My discovery of how I can be a Catholic and a feminist

[rug]

Sister Simone Campbell of the “Nuns on the Bus” campaign, addressing an audience in Laredo, Texas in 2013, is profiled in Celia Viggo Wexler’s book about Catholicism and feminism. Photo: Ulysses

By Celia Viggo Wexler
November 24, 2016
12:50pm

I have never been a Catholic activist, concerned about women’s ordination or lobbying for change within the institution. I was content to attend Mass each week and sing in the parish choir. I didn’t plan to make waves.

But I grew weary of the isolation, the feeling that my feminism and progressive politics were not welcome in the institutional church. I grew angry with a Catholic hierarchy that seemed to care more about fighting abortion than ensuring accountability for the children abused by priests. I grew discouraged by the U.S. bishops’ continuous war against the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

As a journalist, when I am seriously conflicted, I write a book. It’s a time-consuming and costly endeavor to wrestle with my doubts. My first book was about my profession, and its future.

This second book would address one question: Could I remain both Catholic and feminist? I looked for Catholic women who shared my progressive views, and were diverse in age, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity and life experiences.



http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/My-discovery-of-how-I-can-be-a-Catholic-and-a-10634866.php