Cardinal Raymond Burke Blames ‘Radical Feminist Movement’ For Catholic Priest Shortage

UNITED STATES
International Business Times

By Zoe Mintz

American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a known conservative and one of Pope Francis’ biggest critics, says the “radical feminist movement” has left Roman Catholic men feeling “marginalized” since the 1960s. His comments were made in an interview published Jan. 5 with Matthew James Christoff of “The New Emangelization,” a Catholic men’s ministry.

“Men are often reluctant to become active in the Church. The feminized environment and the lack of the Church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out,” Burke said. He points to the popularity of pornography, saying it promotes extramarital sex, a “materialistic and consumer-focused” society that pushes parents to work longer hours and the introduction of altar girls as reasons for men to feel reluctant to be active Catholics.

“The introduction of girl servers also led many boys to abandon altar service. Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural. The girls were also very good at altar service. So many boys drifted away over time,” Burke said, adding that this contributed to the declining number of priestly vocations in the church.

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