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

by Rosemary Radford Ruether

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.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Catholic

150 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2008

About the author

Visiting Professor of Feminist Theology B.A. Scripps College; M.S., Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School

Rosemary Radford Ruether was the Carpenter Emerita Professor of Feminist Theology at Pacific School of Religion and the GTU, as well as the Georgia Harkness Emerita Professor of Applied Theology at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. She had enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a scholar, teacher, and activist in the Roman Catholic Church, and was well known as a groundbreaking figure in Christian feminist theology.

Education

B.A. – Scripps College
M.S., Ph.D. – Claremont Graduate School

Recent Publications / Achievements

Christianity and Social Systems: Historical Constructions and Ethical Challenges (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009)

Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican: A Vision for Progressive Catholicism (New Press, 2008)

America, Amerikkka: Elect Nation and Imperial Violence(Equinox, 2007)

Encyclopedia of Women And Religion in North America, with Rosemary Skinner Keller (Indiana University Press, 2006)

Goddesses and the Divine Feminine: A Western Religious History (University of California Press, 2005)

Integrating Ecofeminism, Globalization, and World Religions(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005)

Mountain Sisters: From Convent To Community In Appalachia, Forward (University Press of Kentucky, 2004)

The Wrath of Jonah: The Crisis of Religious Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Fortress Press, 2002

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I agree with Ruether on her social aims, I almost completely disagree with the way she goes about it. To me Ruether is not speaking for a progressive kind of Catholicism, but that Catholicism imitate progressivism. "The world is such," she says, "therefore the Church should be such." She speaks as if the Church can or could merely operate upon the whims of democracy or whatever is in fashionable taste at the time.

Yet, when she speaks of the Second Iraq War, the desiderata is no longer what the public wants ("we want war!") but now the traditional teachings of the Church must be invoked to stem the influence of opinion.

Simply, Ruether is guilty of a great deal of hypocrisy and secular dealings. It is not, and I repeat, it is not because of the things she is fighting for. Those are good things. Her flaw is the foundation upon which she bases them.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. Those who know little about Vatican II, the infamous "Humanae Vitae," liberation theology, feminist theology, the hierarchy of the Church and women's ordination will likely find it very informative. Overall, I thought the book summed up a number of concepts and arguments rather thoroughly (considering the book's length) and even learned a few things myself about the history of women in the church particularly in the U.S. during the 1970s.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...I added Rosemary Ruether to my list! More of the question, "whose church is it?" Let's just say that Professor Ruether has no doubt!

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this view of Catholicism was widespread, I might still be Catholic.

[Maud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes inspiring, unfortunately boring, would have loved to read more about ecology and the church.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent research. Arguments for progressive Catholicism are well thought out and researched. Clearly, Ruerher was an expert in her field. I pray that other women in the church will take up her mantle. Perhaps the sisters working in leading positions in the Vatican will have a respected voice one day soon.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This very short (less than 200 pages) book reads like one much longer, on account of the rather strident tone (Ruether preaches to the choir, ha ha ha ha ha ha!) and the kind of dull writing (not that she's striving to be entertaining). She makes some excellent points though, particularly regarding the Catholic church's stances on birth control, abortion and women-as-priests, and demonstrates that it's possible to be part of the Catholic church while being pretty much completely opposed to the Vatican.

I also learned that the infallibility of the pope is a very, very, very recent ideal—from the 19th century—which is something I did not know.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as an ex-roman-catholic, just out of curiosity. While the author has some really great points, I was mostly left with the question: Since the Vatican *is* the heart of Roman Catholic theology, why remain within Roman Catholicism when you clearly do not fit within it? I would have liked to read the author's discussion of that.

Still, the reason for my two-star rating of this book has nothing to do with that, but with the very uninspired writing in this book. I eat up stuff like this, and while I found it very enlightening intellectually, it was written so dry and boring it was still really a struggle to remain with the author's points.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick primer on feminist and liberation theology and their history in the Catholic Church. Engaging, but a bit prone to gloss and gloss and gloss instead of substantive discussion. Such are the constraints of such a tiny text, I suppose, that covers everything from reproductive rights to women's ordination to Latin American reform history. It ends on a high note: "Can Men Be Ordained?," the satirical send-up that closes the book, is an absolute must read.