New Catholic Women: A Contemporary Challenge to Traditional Religious Authority

National Catholic Reporter, April 19, 1996 by Judith Bromberg

First published in 1985, Mary Jo Weaver's book has been updated and rereleased. "As I survey the territory covered by New, Catholic Women 10 years ago," she writes in her new introduction, "it seems that nothing has change except that many of us are now old(er) Catholic women."

Be that as it may, the book is as relevant today as it was progressive in 1985. Here she frames "the Catholic feminist movement within the larger context of feminist questions," such as women's historical invisibility, frustration in traditional roles and powerlessness within institutions.

Weaver goes on to chart the progress of certain women's movements, the evolution of feminist theology and the changing face of Mariology. She has a real handle on the "inside outsiders," as she calls women's religious communities, and the ironies they personify within the church. Moreover, she recognizes that American nuns are more representative of American Catholic women than distinct from them. As a concise history of Catholic feminism, it is one of the best. The 15 new pages that comprise the update definitely make this book worth attention.

The one chapter that doesn't weather quite as well as the rest is the one on ordination and foundations for the future. Of course the ordination movement is still highly volatile, infallibility aside, and the organizations of which she speaks, the Grail, for example, as "destined to lead the way in the development of the apostolate of women" have not come to the forefront as Weaver envisioned that they might. She further anticipated a larger presence for Women-Church than currently seems to be the case.

Nevertheless, she notes that "for every older woman there are several younger ones who have grown up on Title IX, affirmative action and inclusive language. ... For every woman fatigued by the anesthetized response of ecclesiastical officials, there are 10 more who, in the words of one new book, are `defecting in place.'" In other words, women are not leaving the church, but are insisting on remaining within it on their own terms.

Despite those relatively few sections that date it, New Catholic Wowen speaks powerfully to today's reader. Not only does Weaver correctly read the pulse of American Catholic feminists, she has a lucidity of style that makes her eminently readable.

Not quite as successful is Denise Carmody's Christian Feminist Theology. As she states in her preface, "this book is an overview of traditional Christian theology written for college undergraduates and developed in the light of moderate present-day feminist sensibilities." She says she has two allegiances - first, "to the faith handed down through the Christian centuries"; second, "to the current movement of women to gain recognition of their full equality with men in the possession of human nature." In theory this could work (Weaver did it); in practice Carmody shortchanges both loyalties.

I tried to put myself inside the skin of a college student for whom this would be a primary text. I'm afraid it brought back all too vivid memories of ghosts of textbooks past. It wasn't so much that there was anything to actually dislike about the book, but as Gertrude Stein reputedly said about Oakland, Calif., "there's no `there' there."

Today's college students, women and men alike, have, as Weaver so aptly reminded us, been weaned on women achieving beyond age-old expectations in nontraditional roles. They - oops, I forgot, - "we" don't have to be sold on the notion that "women are the equal of men in possession of human nature." If I were to enroll in a course in Christian feminist theology, I would already be disposed to that notion and then some, and this text would underwhelm me. If I did not espouse that belief, Carmody's attempt in this text to blend feminism into traditional Christianity would not hold much sway with me.

For one thing, she tries to cover to much territory at the expense of depth. I found the organization within her chapters distracting and her prose spiritless. And here is my biggest issue with this and similar texts: A theology text for today's teens and young adults will fail if it does not engage their hearts as well as their minds. Theology is nothing if it is not poetry. Todays young people crave a theology they can embrace with all their hearts, but they demand that they be moved by it. Give them weighty ideas, yes, but also give them metaphor.

The study questions at the end of each chapter are perfunctory and uninspiring. For example, "What is the significance of revelation for Christian theology?" or "How significant is the search for human justice?" The final study question at the very end of this 262-page text, however, which asks students to write a paragraph giving their "concluding understanding of the phrase `a constructive Christian feminist theology'" sells us all short.

I have already recommended New Catholic Wowen for purchase by my high school library and possible use within religion program. If, however, I were commissioned to select a theology text for secondary school or beyond, I would have to look beyond Christian Feminist Theology.