The Sister’s Statement in Response is Nothing More than Acquiescence to a Progressive Culture
It’s little wonder the Church and its members seem to be drifting about like a boat on a stormy sea. The upheaval saddens the faithful, and the knee-jerk reaction is to blame the negative media she receives. Although this fact is undisputed, other factors, namely the members themselves, contribute to the problem.
The Sisters of Mount Scholastica, a group with ties to the Benedictine College of Atkinson, Kansas, recently penned a response to Harrison Butker’s commencement speech. This response, shared on the Sisters’ website, not only stands out for its substance but also serves as a potent reminder of how Church members, in their quest to align with secular society, can erode the 2000 years of profound Catholic tradition and belief, by challenging the fundamental norms of that belief.
The Sisters’ statement begins with a preamble about addressing the controversial remarks of Butker’s commencement address. Notably, the phrase “the controversial remarks” mimics exactly the talking point used by media outlets. However, the words’ implications are clear and manifest in the third paragraph, where the sisters emphasize, “We reject a narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic.” By a narrow definition, they imply the use of the term ‘homemaker’ is the most egregious.
The nuns write that one of their concerns is wrongly elevating homemaking as the highest calling for women. Their umbrage fails to mention the gift of children in a sacramental marriage in their entire piece. For them, it seems to be all about the woman and her potential to change the world via her career as the high point of her life.
A valid conclusion to this statement is that the sisters do not believe being a wife and mother is a true vocation. To prove our assertion, the following line of their statement says, “We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God’s people.” This sentence implies that motherhood and being a wife are not vocations, hoping to influence the reader to believe that the only vocation is theirs, a religious vocation.
They remind us they are directed by the Gospel, St. Benedict, Vatican II, and Pope Francis. Perhaps they are not familiar with Pope Francis’ writings when he affirms the vocation of marriage. Amoris Laetitia states, “Marriage is a vocation, and it is a response to a specific call to experience conjugal love as an imperfect sign of the love between Christ and his Church.” He further mentions, “Consequently, the decision to marry and to have a family ought to be the fruit of a process of vocational discernment.”
On their continued attack on homemaking, the Sister of Mount Scholastica followed up with an almost incomprehensible run-on sentence. “Our community taught young women and men not just how to be ‘homemakers’ in a limited sense, but rather how to make a Gospel-centered, compassionate home within themselves where they can welcome others as Christ, empowering them to be the best versions of themselves.”
Apparently, the good sisters think the more accurate definition of homemaking is some academic mungo-jumbo devoid of any theological principles indicating homemaking is some interior disposition within a person, which makes no sense and is an affront to reason.
After the nonsense of redefining ‘homemaking,’ the sister’s crescendo is what the real intent of the rebuke is all about. They write, “We want to be known as an inclusive, welcoming community, embracing Benedictine values.” Being an inclusive and welcoming community, by definition, admits that beliefs outside the scope of Catholic tradition must be accepted and tolerated. Thoughts contrary to surrogacy, abortion, transsexuality, abortion, and the like are welcomed and considered viable beliefs in the community of Benedictine College, according to the nuns. Now, the picture is coming into focus, as well as their response to the controversial remarks of Harrison Butker.
After the commencement speech, these nuns had three options. First, they could have remained silent. Second, they could have reaffirmed the teachings and beliefs of Catholicism articulated by Butker. They didn’t do any of these; instead, they chose to condemn the message of the vocation of homemaker, attempting in a veiled way to disagree with the other things he said, apparently, those they disagree with, perhaps about surrogacy, transgenderism, abortion, etc.
The Church is not at peace precisely because some members sabotage her teachings and traditions in the void of silence perpetuated by those who have been chosen to reaffirm and teach the truth.
Evangelization will continue to be stymied until those who claim to be believers and members of the Catholic faith begin to believe what she teaches instead of usurping it. The inner division and confusion the sisters are creating attack the Church’s cohesion and are part of the problem.
Well said !