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"Wonderful, original, and provocative. . . . Destined to be a critical and popular success."—Kristin Luker, author of Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood
"Good Catholics traces the emergence of a strong and effective pro-choice movement in American Catholicism from the 1970s to 2012. It also documents the aggressive politicization of the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy in combating dissent on abortion and birth control among American Catholics. Patricia Miller concludes that the underlying issue in this struggle is not just abortion itself, but the deep hostility of traditional Christianity to women's sexuality and the possibility of women enjoying sex without ‘paying’ for it by pregnancy and childcare."—Rosemary Radford Ruether, Professor of Theology, Claremont School of Theology and Graduate University
“A must read for all of us who are prochoice because of our faith, not despite it. We are not alone.”—Jon O'Brien, President, Catholics for Choice
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Virgin, the Saint, and the Nun
Part I: The History of an Idea
1. The Four Wise Women
2. The Dread Secret
3. Pope Patricia
4. Coming of Age
5. The Cardinal of Choice
Part II: The Bishops’ Lobby
6. The Bishops’ Lobby
7. Showdown at Cairo
8. Matters of Conscience
9. Playing Politics
10. Health Care and Politics Redux
Epilogue: The Philippines
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Patricia Miller is a Washington, D.C.–based journalist and editor who has written extensively about the intersection of politics, sex, and religion. She was the editor of Conscience magazine, the leading journal of pro-choice Catholic thought, and was the editor in chief of the daily health care briefings for National Journal.
Summary
Good Catholics tells the story of the remarkable individuals who have engaged in a nearly fifty-year struggle to assert the moral legitimacy of a pro-choice position in the Catholic Church, as well as the concurrent efforts of the Catholic hierarchy to suppress abortion dissent and to translate Catholic doctrine on sexuality into law. Miller recounts a dramatic but largely untold history of protest and persecution, which demonstrates the profound and surprising influence that the conflict over abortion in the Catholic Church has had not only on the church but also on the very fabric of U.S. politics. Good Catholics addresses many of today’s hot-button questions about the separation of church and state, including what concessions society should make in public policy to matters of religious doctrine, such as the Catholic ban on contraception.
Good Catholics is a Gold Medalist (Women’s Issues) in the 2015 IPPY awards, an award presented by the Independent Publishers Book Association to recognize excellence in independent book publishing.
Additional text
"Thoroughly researched."
