Brothers in Christ

Although the seven-digit worldwide memberships of these groups are impressive, their leaders are acutely aware of the obstacles that exist in swaying young men to commit to these groups and of the need, if only for survival's sake, to target recruitment efforts at the younger generation.

For many august groups with origins decades or even centuries ago, the graying and dwindling of their members bear witness to this situation and reinforce a perception that they are vestiges of a bygone era.

In fact, while the church has often and in diverse cultures faced the challenge of encouraging men to participate fully in their church, the decline of major men's groups suggests this challenge has increased in recent years.

Some critics blame this on the "feminization" of the church, because so many parish employees and volunteers are women. Yet women have always been strongly represented in the church and its organizations.

Moreover, there is also a decline in male social clubs, like the Elks and the Optimists, that suggest broader social changes are at work among men. Whether this is the result of a decline in men's sense of their role in society or a kind of self-centered individualism, the result is a vacuum in male role models and male community.

Weak marital attachments, absentee fathers and adolescent behavior patterns among men don't just threaten the church, but the family and society as well. Maurice Blumberg, executive director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men, says that "when a man takes an active role in the faith of the family, it has a major impact on the number of divorces, on how the children turn out."

Fewer adult men taking their faith seriously means fewer spiritual role models for boys, who may then fail to identify adult male Catholicism with commitment, prayer and service - resulting also in a predictable impact on men's vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

All is not bleak, however. There are hopeful signs that reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated.

There is new energy in the growth of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men, which has drawn tens of thousands of men to dozens of conferences annually since 2001. Men's days and retreats are springing up in dioceses, and the movement Promise Keepers, its Catholic cousin St. Joseph's Covenant National Fellowship of Catholic Men Keepers and books like Iron John have rekindled Catholic interest in men's spirituality.

Men stereotypically may lean toward a stubborn and rugged individualism, which lends itself to a kind of go-it-alone spiritual isolation. But the Christian life demands that men connect with and support one another in the larger faith community, so that in turn they may be inspired to fulfill their earthly vocations as fathers, grandfathers, husbands and sons, as bold witnesses for Christ within our families, places of work, parishes and social circles. Groups like the Knights of Columbus traditionally reinforced this kind of masculine faith and responsibility.

Today, there is a greater need than ever for positive male Catholic role models. From Cursillo and Christ Renews His Parish to the NFCM and the Knights, a goal of Catholic leaders must be to encourage Catholic men to see their faith as integral to their identity as men.

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