The war on fatherhood

Usually the average parish bulletin "pastor’s page" is… well… suboptimal.

But not at the little parish St. John’s on the east side of St. Paul, MN where the mighty Fr. George Welzbacher is pastor.

He has a highly crafted Pastor’s Page with frank commentary on current events.

From his 20 June offering we find this excerpt (his emphases):

The liberal media (now blatantly anti-Christian) will of course have none of this. [Fr. W is talking about the importance of traditional fatherhood….] The latest issue (July-August, 2010) of The Atlantic"The End of Men: How Women Are Taking Control of Everything". The thesis of the cover story is reinforced with a concurrent short article entitled "Are Fathers Necessary?" The author of this short article, one Pamela Paul, an "authority" on parenting-her most recent book is called Parenting, Inc.-sums up her "take" on the current social scene with these words of comfort: "The bad news for Dad is that despite common perception, there’s nothing objectively essential about his contribution. The good news is, we’ve gotten used to him." (Earlier in her short essay she cites the sociologist Judith Stacey and the demographer Timothy Biblarz to the effect that "Two [lesbian] women who chose to become parents together seemed to provide a double dose [undoubtedly so!] of a middle-class ‘feminine’ approach to parenting". Stacey and Biblarz, Ms. Paul notes further, are agreed that : "based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and a man with a traditional division of family labor."

So there! Thank heaven for "published science"!

 

I want to loop you back into this as well.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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16 Comments

  1. rakesvines says:

    And the analysis is sound – with the demise of masculinity follows the end of paternity. But the question remains – how did maleness end? Is it with the chemicals in the water? The fishes here in the Potomac are found to have both sexes in them – which explains a lot about the politicians on the hill. Or is the assault philosophical with feminism and the denial of patriarchal authority? Regardless, the big picture is beyond my control, so I act locally and raise my boys to be kings, warriors and priests with their swords in the service of Almighty God and the fairest and weakest of creatures. http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2010/06/machismo-in-christian-home.html

  2. momoften says:

    The article from Father George W was so much like the interviewI just watched EWTN The World Over with Raymond Arroyo and his awesome interview with Dr. Ray Guarendi on the topic of Fatherhood. It was a fascinating perspective on why fathers don’t father. They have it archived in their library if you don’t get a chance to see it later this week on EWTN..I think it would be most helpful if couples about to be married were counseled about their roles as parents…brick by brick perhaps the family unit could also be rebuilt.

  3. Serviam1 says:

    momoften has stolen my thunder,

    I concur with her observation about Raymond Arroyo’s interview with Dr. Ray Guarendi. I thought it was a hoot and very refreshing take on fatherhood in this day.

    More on Dr. Guarendi:
    http://www.drray.com/

    Also be sure to check out:
    Philip Rieff’s landmark book “The Triumph of the Therapeutic” and observe how this may be germain to this topic. The scarey thing this book was written in 1965. Needless to say, we are now living in a culture steeped in the pervasive affect of a therapeutic mindset at most levels of society. It continues to have a corrosive affect on traditional roles and family. How far we have fallen…

    Some discussion on Rieff’s book:
    http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2006/12/the-triumph-of-the-therapeutic.html

  4. Henry Edwards says:

    Usually the average parish bulletin “pastor’s page” is… well… suboptimal.

    And hence is suboptional reading?

  5. Magpie says:

    The link to the EWTN World Over special on fatherhood is here:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/EWTN#p/u/7/I2I1Mk4n-2Q

    [World Over Investments and Fatherhood Raymond Arroyo with George Schwartz and Dr Ray Guarendi 06 16 2010]

    It’s in the second half of the episode (33:55).

    Thanks to momoften for that!

  6. JonM says:

    Excellent issue, Father. This is one of the crucial clashes of the cultural war launched in earnest in the 1960s.

    The demolition of distinct roles, embraced by those ‘caught up in the spirit of reform,’ directed society to an unhappy and effectively disfunctional state.

    Further, with the decline in patriarchy, men have not ‘gotten better’ but only plunged deeper into sin. It is my opinion that the epidemics of pornography, absenteeism, and adultery are directly related to the war on traditional masculinity. The rise in homosexuality is probably a direct result of divorce and an intentional feminization of boys.

    Of course in its stead, many men now think that being a man is about American football, laziness, and acting tough (rather than genuinely being it.)

    My advice to young men trying to make it through a world very hostile to the Church is to be prepared for some extra work and patience. Absolutely don’t fall for the media’s lie that you have to be soft and ‘approachable.’ At the end of the day, women like alphas with muscles.

    Oh, and put in the trash publications that promote this nonsense.

  7. MikeJ9919 says:

    And this breakdown of fatherhood is being enabled and even encouraged at all levels. From President Obama’s recent Father’s Day declaration: “Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian.” Yes, you read that right, two fathers.

    The full proclamation is here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-fathers-day

  8. DisturbedMary says:

    If researchers studying same sex parenting are themselves homosexual, would they ever conclude that there is harm to children in same sex parenting? Just asking.

  9. Leonius says:

    “provide a double dose [undoubtedly so!] of a middle-class ‘feminine’ approach to parenting”

    Which is great if you want a nation of liberal cissy’s.

  10. elmo says:

    The father to his children is their first image of God and it is from the father that faith is passed along the generations. No accident then that the attempt to destroy the “need” for fatherhood and the “need” for God comes from the same sorts of people and publications.

  11. Elly says:

    elmo-Great insight! Thanks!

  12. wanda says:

    You can always check out ‘Fatherhood.gov’. That’s right, the government has advice on how to be a father. Even when there may be ‘2 Fathers’. Great, huh?

  13. TonyLayne says:

    It stands to reason that homosexuals would be inclined to produce “scientific” results that show same-sex parents to be better than heterosexual couples. It also stands to reason that, should conservative scientists dispute that notion with other studies, the liberal scientists will hypocritically accuse them of gun-decking their research to support “heteronormativity”. And as conflicts like this begin to fly back and forth, the public credibility of social scientists will plummet even further until, twenty or twenty-five years from now, they’re regarded as little better than astrologers and palm-readers.

    Anybody remember Mark Twain’s three categories of untruth: Lies, damn lies and statistics?

  14. New Sister says:

    *Elmo – spot-on* – the attack on masculinity by radical feminism does a lot to further Satan’s cause, by eliminating children’s *and women’s* need for God. As Fathers are an image of God to his children, so are husbands to wives.

  15. Alice says:

    “Two [lesbian] women who chose to become parents together seemed to provide a double dose [undoubtedly so!] of a middle-class ‘feminine’ approach to parenting”

    This is supposed to be a good thing? Back in my day, the USRDA of “middle-class ‘feminine’ … parenting” was one unit. And, for teenage girls especially, any more than that was considered toxic. :P

    I do have to wonder what poor, working class, and wealthy lesbians are supposed to do. Why are they being discouraged from having children? Is it not a basic human right for women to have children any way they want, even if the women are not middle class? *turns off snark*

  16. I think this issue is echoed in the general lack of having high standards or holding people accountable for their actions. It’s not just fathers, it’s everyone, in every way. There is no expectation of personal responsibility, so there is no personal responsibility.

    Children can’t stop themselves, they’re going to have sex. Why fight it, just give them protection.
    Men can’t help it, they’re just naturally bad at being parents. Accept it and move on, and ignore the deadbeats.
    It’s not my fault, item XYZ didn’t have a warning label about that, so I’m going to sue the company for millions.

    Instead of holding people accountable, our society finds excuses. We need men to be men, fathers to be fathers, and all of us should expect, nay, demand the best from each other.

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