NOONAN, J: A Church That Can and Cannot Change

The Development of Catholic Moral Teaching
Univ of Notre Dame Press, 2005

312 pages

Catholic, Moral Theology, Church History

Using concrete examples, John T. Noonan, Jr., demonstrates that the moral teaching of the Catholic Church has changed and continues to change without abandoning its foundational commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically, Noonan looks at the profound changes that have occurred over the centuries in Catholic moral teaching on freedom of conscience, lending for a profit, and slavery. He also offers a close examination of the change now in progress concerning divorce.

ALTHAUS-REID: The Sexual Theologian

Essays on God, Sex and Politics

Continuum International 2005

134 pages

"The Sexual Theologian is the first collection of essays on radical sexual theology written by a group of internationally renowned scholars in this area. For the first time Queer theory and theology is articulated around themes from systematic theology such as Incarnation, death, the concept of God, Mariology, together with discussions on sexuality and mysticism. The essays show a "how to do" a radical sexual theology together with original, bold and transgressive thinking which have taken feminist theologies to a new dimension of action and reflection."

COZZENS, D: The Changing Face of the Catholic Priesthood.

A Reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul

Liturgical Press, 2000

148 pages

Catholic, Priesthood

In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Cozzens takes a long, honest look at the present state of the priesthood. He provides this examination not merely from an empirical, scientific perspective but also from a personal, pastoral perspective. Drawing on clinical data, church documents, and his nearly forty years of pastoral experience, Cozzens gives shape and form to the changing face of the priesthood. Through his reflections he leads readers to both concern and hope for the priesthood of the twenty-first century.

EVANS: Queer and Catholic

Routledge, 2008

364 pages

Catholic, memoir, lesbian

How does one reconcile the tension between the community of one's own Catholic upbringing and a sexuality and gender identity that may be in conflict with some of the tenets of the faith - especially when one is a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex community? "Queer and Catholic" offers a source of comfort to members of these communities, focusing on not only practicing Catholics, but also the entire experience of growing up Catholic. This unique book discusses Catholicism beyond its religiosity and considers its implications as a culture of origin. This widely varied and entertaining book pulls together a comprehensive collection of essays, stories, and poetry that together represent an honest and engaging reflection of being a queer person within the Catholic experience.

KENNEDY: The Unhealed Wound

The Church and Human Sexuality

St Martin's Press, 2002

214 pages

Catholic, theology, sexuality

"Kennedy, a psychologist, former priest, and a leading Catholic author and scholar, addresses one of the most compelling yet undiscussed issues in the Church: human sexuality. The Unhealed Wound is a penetrating and insightful study of the unresolved conflicts Catholics face regarding both their sexuality and spirituality, deep conflicts which grow more and more serious as they remain unaddressed within the Church.

He astutely yet respectfully takes to task a faith that—despite the reality of erotic love as a natural and human aspect of life itself—condemns birth control, marriage for priests, and sex outside of marriage. The Unhealed Wound also examines the Church's formidable hierarchy, challenging those clerics who uphold papal edicts unthinkingly. Articulately postulating our need not only to understand but celebrate our own sexuality, this book will engender both controversy and heated dialogue among today's scholars, students, and believers of Catholicism."

LINDEN, I : Global Catholicism

"Every bishop and priest in the Catholic Church should sit down and read this remarkable book."; The Tablet.

"Global Catholicism" examines the complex pressure the Second Vatican Council placed on the Roman Catholic Church and the counterforces that have mobilized in responce to its reforms. Ian Linden considers whether the Catholic Church has lived up to the promise of the Vatican II and whether it has come to terms with the challenges of pluralism, modernity, and different forms of spirituality. He also focuses on historical and theological factors that have had a huge impact on the evolution and international standing of the church in the twentieth century. Linden examines the Church's response to global and local wars and efforts to maintain peace; the growth of nationalism and the struggle for democratization in Africa; theological debates over liberation; the actions carried out by military dictatorships; guerilla combat in Latin America, Africa, and the Phillipines; interactions with communist governments; and inculturation and contact with a resurgent Islam. Despite an honest assessment of the Church's failings, Linden ultimately portrays the Catholic Church as an organization uniquely attuned to globalization.

Lynch:Priest on Trial, A

McNEILL: Both Feet Firmly Planted in Mid Air

An Autobiography

Westminster John Knox Press,1998

184 pages

Catholic, Biography, Gay male

Details the life of the former Jesuit priest who was expelled from the Soceity of Jesus for his views on gay and lesbian sexuality

McNEILL: Sex as God Intended

McNeill,John

Lethe Press, 2008
(Scripture, Theology,

Sexuality)

This valuable book restates and summarises the sould arguments presented in McNeills'earlier publications, as well as presenting new material. By looking a fresh at Scripture and theology, he shows clearly how sexuality is not something to hidden, taken out only in the confessional but is a fundamental part of out human essence and should be celebrated and enjoyed as a gift from God.

The book also includes a "festschrift" , a collection of essays by friends and collaborators of McaNeill over many years, recording and celebrating the huge contribution he has made to gay & lesbian theology & mental health over many years as a theologian, psychtherapist and writer.

This is truly a book to treasure and reread.

Strongly recommended by QTC

POMFRET: Since My Last Confession

Pomfret, Scott:

Since My Last Confession

Arcade Publishing, 2008

288 pages

Catholic, gay male, Church practice, Gay Marriage, Memoir

"From same-sex marriage rallies to pedophile priest scandals, 'Since my Last Confession' maps with matchless humour the full spectrum of the gay catholic experience- from one end of the rainbow to the other. Listen in as Scott learns a thing or two about love and compassion from Father McSlutty. a promiscuous gay priest; Jezebel, Scott's ultra-Catholic sister-in-law; Father Bear-Daddy, the Shrine's hirsute holy terror; and the three Hale Marys. Then join Scott on his brave crusade to convince his arch-nemesis, Cardinal O/Malley, to invite him to serve at a weekly Mass.

Along the way, you'll learn how to detect a gay Catholic, how to get excommunicated from the comfort of your living room in three easy steps, why the sabbath should be on Friday (Sunday is for brunch) , and what a nice erotic writer is doing in a mean church like this. "

- From the cover flap.

"A heartbreaking cry of pain and a delicious howl of laughter, Since My Last Confession is a complete delight. Trying to make sense of the insane, hypocritical and murdersously ironic stances the Catholic Church takes - often articulated by gay, sexually active, priests - Pomfret isn't a recovering Catholic - it's the benighted men who ahve so sadly mismanaged the roman Catholic Church who are going to have to recover from this funny, heartfelt and insightful memoir."

- Michael Bronski, author Pulp Friction

"An extraordinary mixture of sheer love, tender-heartedness, cussedness, and hilarity that delivers in spades."

- James Alison, Catholic priest, theologian and author Faith Beyond Resentment.

Reviews:

My own review at Queering the Church

User reviews from Google books:

User Review - Josh Kilmer-Purcell, best-selling author of I Am Not Myself These Days

Scott Pomfret is the patron saint of devilish wit. With unabashed introspection that borders on the sacrilegious, Since My Last Confession artfully demonstrates a heartfelt faith in God and humanity that, frankly, the world could use a lot more of. Really a great read.

User Review - Philadelphia City Paper

With a wicked sense of humor . . . Pomfret mines his religion for all that it's worth. And, as any semi-practicing Catholic can attest, there's plenty of material. . . . Of course, there are many serious moments, too.

ROSSER: Gay Catholics Down Under

The journeys in sexuality and spirituality of gay men in Australia and New Zealand

Prager, 1992

256 pages

Catholic, Gay male, Biography

Sexuality and spirituality are two of the most powerful and creative forces we experience as human beings. This work examines how men of Roman Catholic background have come to understand and integrate their homosexuality into daily life. Homosexuality is still a topic immersed in myth and mystery. As well as providing accurate information about intimate aspects of gay men's lives such as coping with HIV and practicing safer sex, Gay Catholics Down Under seeks to raise awareness about spiritual issues for gay men. Each story told provides a unique perspective of what it means to be of Catholic background in Australasia and attracted to men. Several of those interviewed spoke of having no role models and of the isolation growing up not knowing of other gay people. A final chapter reviews the psychosexual implications of the study, including a model of integration of sexual and religious identification, and implications for the gay community and the Church.

SCHINNICK:This Remarkable Gift

SCHINNICK, MAURICE

This Remarkable Gift:

Being Gay and Catholic
(Allen & Unwin, 1998)

WILLS, G: Papal Sin

Structures of Deceit
Doubleday, 2001

326 pages

"The truth, we are told, will make us free. It is time to free Catholics, lay as well as clerical, from the structures of deceit that are our subtle modern form of papal sin. Paler, subtler, less dramatic than the sins castigated by Orcagna or Dante, these are the quiet sins of intellectual betrayal." --from the Introduction From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Garry Wills comes an assured, acutely insightful--and occasionally stinging--critique of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy from the nineteenth century to the present. Papal Sin in the past was blatant, as Catholics themselves realized when they painted popes roasting in hell on their own church walls. Surely, the great abuses of the past--the nepotism, murders, and wars of conquest--no longer prevail; yet, the sin of the modern papacy, as revealed by Garry Wills in his penetrating new book, is every bit as real, though less obvious than the old sins. Wills describes a papacy that seems steadfastly unwilling to face the truth about itself, its past, and its relations with others. The refusal of the authorities of the Church to be honest about its teachings has needlessly exacerbated original mistakes. Even when the Vatican has tried to tell the truth--e.g., about Catholics and the Holocaust--it has ended up resorting to historical distortions and evasions. The same is true when the papacy has attempted to deal with its record of discrimination against women, or with its unbelievable assertion that "natural law" dictates its sexual code. Though the blithe disregard of some Catholics for papal directives has occasionally been attributed to mere hedonism or willfulness, it actually reflects a failure, after long trying on their part, to find a credible level of honesty in the official positions adopted by modern popes. On many issues outside the realm of revealed doctrine, the papacy has made itself unbelievable even to the well-disposed laity. The resulting distrust is in fact a neglected reason for the shortage of priests. Entirely aside from the public uproar over celibacy, potential clergy have proven unwilling to put themselves in a position that supports dishonest teachings. Wills traces the rise of the papacy's stubborn resistance to the truth, beginning with the challenges posed in the nineteenth century by science, democracy, scriptural scholarship, and rigorous history. The legacy of that resistance, despite the brief flare of John XXIII's papacy and some good initiatives in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council (later baffled), is still strong in the Vatican. Finally Wills reminds the reader of the positive potential of the Church by turning to some great truth tellers of the Catholic tradition--St. Augustine, John Henry Newman, John Acton, and John XXIII. In them, Wills shows that the righteous path can still be taken, if only the Vatican will muster the courage to speak even embarrassing truths in the name of Truth itself.