The Problem With Our Bishop
Since his installation by Pope Francis in 2015, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington has drawn mounting concern among faithful Catholics. What once simmered in private conversation has become a matter of public record and scrutiny. Many question whether his pastoral priorities truly advance the spiritual welfare of the diocese or, amid a deepening crisis in the Catholic Church, contribute instead to confusion and division.
In the summer of 2024, The Catholic Thing published an article by Jayd Hendricks, former senior USCCB staffer and president of Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal, that captured the growing unease. Hendricks described Bishop Stowe’s conduct as “so gratingly at odds with the good work of his brother bishops that it can only serve to embarrass the USCCB and will continue to hamper their pastoral work if left unaddressed by the Holy See.” He noted that the bishop regularly enters “the most delicate and highly charged cultural and political issues with none of the painstaking care of his brother bishops,” appearing determined to follow his own impulses and to resist any collegial restraint.
Francis X. Maier, in his book True Confessions—the fruit of three years spent examining the character and challenges facing U.S. bishops—reaches a similar conclusion. While affirming that most American bishops are faithful, committed shepherds with the same mix of strengths and flaws as anyone else, Maier identifies a small number of outliers who “don’t quite fit the mold.” He singles out Bishop Stowe as having strayed more openly than any recent U.S. bishop from the pastoral norms and “protocols of collegiality” upheld by his peers, particularly on questions of sexuality, gender ideology, and partisan politics.
These concerns unfold against a backdrop of an alarming decline in Catholic faith and practice. Pew Research data reveal that only 31% of self-identified U.S. Catholics believe in transubstantiation—the core doctrine that holds that bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ during Mass—with the belief remaining low even among weekly Mass attendees. Catholic affiliation has fallen from roughly 24% of the U.S. population in 2007 to about 19–20% today, while nearly 30% of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated.
Rather than prioritizing catechesis, sacramental reverence, and doctrinal clarity to address this spiritual crisis, many faithful Catholics argue that Bishop Stowe has emphasized contemporary social-justice causes—such as gender ideology, immigration, and environmental issues—and political signaling. He has publicly criticized President Donald Trump by name on multiple occasions, including from the altar, while remaining notably silent on President Joe Biden’s vocal support for abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender policies throughout his term. Such selectivity has fueled perceptions of partisanship and imbalance.
Within the Diocese of Lexington, specific pastoral decisions have intensified the controversy. The diocese has sponsored Lexington’s Pride Festival and promoted Pride Month observances (coinciding with June, the month of the Sacred Heart), appointed individuals to lead LGBTQ+ ministry, and permitted related outreach, including a presentation at Lexington Catholic High School titled “Homophobia is a Sin.” Most notably, Bishop Stowe has accepted and supported a transgender individual—known as “Brother Christian Matson,” a biological female presenting as male—as a diocesan hermit. For many Catholics, these actions cross the line from outreach into normalization of ideologies that contradict the Church’s teaching on the human person.
“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
The Church teaches unequivocally that God created humanity male and female, that sexual identity is an objective gift inscribed in body and soul, and that it must be acknowledged and accepted as such (CCC §2333; §§369–372). Gender ideology, which separates identity from biological sex and subjects it to personal redefinition, stands in direct opposition to this anthropology. The Vatican has warned that such theories “deny the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman” and undermine the family’s foundation (Male and Female He Created Them, 2019). When diocesan life appears to affirm or accommodate these errors, confusion becomes institutionalized, with grave consequences for souls.
A further source of scandal is the reported pattern of clergy assignments. Priests and deacons who preach Church teaching clearly or who respectfully disagree with Bishop Stowe on doctrinal or pastoral matters have been removed from influential roles or reassigned to remote parishes, limiting their ministry. While a bishop holds legitimate authority over assignments, these actions are widely viewed as punitive, fostering fear and discouraging the clarity and courage required of the priestly vocation.
In February 2024, concerned lay Catholics responded by forming Advocates for the Holy Family, headquartered in Lexington. The group exists to strengthen families, support faithful priests, address perceived hostility toward orthodox and traditional Catholics, and call for renewed doctrinal fidelity, catechetical vigor, and normalcy in diocesan life. Their message is clear— at a time when belief is eroding, and souls are at risk, the Church’s mission must not yield to cultural accommodation.
The situation in Lexington transcends personality or preference. It concerns the fundamental duty of a bishop— the salvation of souls through clear teaching, just governance, and faithful leadership to Christ. Faithful Catholics contend that anything less risks subordinating the spiritual good of the diocese to the demands of cultural relevance.
