Seismic shift in Catholic clergy:  'The liberal Catholic priest could ... be extinct' as young conservative priesthood rises



A survey published last year in the journal Politics and Religion indicated that 53% of Catholic priests admitted to being more liberal than most of their parishioners. Where the Catholic Church in the United States is concerned, the days of the liberal priest are numbered.

There have been indications in recent years that progressivism among Catholic clerics is literally dying out — that the new generation of priests are no-nonsense conservatives, unapologetic about the traditions and moral teachings of the church, and altogether resistant to the ideological fads of the day.

The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., released an 18-page report in November indicating that in terms of theological self-identification, 85% of the youngest cohort of priests described themselves as "conservative/orthodox" or "very conservative/orthodox," with only 14% describing themselves as "middle-of-the-road."

The report, based on a census of 131 bishops and thousands of priests, indicated that this represents a seismic shift, given that "theologically 'progressive' and 'very progressive' priests once made up 68% of new ordinands. Today, that number has dwindled almost to zero."

"We are witnessing a major shift in the way priests in the United States view themselves and their priesthood. Younger priests are much more likely than their older peers to describe themselves as politically conservative or moderate," said the report. "Younger priests are also much more likely to see themselves as theologically orthodox or conservative than do older priests. These shifts can be a source of friction and tension, especially between younger and older priests."

The report concluded that "many of these trends have been decades in the making and show little sign of reversal any time soon."

The New York Times confirmed this week that the priesthood's return to orthodoxy continues unabated.

Brad Vermurlen, a sociologist who has long studied political shifts in the American priesthood, emphasized that the priests ordained since 2010 "are clearly the most conservative cohort of priests we've seen in a long time."

Vermurlen and his fellow academics have observed that these priests are, for instance, by the book when it comes to questions of the sinfulness of homosexual acts and female priests or deacons.

'They're trying to restore what us old guys ruined.'

Referencing the Catholic University of America's findings, the Times highlighted that not a single surveyed priest ordained in recent years has characterized himself as "very progressive."

Younger priests are not just theologically conservative but politically conservative. Whereas roughly half of Catholic priests ordained around the time of Vatican II identified as politically liberal, almost all priests ordained since 2020 are conservative or are at the very least "moderate."

This conservative generation is apparently not interested in sugarcoating or watering down church teaching and are instead keen to embrace challenging teachings.

Rev. Zachary Galante told the Times that numerous priests in the 1970s and 1980s "were looking at the world and saying, 'The world is changing; we need to change too.'"

Apparently neither Galante nor his peers are of the mind that the church ought to be unmoored by the zeitgeist.

Rev. David Sweeney, a 31-year-old priest who was ordained with Galante, raised the matter of the sacrament of marriage and secular hollowing-out of the institution.

"That's a core tenet of our faith that our culture has shifted drastically on in the last 12 years," Rev. Sweeney told the Times. "If we're saying that we're holding to eternal truth, something that is changeless, and the world changes, well, now I guess I've changed in my relation to the world."

Rev. Galante added, "Maybe we're more conservative now because the culture moved, not because we moved."

Earlier this year, Rev. John Forliti, a retired Minnesota priest, suggested to the Associated Press that the young conservative priests "say they're trying to restore what us old guys ruined."

The Times indicated that this restoration not only means that "the liberal Catholic priest could essentially be extinct in the United States" but that it "puts the rising generations of priests increasingly at odds with secular culture, which has broadly moved to the left on questions of gender, sexuality, reproductive issues, and roles for women."

Accordingly, there may be fewer priests like Rev. James Martin doubling as LGBT activists on cable news and more priests reinforcing church teaching on various issues of moral and spiritual consequence.

The generational diminution of heterodox leftists in the priesthood is likely the result of multiple factors, but Michael Sean Winters, a columnist for the left-leaning National Catholic Reporter, suggested to the Times that the tendency among increasingly secular liberal families to have fewer children means "there are fewer liberals in the pews with large families."

Alternatively, conservative families who have gone forth and multiplied have contributed more to the pool of potential priests and left a conservative mark on that pool.

There is reportedly also an emphasis on "normalcy" now in Catholic seminaries. Motivated by a desire to flush out potential predators, seminaries screen applicants for psychosexual maturity. It's unclear, however, whether seminaries' emphasis on normalcy and screenings against perversion have also served as checks against progressivism in the priesthood.

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Church of England won't support gay 'marriage' in its churches



Church of England bishops will not recommend that gays partake in the sacrament of marriage, "a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses."

The BBC reported that Anglican bishops finalized their recommendations after several years of debate on the CE's stance on sexuality. These recommendations will be factored in at the CE's general synod in February, where the decision will be formalized.

What are the details?

After a "six-year period of listening, learning and discernment known as Living in Love and Faith," CE bishops noted in a statement Wednesday that they are resolved to preserve the "Church's doctrine of Holy Matrimony."

Rhys Laverty, managing editor at the Davenant Institute, noted that "an organisation concluding that Holy Matrimony is between one man and one woman should not, in fact, be surprising," granted "'matrimony' literally means 'state of motherhood' (from Latin mater).

Notwithstanding the church's stance on this issue — the very issue that first distinguished the CE — the bishops nevertheless resolved to offer gays "the fullest possible pastoral provision": "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or for God’s blessing on the couple in church following a civil marriage or partnership."

Extra to making these concessions, new pastoral guidance in relation to the discernment of vocation will eventually be produced, "to which all clergy currently are asked to assent."

This prospective document would replace the December 1991 "Issues in Human Sexuality" statement from the CE general synod, which claims, among other things: "There is ... in Scripture an evolving convergence on the ideal of lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual union as the setting intended by God for the proper development of men and women as sexual beings. Sexual activity of any kind outside marriage comes to be seen as sinful, and homosexual practice as especially dishonourable."

The document also states that there is a "mismatch between [gays'] sexuality and their physical and often also their emotional capacity for parenthood. There may be for some a mismatch between their bodies and the ways in which they wish to express their mutual self-giving. Their sexuality can be a barrier rather than a help toward full man-woman complementarity."

The CE's "Issues in Human Sexuality," which declares clergy cannot enter into active gay relationships, further condemns as "bogus" the "philosophies of erotic freedom which have ... marked twentieth century European culture, and which have sought to justify every excess or deviation," for having advanced "chaos and misery, disease and death."

It is clear from the CE bishops' latest statement that much of the language and argumentation in this church document will be abrogated – no doubt favorable news for the church's "non-binary" Anglican priest and those clergymen driven to LGBT activism.

Apologies and 'breadcrumbs'

The church will reportedly be issuing an apology later this week to "LGBTQI+ people for the 'rejection, exclusion and hostility' they have faced in churches and the impact this has had on their lives."

Furthermore, the church will call on all congregations to welcome gay couples "unreservedly and joyfully" as they reaffirm their commitment to a "radical new Christian inclusion founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it — based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st Century understanding of being human and of being sexual."

Various CE bishops commented on the proposals and the apparent balancing act between a prohibition on gay "marriages" and gay blessings.

Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, said, "I know that this has been costly and painful for many on all sides of the debate and has touched on deeply personal matters and strongly held beliefs."

Stephen Cottrell of York said, "This is not the end of that journey but we have reached a milestone and I hope that these prayers of love and faith can provide a way for us all to celebrate and affirm same-sex relationship."

Justin Welby, the bishop of Canterbury, stated, "I am under no illusions that what we are proposing today will appear to go too far for some and not nearly far enough for others, but it is my hope that what we have agreed will be received in a spirit of generosity, seeking the common good."

Peter Tatchell, an LGBT activist, did not appear to receive the news in a "spirit of generosity."

Tatchell tweeted that the CE's decision is "like the southern US churches that refused inter-racial marriages 60+ years ago. Anglican leaders are the ENEMY of human rights & LGBT+ equality!"

The Times noted that Jayne Ozanne, an LGBT activist on the synod, similarly denounced the bishops for not accommodating the zeitgeist, saying the proposals were "breadcrumbs from bishops."

"Therefore we are still second class and discriminated against, even with this really small concession," Ozanne added.

Penny Mordaunt, a senior Tory minister who failed in her recent bid to become prime minister, wrote to the bishop of Portsmouth, suggesting that the CE's refusal to marry gays has left many "feeling that they are treated as second-class citizens within our society."

NBC News noted that the CE is at the heart of the Anglican communion, accounting for over 85 million people in over 165 countries.

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Catholic diocese lays down the law in Iowa: No made-up pronouns, no boys in girls' sports, students to use bathrooms corresponding with their real sex



The Catholic Diocese of Des Moines has taken a significant stand against woke ideology and LGBT activism. As of Monday, the southwestern Iowa diocese — headed by 60-year-old Bishop William M. Joensen — will be enforcing new rules in 17 schools, four Catholic hospitals, and 80 parishes, thereby buttressing old common sense and enraging radical leftists.

New rules

The diocese's "Gender Identity Guide and Policies" document sets out seven policies, all binding for diocesan parishes, schools, organizations, and other institutions of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Des Moines. They do not apply, however, to passersby, occasional vendors, and others who "may be on church-related premises who are not acting in an official capacity."

The rules are as follows:

  • All documentation that requires the designation of a person's sex must reflect the person's real biological sex. So-called "preferred pronoun[s]" are not permitted, since the embrace of made-up pronouns, "while intended as an act of charity, instead promotes the disassociation of biological sex and 'gender' and thereby confuses or denies personal integrity."
  • All persons must use the bathroom or locker room that matches their biological sex. However, buildings are permitted to have individual-use bathrooms.
  • "All persons are to ordinarily present themselves in a manner consistent with their God-given dignity." This rule primarily pertains to uniform dress, whereby girls are to wear girls' uniforms and boys are to wear boys' uniforms in schools.
  • With the exception of co-ed sports, males are to play in male sports and females are to play in female sports. There is to be no crossover.
  • Single-sex schools, buildings, and other programs or institutions (e.g., women's shelters) are restricted to members of the designated sex.
  • Kids aren't allowed to take "puberty blockers" on parish or school property, and "medications for the purpose of gender reassignment" cannot be distributed or stored on site.
  • Counsel given to vulnerable persons afflicted with gender dysphoria will be in "accord with the directives and teachings of the Church."
The Diocese of Des Moines made clear that those who disagree with these practices can leave: "We acknowledge their freedom of conscience to withdraw or absent themselves from situations they find objectionable. Concomitantly, they must likewise respect the Church's mission to witness to truths accessible to reason and faith if they are to fully participate in our faith communities, including our Catholic schools."
The diocese told KCCI that these policies are "part of a lengthy process ... to address questions that have come forth by leaders in [their] parishes and schools."

Old wisdom

While the rules stand in the face of LGBT conventions and social constructivist illogic, the diocese's policy document makes clear that it "fervently hopes that all persons experiencing gender dysphoria know what the Catholic Church tirelessly affirms, that they are unconditionally loved by Jesus Christ and by the Church, and that they are vital members of the Body of Christ who have a home in the family of God."

The church may love them unconditionally, but it evidently can do without their made-up pronouns and leftist customs.

The new guidelines underscore how "any response that merely ratifies and reinforces the perceived disconnect between biological sex and gender-affiliation is not genuine compassion."

Instead of mutilating or conferring puberty blockers to children afflicted with gender dysphoria, parents are instructed to "genuinely assist the child by acknowledging the suffering involved and to accompany him or her along the path to personal healing, self-acceptance, integration, and peace."

"Integration" entails understanding that the "human person is a body-soul union, and the body—as created male or female—is an essential aspect of the human person. There is a complex reality tied to the sex of a person involving the physical (i.e., in the gonads and other evident characteristics), psychological, and social constituents. A healthy person is one in whom these dimensions are integrated."

The diocese and the Catholic Church reject LGBT activists' proposed alternative to integration.

"The Catholic Church teaches that the disruption of normal sexual development, or more dramatically, the removal or destruction of healthy sexual and reproductive organs, is a type of 'mutilation' that is medically and morally harmful," the document states. "Procedures, surgeries, and therapies designed to assist a person in 'transitioning' his or her gender are morally prohibited."

The document references Scripture as justification for this and other claims, but also Pope Francis' indication that "biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated."

Faddish outrage

Democratic state Senator Claire Celsi expressed her outrage that the Catholic Church in Iowa would stand by its values.

Celsi tweeted, "Diocese of Des Moines codifies ostracism of transgender kids. These schools want public dollars and want to treat kids in a way that might cause them to commit suicide. This is not what Jesus would do."

The Democrat state senator suggested that the purpose of the new policies was to "implicitly exclude LGBTQ students and staff."

Celsi has a track record of ridiculing the church and suggesting that Catholics whose politics she finds disagreeable are un-Christian.

Celsi recently suggested that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's busing of illegal aliens to sanctuary cities puts his faith in doubt. She also lambasted a Catholic school for asking a teacher to remove an LGBT activist flag from a classroom.

The Daily Mail reported that the leftist Interfaith Alliance of Iowa slammed the diocese's policies as "dangerous," claiming they advanced "bigotry" towards transsexuals in the state.

Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy for the LGBT activist group One Iowa, suggested that the diocese's policies sound "like conversion therapy," despite the rules preventing children from undergoing transsexual conversion therapy on diocesan property.

Courtney Reyes, also an activist at One Iowa, said, "You cannot pretend to be compassionate while mis-gendering people and denying them access to any and all spaces under your control."

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