As culture leaves doubt as to how men can live out their identities, the Church has moved into the void Perception of men’s identities has gone through a lot of confusion in recent decades, with conflicting voices telling them they are too strong or too weak, that they need to take charge or give up control. More recently, the toxic depth of how men live out their sexualities and relate to others has been laid bare in the raft of accusations and allegations around the #MeToo movement. Issues of how boys are formed have come to the fore, with at least one recent commentator highlighting that all school shooters have been male.
The rise in men’s movements within the Church is both a reaction to cultural confusion and a support and formation for what it means to be a man of God. The Church teaches the complementarity of men and women, the idea of different strengths, perspectives and roles, while advocating for the equal worth and dignity of both. There is a natural strength in relationships when lived out in union with God. Women can wholeheartedly support Catholic men’s programs because they are about men becoming Christlike for the benefit of their wives, children and communities.
Patti Maguire Armstrong OSV Newsweekly 7/3/2018
To be continued.
On the feast of the Archangels in 2015, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix released “Into the Breach: An Apostolic Exhortation to Catholic Men, My Spiritual Sons in the Diocese of Phoenix.” It was inspired when Dorinda C. Bordlee, vice president of the Bioethics Defense Fund, spoke in his diocese on Pope St. John Paul II’s writings on the feminine genius. “We need something on the genius of men,” she said.
“That was the trigger that inspired me,” Bishop Olmsted explained. “I was concerned for a long time about the need for greater clarity of the mission of men. We need humble and courageous men to live our faith joyfully.”
The response was amazing, spreading across the United States and even into other countries and getting translated into other languages. It is being used by men of all walks of life, including those discerning a religious vocation.
The letter calls men not to hesitate to engage in the battle rag-ing around them “that is wounding our children and families” and “distorting the dignity of both women and men.” Bishop Olmsted noted that the battle is spiritual, often hidden, and related to the fact that 12 million Catholics have left the faith since 2000.
He encouraged men, saying, “A throw-away culture cannot withstand the new life and light that constantly radiates from Christ. So I call upon you to open your minds and hearts to him, the Saviour who strengthens you to step into the breach!”
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