The Catholic Church is undergoing a crisis of masculinity. Most parishes are dominated by women, and men are rarely at the forefront of spiritual leadership in a parish. What can be done to reinstate men as spiritual leaders?
What we need is a men’s group for men who don’t like men’s groups.
A men’s group for formation and friendship seems to try to combine two things that have traditionally been kept separate. They seem to reflect the modern tendency to do synthetically what ought to be done naturally.
Many of the men who are in most need of Catholic male fellowship are in the worst position to make it happen: mid-career, young and growing family, demands on time to balance everything…anything that isn’t work or family gets pushed to the back burner.
We are all familiar with the current impasse on abortion. On the one hand, we hear the pro-life group, usually appealing to religious and ethical principles, decrying abortion as homicide, pure and simple. On the other, we are confronted by the pro-choice group, usually appealing to considerations about women’s rights, zealously defending a woman’s right … Read more
So here I am in the Holy City for a week, to attend a family wedding and restore my shattered nerves. Too many months spent teaching Great Books in rural New Hampshire is enough to reduce a civilized man to a bag of broken glass, and I need at least a week of taking subways … Read more
In the Breviary (Monday, Week Three, Morning Prayers), we find five intercessions. The first reads: “Man was created to glorify God through all his [man’s] deeds.” This intercession is mindful of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s principle: “Man was created to praise, reverence, and serve God and thereby to save his soul.” God, be it noted, … Read more
I took the year off from Father’s Day yesterday. For several years I’d been making a point, in my secular newspaper column, of writing something quite opposite to “feel-good” on the subject for the Sunday corresponding to this secular occasion. But glancing through the last couple of them, I thought, “That’s enough now: People are … Read more
The July/August issue of The Atlantic has a provocative lead article entitled “The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin. Bound to raise some hackles, it’s a well-written, fascinating, worrisome piece that looks at women’s growing dominance in the West and considers whether the modern, post-industrial world is actually more suited to the female: Man has … Read more
The only thing that explains Sen. Harry Reid’s latest verbal gaffe is stress and exhaustion — he needs a long vacation. Standing on the floor of the Senate yesterday with notes, yes, with notes on the podium in front of him, the majority leader said, I met with some people while I was home dealing … Read more
It’s called Steadishots.org: A Tribute and Study of Steadicam Operators and Their Work, which pretty much says it all. OK, maybe I should clarify a bit: it could easily become my favorite website, with a little work. Right now, the list of shots is much too short for someone as obsessed with the Steadicam and its … Read more
My mother-in-law once asked me disapprovingly, “Why are you so direct and confrontational with your husband? You should know by now he doesn’t like it. It’s no way to get what you want.” She added with a twinkle in her eye, “You know, dear, I have everything I always wanted in life — but I … Read more
You are in a large church basement on the upper east side of Manhattan. Like all church basements, it freelances as a basketball court, a dining hall, a wailing room for various twelve-step programs. This morning, it’s marriage preparation. Seventy-five couples who plan to marry in the Catholic Church are here for a day of … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I made the case that the biblical warnings against confusing the traditions of men with the Tradition of God still apply in our day. A few days later, as if divinely ordained to illustrate my point, an outraged reader of my blog sent along a story that recently ran on British … Read more
Human life appears most precious when it is under the gun. At such times, we affirm the greatness of one soul by acting decisively to protect it. Or do we? Modern life produces a multitude of justifications for moral disengagement from our own dark choices and those of friends and strangers. In Bella, a … Read more
