged-themed Mass songs. By doing so, they have emasculated the males in their congregations. The once common hymns such as “Onward, Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War” had these virile lyrics:

“Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see his banner go! …On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory! Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise! …Like a mighty army moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod…”

Today, pansified songs like “Let Us Build the City of God” have replaced heavy, demanding hymns. Accompanied by the soprano-sounds of a tambourine replacing the baritone-sounds of an organ, this modern day travesty consists of these soft, unmanly lyrics:

“Awake from your slumber; arise from your sleep; a new day is dawning for all those who weep. …We are sons of the morning; we are daughters of day. …May our tears be turned into dancing…”

A priest should have in mind the common spiritual good of the people of God, rather than the popularity of contemporary Christian music. This is one reason why the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in their document “Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship” instructed that Gregorian chant should enjoy a “pride of place” in church music. In addition, the Second Vatican Council actually directed that the faithful should sing parts of the Mass together in Latin.

Sacred music is vital to enriching the Sacrifice of the Mass. This pertains not only to the choice of music but the choice of instruments. For example, so-called contemporary choirs in many Catholic parishes will use drums, which are normally not appropriate. However, not enough parishes will use the organ, which gives off masculine vibes. The USCCB’s document on music states:

“Among all other instruments which are suitable for divine worship the organ is ‘accorded pride of place’ because its capacity to sustain the singing of a large, gathered assembly, due to both its size and its ability to give ‘resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation.’  Likewise, the manifold possibilities of the organ in some way remind us of the immensity and the magnificence of God.”

To Be Continued

Part three of this series will talk about the elephant in the room. A major reason why the Church has become too effeminate is due to the large number of homosexual or same-sex attracted clergy. This third and final part will then go on to explain why lay Catholics have both a right and the duty to criticize the reality of too much effeminacy in the Church.