Posted on 01/08/2015 4:20:38 PM PST by steve86
A top U.S. cardinal at the Vatican, recently demoted by Pope Francis, has decried what he calls a “feminized” Catholic Church and blames altar girls serving at Mass in part for its inability to recruit more priests.
“Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural: I think that has contributed to a loss of priestly vocations,” Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an interview.
“It requires a certain manly discipline to serve as an altar boy in service at the side of priests, and most priests have their first deep experience with liturgy as altar boys,” Burke added.
Burke was a favorite of Pope Benedict XVI. The former archbishop of St. Louis — who threatened to deny communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians — was named in 2008 as head of the Vatican’s highest court. He was also on the commission that recommends new bishops.
Pope Francis has removed Burke from both posts. He was recently given a new, largely ceremonial posting as patron of the Order of Malta.
Burke has been speaking his mind about Francis, and did so in an interview with Matthew Christoff, head of a Catholic mens’ organization called the New Evangelization Movement.
“If we are not training young men as altar boys, giving them an experience in serving God in the liturgy, we should not be surprised that vocations have fallen dramatically,” said Burke.
Burke, 66, a liturgical traditionalist known for his elegant vestments, is not happy at what he sees around the altar these days.
“Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women,” he lamented. ”The activities of the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men don’t want to get involved.”
Burke broadened his argument, saying that the “radical feminist movement strongly influenced the church” and has been a bad influence on American society. He blamed the decline in Catholics’ practicing their faith on such factors as “rampant liturgical experimentation” and “a complete collapse” in teaching of church dogma.
As well, he appeared to blame gay priests for the church’s sexual abuse scandal, say that priests “who were feminized and confused about their own sexual identity” were responsible for much of the abuse.
Burke said he has had “young men telling me that they were, in a certain way, frightened by marriage because of the radical and self-focused attitude of women that were emerging at the time.”
“These young men were concerned that entering a marriage would simply not work because of a constant and insistent demanding of rights for women,” he added.
The Catholic Church began allowing girls to serve at the altar in 1983. At present, only the ultraconservative Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., does not allow it.
Categories: Catholic Church
Then somehow we evolved and became indifferentiable.
This is so true. I watched the boys at the church we used to attend be crowded out of the live nativitiy we did each year. The moms were so proud to have their girls be kings and only the younger boys would be shepherds. Being kings was the boy preparation to being Joseph in a few years. None of the boys could participate and none of them became Jospeh, instead, the minister’s son had to always play the role for all the boys stopped participating at age 10. There was no more room at the inn for them.
So,priests are only interested in young alter boys? Im shocked,,shocked I tell you,,,
PFL
So,priests are only interested in young alter boys? Im shocked,,shocked I tell you,,,
______________
what the heck are you talking about?
God Bless Cardinal Burke. May he keep speaking the truth about liberal Catholicism and the wacky tree-hugging pope.
Thanks for filling in for me. We have a discipline situation with a 14 yr old girl in the house and I am somewhat preoccupied at the moment.
I have been saying this for years. I was an altar boy for 7 years. Many former altar boys went on to be priests, and being an altar boy was a significant contributing factor in that decision.
So, along comes the Church saying that girls should be allowed to be altar boys, and the name will be changed to altar servers. I would have no problem with that if girls were allowed to become priests. However, the Church has said a resounding NO to women priests.
So, why then are over half the altar servers in my parish and nearby parishes girls? The Church complains about a priest shortage, yet the Church shoots itself in the foot by drastically reducing a significant source of vocations.
This is all part of a very clever strategy by none other than the Prince of Darkness (who began a major campaign -- possibly the final one -- against Catholicism in about 1962).
the role of the altar boy has changed a lot since I was one in the 40’s and 50’s...The altar boy actually participated in the Mass by answering the priest with et cum spiritu tuo, habemus ad dominum. and other responses...folding the cloth over the Communion rail, carrying the paten while the priest distributed the Eucharist...ringing the chimes during the Elevation....Now, they escort the congregation up the aisles for Communion, carry the book to the priest for various readings and present the water and towel for the lavabo ceremony....no direct participation at all.
“It requires a certain manly discipline to serve as an altar boy in service at the side of priests, and most priests have their first deep experience with liturgy as altar boys,” Burke added.
But looking at the + side, that will be fewer boys available to be molested and raped...If your religion has to draw from outside the young recruits for its priesthood, the chances may be a lot better of ending up with hetero priests...Break the cycle...
The feminization of the Catholic Church includes the awful Marty Haugen hymns, who is not even Catholic, let alone Christian (apostate liberal United Church of Christ).
If the Catholic Church were to use non-Catholic hymns, better to pick Fanny Crosby. Wesley. Isaac Watts. Something with some scriptural basis.
I used to be an altar boy in the 60’s and carried the paten when the Priest gave out Communion. When I came to my older brother kneeling at the altar rail I would give him a whap on the throat with the paten. Always resulted in a fight after Mass.
a statement like that, completely lacking in intellectual content deserves no response.....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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