Woman in the Church - Catholic Books

Woman in the Church

The Church and Women: A Compendium

Balthasar, Ratzinger, Kasper et al.

The question of the role of women in the Church has been in the forefront for some time and has been the subject of reflection by peoples of varying cultures and circumstances. The articles reflect the wide range of recent discussion, including the issue of feminism, the possibilities of ministry in the diaconate, the theme of women's emancipation, and the repercussions of the question for other areas of concern as, for example, the role and importance of the family. These particular works have been chosen because all of them strive to defend and deepen Christian reflection on the role and identity of women today. They merit particular attention because their approach to clarifying the Christian task and mission of women is developed in a context which remains faithful to the data of Scripture, the witness of Catholic tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church.

280 pp, Sewn Softcover, $16.95, CW-P (ISBN 0-89870-1643)
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Real Women

Edited by Sr. Concetta Belleggia

A fascinating collection of articles and personal testimonies by a wonderfully diverse group of contributors who reflect on the genuine dignity and unique gifts of women. Women from all walks of life, including the famous and not-so-famous, share their inspiring insights on womanhood, focusing on the Christian vision of woman's true nature and identity that give joyful witness to the gifts of life and faith in today's confused world. Contributors include Mother Angelica, Ronda Chervin, Mother Teresa, Helen Hitchcock, Donna Steichen, Alice von Hildebrand, Susan Muto, and many more.

Many women will draw strength and wisdom from the practical and spiritual insights given by this cross-section of women that includes housewives, religious, single women, professional educators, mothers and authors. Their love for Christ and his Church with its divine teaching authority provide marvelous expressions of faith. The numerous topics include "The Privilege of Being a Woman", "Woman ... Feminine Genius", "Valiant Women--Vigorous Faith", "Mary, Model of Womanhood", "Spirituality and Feminine Psychology" and many more.

248 pp, Sewn Softcover, $14.95, RWO-P (ISBN 0-89870-4626)
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Women in the Priesthood?
A Systematic Analysis in the Light of the Order of Creation and Redemption

Dr. Manfred Hauke

This book should become the standard reference in the debate about women's ordination. The author cites copiously from American as well as European sources and presents the feminist position in the words and categories of the leading feminist authors. But, for the first time, the whole question is placed in the comprehensive context of anthropology, biology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. You will find a balanced presentation of the profound consistency of the Catholic Church's teaching and the practice concerning the role of women in the Church and in society. Written in a scholarly, yet very readable manner.

"The work was accompanied by an ecumenical concern from the very start, to which I am indebted insofar as I have tried to take due account of the international debate on my topic, including the part played by non-Catholic Christian communities. I have, therefore, placed special value on the biblical foundations of the larger structure of the Catholic Faith, and have proceeded from there in connection with Tradition.

I am very glad that an English edition will now be published in the United States, for here the topic of "women in the Church" is discussed with special fervor. On quite a number of pages, the reader will find references to the American situation and citations from American literature." -- Manfred Hauke

"Undoubtedly the definitive work available on this important topic." -- Hans Urs von Balthasar,

Manfred Hauke, Ph.D., is a German priest who teaches dogmatic theology at the University of Augsburg. He is very conversant with the leading literature on the topic of women priests and has written numerous articles on this and other theological topics.

500 pp, Sewn Softcover, $26.95, WITP-P (ISBN 0-89870-1651)
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Women Mystics

Louis Bouyer, C.O.

The great theologian and spiritual writer, Bouyer, focusing on the lives and writings of five women mystics, shows that contrary to the modern idea that the supposed inferiority of women is an inheritance from Christianity, women have played a fundamental role in the Church. If the Church was able to pass beyond the collapse of medieval Scholasticism and the errors of the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation, it was especially due to a succession of exceptional feminine personalities.

Bouyer establishes this by studying those whose influence and sustained tradition, continually renewed, have been decisive in working an interior renaissance of which the Church has need of today as yesterday. He concentrates on Hadewijch of Antwerp, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Elizabeth of the Trinity, and Edith Stein, showing the striking, ever-creative continuity from one to the other. This book portrays how the prayer and interior life of each of these women has led modern Christians from idle speculations to the reality of the Christian experience in its purity and fecundity.

200 pages, Sewn Softcover, $16.95, WM-P (ISBN 0-89870-4340)
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Book:
The Apostolate of Holy Motherhood
By S.T.D. Mark I. Miraville
Published in 1991, Riehle Foundation (Milford, OH)
Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint — Apparitions and miracles — United States.
Jesus Christ — Apparitions and miracles — United States.
Motherhood — Religious aspects — Catholic Church.

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