EWTN News reports on the “Fearless Congress” held in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the Mexican Martyrs Shrine, featuring speakers such as Jordan Peterson, Eduardo Verástegui, Carles Puyol, and Christopher West. The event, organized by Andrés Villaseñor, promotes the idea that “men and women are partners, not enemies,” emphasizing the urgent need for men to be formed in “virtuous masculinity” to build a better society. Speakers like Zeny Leyva, Irma Wilde, and Sofía Medina stress the importance of men’s emotional development, leadership in the home, and complementarity with women, all framed within a Catholic context. However, beneath the veneer of Catholic language lies a naturalistic, psychologized vision of manhood that substitutes human virtue for supernatural grace, reducing the Church’s mission to a self-help seminar for emotional well-being.
The Psychologization of Masculinity: A Naturalistic Subversion of Catholic Doctrine
The Fearless Congress, as described in the EWTN News article, presents itself as a Catholic initiative to restore “virtuous masculinity” and strengthen the family. Yet, a closer examination reveals a profound departure from the integral Catholic faith, replacing the supernatural order with a naturalistic, psychologized framework that is fundamentally incompatible with the Church’s perennial teaching.
The article quotes Zeny Leyva: “For a long time — and rightly so — efforts have focused on bringing women’s wounds and needs to light. It was necessary. But we have stopped there… If we don’t also look at the wounds, shortcomings, and needs of men, we will continue to pull taut a rope that is already stretched too thin.” This language of “wounds,” “needs,” and “emotional tools” is not the language of the Gospel but of secular psychology. The Catholic Church has always taught that the root of all human disorder is original sin, and the remedy is not self-help or emotional development but sanctifying grace, the sacraments, and the cultivation of supernatural virtues. As Pope Pius XI encyclical Quas Primas (1925) declares, the reign of Christ the King encompasses all aspects of human life, and true peace and order are found only in submission to His divine law. The Fearless Congress, by focusing on “emotional development” and “personal growth,” reduces the Catholic faith to a therapeutic tool, ignoring the primacy of the supernatural order.
The Omission of Original Sin and the Supernatural Order
The article’s emphasis on “maturity,” “commitment,” and “emotional development” as the keys to healthy relationships and a better society is a clear example of the naturalistic humanism condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors (1864). Error 39 states: “The State, as being the origin and source of all rights, is endowed with a certain right not circumscribed by any limits.” While this error directly addresses the state, its underlying principle — the elevation of human nature and its capacities to the exclusion of divine authority — is evident in the Fearless Congress’s approach. The article quotes Irma Wilde: “The level of men’s emotional development directly impacts the quality of our relationships and our lives.” This statement, while perhaps true on a natural level, omits the fundamental Catholic truth that the quality of our relationships and our lives is ultimately determined by our relationship with God and our participation in the life of grace.
The article further quotes Sofía Medina: “Men and women must understand their essence in order to respond with enthusiasm to God’s call.” Yet, the “essence” presented is not the Catholic understanding of man as a creature made in the image and likeness of God, fallen through original sin, and redeemed by Christ, but rather a secular, psychologized notion of “essence” centered on emotional maturity and personal growth. This is a clear example of the “evolution of dogmas” condemned by Pope St. Pius X in Lamentabili sane exitu (1907), where Error 58 states: “Truth changes with man, because it develops with him, in him, and through him.” The Fearless Congress, by adapting Catholic teaching to the prevailing secular psychology of our time, implicitly denies the immutability of Catholic doctrine.
The Complementarity of the Sexes: A Distortion of Catholic Teaching
The article’s emphasis on the “complementarity” of men and women, while superficially Catholic, is presented in a way that distorts the Church’s teaching. Zeny Leyva states: “It’s not about competing; it is about understanding one another and returning to the original design: the one in which man and woman are not enemies but partners who complement each other.” While the Church does teach the complementarity of the sexes, this complementarity is rooted in the divine plan of creation and ordered toward the procreation and education of children, as well as the mutual sanctification of the spouses. The Fearless Congress, however, reduces complementarity to a matter of emotional compatibility and shared domestic labor, as seen in Medina’s comment: “Today, more than 70% of unpaid domestic labor continues to fall upon women. When a man gets involved with maturity, that burden becomes balanced, and the dynamic changes completely.” This focus on domestic labor and emotional balance, while not inherently evil, is a far cry from the Catholic understanding of marriage as a sacrament ordered toward the salvation of souls and the building up of the Church.
The Absence of the Supernatural: A Symptom of Modernist Apostasy
The most glaring omission in the Fearless Congress, as presented in the article, is any mention of the supernatural means of grace: the sacraments, prayer, mortification, and the cultivation of supernatural virtues. The article quotes Zeny Leyva: “We need men who are strong in faith, because only through God can love endure over time … a man with authentic faith — not merely of words, but lived out — becomes someone capable of true love: of making sacrifices, of caring, of listening, and of working as a team with his wife.” Yet, the article provides no indication of how this “authentic faith” is to be obtained or sustained. Is it through the sacraments? Through prayer? Through the guidance of a Catholic priest? The silence on these points is deafening and reveals the modernist, naturalistic underpinnings of the event.
The Fearless Congress, by focusing on human effort and emotional development while ignoring the supernatural means of grace, falls into the error of Pelagianism, which was condemned by the Church centuries ago. As Pope Pius IX encyclical Qui pluribus (1846) states, “Human reason, without any reference whatsoever to God, is the sole arbiter of truth and falsehood, and of good and evil; it is law to itself, and suffices, by its natural force, to secure the welfare of men and of nations” (Error 3). The Fearless Congress, by implication, teaches that men can achieve “virtuous masculinity” and build a better society through their own efforts, without the necessity of sanctifying grace.
The Speakers: A Roll Call of Suspect Figures
The Fearless Congress features speakers such as Jordan Peterson, Eduardo Verástegui, Carles Puyol, and Christopher West. While these individuals may be well-known and respected in certain circles, their inclusion raises serious questions about the theological orthodoxy of the event. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist, is not a Catholic and his views on religion and morality are often at odds with Catholic teaching. Christopher West, while presenting himself as an expert on the “theology of the body,” has been criticized by orthodox Catholics for his modernist interpretations of John Paul II’s teachings, which are themselves suspect given John Paul II’s well-documented heresies and apostasy. The inclusion of such figures, alongside the absence of any mention of the sacraments or the supernatural order, further underscores the naturalistic, modernist character of the event.
The Mexican Martyrs Shrine: A Sacred Space Profaned
The Fearless Congress is held at the Mexican Martyrs Shrine, a sacred space dedicated to the memory of the Cristero martyrs who gave their lives for the faith during the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico in the early 20th century. These martyrs died rather than deny their faith or submit to the anti-Catholic laws of the Mexican government. Their witness is a powerful reminder of the cost of discipleship and the primacy of the supernatural order. To hold an event focused on “emotional development” and “virtuous masculinity” in such a space, without any mention of the martyrs’ witness or the supernatural means of grace, is a profound disrespect to their memory and a betrayal of the faith for which they died.
Conclusion: A Call to Reject Naturalism and Return to the Supernatural Order
The Fearless Congress, as presented in the EWTN News article, is a clear example of the naturalistic, psychologized Catholicism that has infected the post-conciliar Church. By focusing on human effort and emotional development while ignoring the supernatural means of grace, it falls into the errors of Pelagianism and Modernism, which have been repeatedly condemned by the Church. The event’s emphasis on “complementarity” and “virtuous masculinity” is a distortion of Catholic teaching, reducing the sacrament of marriage to a matter of emotional compatibility and shared domestic labor. The inclusion of suspect figures like Jordan Peterson and Christopher West, alongside the absence of any mention of the sacraments or the supernatural order, further underscores the modernist character of the event.
Catholics who desire to live the integral faith must reject such naturalistic, psychologized approaches to spirituality and return to the supernatural means of grace: the sacraments, prayer, mortification, and the cultivation of supernatural virtues. As Pope Pius XI encyclical Quas Primas declares, “The Kingdom of our Redeemer encompasses all men… and it matters not whether individuals, families, or states, for men united in societies are no less subject to the authority of Christ than individuals.” True masculinity and true femininity are not achieved through emotional development or personal growth but through submission to the reign of Christ the King and participation in the life of grace. Let us pray for the conversion of those involved in such events and for the restoration of the integral Catholic faith in our time.
Source:
Men and women are partners, not enemies, Fearless Congress declares (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 17.04.2026