Cardinal Burke Blames “Radical Feminism” on Males Leaving the Church

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a former Archbishop of St. Louis, has come out once again as a highly controversial figure within the Catholic Church. Cardinal Burke was recently interviewed by The New Ev-man-gelization, which is a Catholic organization dedicated to increasing male presence within the Catholic Church. The organization interviewed Burke on the current “Man-Crisis” in Catholicism, which references the decreasing number of active male Catholics. The website reports that over 11 million adult men were raised Catholic but have left the Catholic faith, and that the number of registered male parishioners has dropped to 46%. In response to this “Man Exodus,” as some are calling it, Cardinal Burke brought up many factors, including the lack of formal religious instruction, the degradation of marriage, and the “radical feminist movement.” Cardinal Burke stated that the lack of male presence in Catholic lives today is a huge reason for the decrease in male participation in the Church. This decrease in male or “fatherly” presence, according to Cardinal Burke, is largely due to second and third wave feminism. He states:  “Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men.”

Senior Carolyn Backus disagrees with the Cardinal’s use of the word “feminist” and questions his true understanding of the feminist movement. “Eight times in his responses, Cardinal Raymond Burke uses some form of the word ‘feminism.’ Each of these times, he gives the word a negative context. In fact, his argument lies on the principle that feminizing the Church is what is steering men away from it.” In reality, Carolyn says, feminism and discussion about the rights of women do not hurt the Catholic faith at all. Carolyn explains she finds “the [Cardinal’s] statements absurd because increasing gender equality within the Church does not detract from the power that men already hold within it, much less marginalize them.” Sally Dunne is the Loretto representative at the United Nations where she works in conjunction with other Lorettos and organizations to empower women across the globe. In response to the Catholic Church’s relationship with feminism, Dunne states, “The word ‘feminism’ is often misunderstood…For me, being a feminist reflects my commitment to women’s equality and the empowerment of women. I believe that denying any group of people equal treatment and equal access to opportunities and resources is immoral. Some call the denial of equality to women a sin, and name it “sexism” – just as we believe racism is sinful.”

Cardinal Burke states that feminism has led to an overly feminized environment and has led the Church to focus more on women’s issues and lead men to “opt out” of Catholicism due to the lack of engagement. He goes on to discuss specific examples of this exclusion, one of which is female altar services. The ban on female altar servers was officially lifted in the 1980’s; however, it’s an ongoing issue within the Catholic Church. More girls serving as altar servers, according to Burke, have led male servers to drop out about because they don’t want to work with girls. Molly Gier, a Nerinx Hall Senior, has been an altar server since 7th grade. Upon reading Cardinal Burke’s interview, Molly stated, “I was offended to hear that all of my hard work for my church community was invalid and even detrimental. Although I have been discriminated against while serving due to my gender, the Cardinal’s remarks have added insult to injury. I don’t believe that having equality for women in the world and the Church is harmful for men or the Church itself.”

Besides the increasingly feminine environment, Cardinal Burke blames the lack of men on the degradation of marriage within the Church. As for the destruction of marriage, Burke blames pornography, gay marriage, and, once again, feminism. Cardinal Burke says he first noticed this disintegration in the 1970’s when young men began telling him they were afraid of marriage because of radical feminists. Burke states, “[young men] were, in a certain way, frightened by marriage because of the radicalizing and self-focused attitudes of women that were emerging at that 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.” Cardinal Burke stressed the importance of a defined fatherly figure in the family relationship, one who “sacrifices his life for the sake of the home, who prepares with chivalry to defend his wife and his children, and who works to provide the livelihood for the family.”

Senior Megan Brickler found that Cardinal Burke’s reliance on stereotypes detracts from his overall argument. Megan points out that “His examples of the family subscribe to the very traditional gender roles that women have been working so hard to abandon. If a woman wants to be the primary breadwinner for of her family, she should be able to. If the father wants to be a stay at home dad he should be able to.” The gender roles Megan mentions are the backbone of Cardinal Burke’s stance on marriage. He states, “A man who has not been formed with a proper identity as a man and as a father figure will ultimately become very unhappy.”

Sally Dunne finds that the use of gender roles in society often forces women into “less than” positions, both within the Catholic Church and in other institutions. According to Dunne, gender roles and stereotypes are used to separate women from positions of power. Dunne states “I am generally opposed to gender-based roles in any of our social institutions, including religions…Most of our institutions  – again, including religions – are in crisis, and many are suffering from the systematic exclusion of women and the unique talents, perspectives and contributions they could bring to the table.  Indeed, precisely because they do have these unique contributions to make, I believe women should be sought out for positions of power and influence, including in the Church.” Both Brickler and Dunne emphasize the important perspectives women contribute, and that gender roles are often used to devalue their ideas.

The controversial views Cardinal Burke takes have alienated some Catholics. While the decreasing number of men in the Catholic Church is a real phenomenon with possible negative effects on the Church as a whole, many Catholics think Cardinal Burke’s rationale behind the “man exodus” is flawed and sexist. Molly Gier states, “I just wish that the spirit of love and tolerance that Jesus Christ preached was more present in the faith in which I have been raised and educated.” Others point to Cardinal Burke’s remarks as reason for the decreasing number of practicing Catholics. Senior Shannon Besch said, “ I think that the Church needs to be focusing on becoming an appealing option for men, not on attacking girls for making it less of an exclusive club. Personally, I feel that one very big reason there are less men in the priesthood is because of statements like these, which alienate many people from the Church.”

However Cardinal Burke’s views are interpreted, Dena Selig, a Nerinx Senior, points out that Burke does not represent all Catholics. Selig discusses how many Catholics–men and women alike–are supporting more female involvement in the Church and disagree that the “feminine environment” is disruptive. Looking forward, Selig states “Reading Cardinal Burke’s comments make me think about the importance of educating and pushing for the equality of all people. [We must] make sure that people of all genders have equal opportunities, especially within their religious communities.” As well as having more equal opportunities, Sally Dunne argues that the Church should work to change practices and beliefs that prevent women from finding empowerment and equality within the Church. Dunne states, “I don’t really think the Church can empower women – I believe women empower themselves.  What the Church can and should do is remove unjust barriers for women’s full participation in the life of the Church.” The discussion of women and gender in general within the Catholic Church and other religions is an important topic in the world today. Cardinal Burke’s comments, although controversial, have led Nerinx students and others around the world to re-examine the gender boundaries not only within religion, but also in the everyday world.