A Good Question

Where is the Vatican document Vocatio Vir Christi?

A priest once told a friend of mine that the crisis in the Church won't be solved until women come down off the cross and men climb up. What exactly did he mean? I think Leon Podles got it right when he wrote The Church Impotent: the Feminization of Christianity. He devotes his last chapter to "The Future of Men in the Church." 

Christianity is a manly religion, one that requires struggle and discipline. St. Ignatius, in his spiritual exercises, envisions the battlefield where the army of Christ and the army of Satan gather. And think of all the martyrs who stood up boldly against incredible evil.

 But often the manly aspects of the faith are almost invisible. In some churches the only man in the sanctuary during Sunday Mass is the priest. And what a ridiculous sight his parishioners suffer in a congregation where everyone holds hands at the Our Father. There, behind the altar, Father stands hand in hand with his harem of helpers.

I agree that there is a crisis of masculinity in the Church. When more of our clergy start acting like men, perhaps we will begin to see its resolution.