Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican: A Vision for Progressive Catholicism

Front Cover
New Press, 2008 - Religion - 150 pages

In the 1960s, the hopes for a blossoming progressive Catholicism awakened by the Second Vatican Council were cut short by conservative opposition and the rightward agendas of the previous and current pope.

Forty years later, Catholic - the Vatican heralds the revival of a newly democratic and participatory church that transcends narrow Vatican doctrine. Destined to be a seminal text of progressive Catholicism, this beautifully written and uncompromising book by renowned scholar and activist Rosemary Radford Ruether examines the serious moral contradictions in Vatican Catholicism and offers a vision of a faith committed to justice and peace. Ruether calls for the dismantling of sexist teachings and ascetic values, while promoting healthy sexual ethics and egalitarian communities that welcome women, gays, and lesbians into full equality in the church and even ordination. Reverend Doctor Susan Thistlethwaite's introduction explains Ruether's pioneering leadership in progressive Christianity and her unwavering commitment to ecological responsibility and human rights.

Grounded in her civil rights work in the Mississippi Delta and the Latin American tradition of liberation theology, Ruether's long overdue vision of the church as it should be will serve as an inspiration for Catholics everywhere.


From inside the book

Contents

On Being a Progressive Catholic
19
Reproductive Rights and the Vaticans
41
Good Evil and the Churchs Mission
61
Copyright

5 other sections not shown

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About the author (2008)

A groundbreaking Catholic feminist, Rosemary Radford Ruether is the author of the seminal work Sexism and God-Talk, has written over thirty books, and is an outspoken activist and distinguished scholar. She lives in Claremont, California. The Reverend Doctor Susan Thistlethwaite is President of the Chicago Theological Seminary, the author and editor of over a dozen books, and a frequent contributor to the Washington Post. She lives in Chicago.

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