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

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