The Catholic Labyrinth

Power, Apathy, and a Passion for Reform in the American Church

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Marriage & Family, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Denominations, Catholic, Catholicism
Cover of the book The Catholic Labyrinth by Peter McDonough, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter McDonough ISBN: 9780199989843
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: June 14, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Peter McDonough
ISBN: 9780199989843
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: June 14, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Sexual abuse scandals, declining attendance, a meltdown in the number of priests and nuns, the closing of many parishes and parochial schools--all have shaken American Catholicism. Yet conservatives have increasingly dominated the church hierarchy. In The Catholic Labyrinth, Peter McDonough tells a tale of multiple struggles that animate various groups--the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful, and the Leadership Roundtable chief among them--pushing to modernize the church. One contest pits reformers against those who back age-old standards of sexual behavior and gender roles. Another area of contention, involving efforts to maintain the church's far-flung operations in education, social services, and healthcare, raises constitutional issues about the separation of church and state. Once a sidebar to this debate, the bishops' campaign to control the terms of employment and access to contraceptives in church-sponsored ministries has fueled conflict further. McDonough draws on behind-the-scenes documentation and personal interviews with leading reformers and "loyalists" to explore how both retrenchment and resistance to clericalism have played out in American Catholicism. Despite growing support for optional celibacy among priests, the ordination of women, and similar changes, and in the midst of numerous departures from the church, immigration and a lingering reaction against the upheavals of the sixties have helped sustain a popular traditionalism among "Catholics in the pews." So have the polemics of Catholic neoconservatives. These demographic and cultural factors--as well as the silent dissent of those who simply ignore rather than oppose the church's more regressive positions--have reinforced a culture of deference that impedes reform. At the same time, selective managerial improvements show promise of advancing incremental change. Timely and incisive, The Catholic Labyrinth captures the church at a historical crossroads, as advocates for change struggle to reconcile religious mores with the challenges of modernity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Sexual abuse scandals, declining attendance, a meltdown in the number of priests and nuns, the closing of many parishes and parochial schools--all have shaken American Catholicism. Yet conservatives have increasingly dominated the church hierarchy. In The Catholic Labyrinth, Peter McDonough tells a tale of multiple struggles that animate various groups--the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful, and the Leadership Roundtable chief among them--pushing to modernize the church. One contest pits reformers against those who back age-old standards of sexual behavior and gender roles. Another area of contention, involving efforts to maintain the church's far-flung operations in education, social services, and healthcare, raises constitutional issues about the separation of church and state. Once a sidebar to this debate, the bishops' campaign to control the terms of employment and access to contraceptives in church-sponsored ministries has fueled conflict further. McDonough draws on behind-the-scenes documentation and personal interviews with leading reformers and "loyalists" to explore how both retrenchment and resistance to clericalism have played out in American Catholicism. Despite growing support for optional celibacy among priests, the ordination of women, and similar changes, and in the midst of numerous departures from the church, immigration and a lingering reaction against the upheavals of the sixties have helped sustain a popular traditionalism among "Catholics in the pews." So have the polemics of Catholic neoconservatives. These demographic and cultural factors--as well as the silent dissent of those who simply ignore rather than oppose the church's more regressive positions--have reinforced a culture of deference that impedes reform. At the same time, selective managerial improvements show promise of advancing incremental change. Timely and incisive, The Catholic Labyrinth captures the church at a historical crossroads, as advocates for change struggle to reconcile religious mores with the challenges of modernity.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Reforming Jim Crow by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book NGOs by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Theorizing Race in the Americas by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Quantitative Fish Dynamics by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Why Europe Intervenes in Africa by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Wellspring of Liberty by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Essays on Descartes by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Erasmus: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Eros at Dusk by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Stochastic Dynamic Macroeconomics by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Black Culture and Black Consciousness by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Beyond Nationalism by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror by Peter McDonough
Cover of the book Constitutional Personae by Peter McDonough
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy