And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them.—Isaiah 3:4
Today, we’re going to consider at who is allowed in a US seminary (the 6-7 year long post-graduate school where celibate men study for the Roman Catholic Priesthood.) But this article is not going to be macho. I am not going to argue for Catholic seminarians to weight-lift (admittedly a good idea) or know how to handle a firearm (also good idea) or to learn how to stave off feminism at their future parish (yet another good idea.) What worries me is that the very basics of male psychological health are being suppressed in some US seminaries.
America Magazine recently ran an article titled The Changing Face of Seminary Formation and it included this paragraph: That “digital detox” is particularly urgent because of how polarizing some of the online content related to Catholicism can be. “Addressing the ‘parallel formation’ (sometimes referred to as ‘shadow formation’) that can happen online is a constant struggle,” Father Rodrigue, the New Orleans seminary rector, wrote in an email interview. He said that while blogs used to be the “go-to” for seminarians, influencers on YouTube including the sedevacantist Taylor Marshall and the controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson are now more popular.
I like the idea of “digital detox” for new seminarians, but why specifically name two conservative podcasters like Jordan Peterson and Taylor Marshall on an unofficial moratorium instead of getting seminarians off porn first?
First of all, there are some obvious lies in the above America article, like Dr. Taylor Marshall being “a sedevacantist.” But I am more interested in why Dr. Jordan Peterson is prohibited (or at least discouraged) than why Dr. Taylor Marshall is. I understand why people think the theology of Dr. Taylor Marshall (since he’s always teaching St. Thomas Aquinas) is such a threat to modernism. But Dr. Jordan Peterson is not even Catholic yet. Thus, I must come to the conclusion that seminary staff is more afraid of his sociology than his theology.
I often joke that Jordan Peterson is “Captain Obvious.” But in a world as dark as ours, we need someone to point out the obvious. Years ago, while driving across California, I listened to the audiobook 12 Rules for Life and these include “Rule #1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back” and “Rule #3: Make friends with people who want the best for you” and “Rule #8: Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie.” Once again, “Captain Obvious” here. But I mean that as a compliment.
Jordan has a specific mission to help young men careening towards hopelessness. Here in the Western Hemisphere, white males have a suicide rate 3500% higher than others. Young men (who have often grown up without a father) frequently arrive to an intimate evening in a small theatre (or large forum) to listen to Jordan Peterson for a couple hours. These young men show up forlorn. But they depart the night full of hope. Jordan Peterson admonishes them not to be ashamed to be men in a world that claims even a drop of masculinity is “toxic-masculinity.” In fact, many young men leave these events crying tears of hope. Why? Because a man has finally believed in them.
Dr. Peterson also believes life is inherently marked by hierarchy. Thus, order is the only way to maintain psychological and spiritual health. Order must be the hallmark in any good person’s schedule, family life or community. Keep in mind that neither Jordan Peterson nor Elon Musk claim to be Delta Force guys in terms of physical prowess or weightlifting abilities. They are just good men [slowly] figuring out how to identify the spiritual enemies to humanity. (For example, you can hear Jordan’s recent interview of Musk describing how his son is lost due to puberty blockers.)
So, let’s review the basics of Jordan Peterson’s message to young men: 1) It’s okay to be a man. 2) Life should have order to it. 3) Tell the truth, or at least never lie.
Why then would a Novus Ordo seminary discourage seminarians from listening to Jordan Peterson? The answer is found in the previous paragraph.