An anthology of key sources related to the Catholic Church's official teaching about sexuality in the post-Vatican II era, along with commentaries from different perspectives on this teaching.

In Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality: New Paths to Understanding, Rev. Louis Cameli, nationally renowned pastoral leader and priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, presents the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality with insight, new possibilities for spiritual care, and a vision for greater hospitality within the Church. Is the sexuality of homosexually inclined persons a blessing or a curse? Does it lead a person to God or away from God? Can a homosexual person be a good Catholic? With humility and pastoral sensitivity, Cameli offers hope to the many who feel alienated from the Church because of these questions. Taking his cue from Pope Benedict’s call to “express the teaching pastorally, theologically, and intellectually in the context of today’s studies of sexuality and anthropology,” he provides a deeper understanding of the Church’s theological language and stresses that while the Church is a teacher, it must also be a learner.

A Morally Complex World covers the methodology of moral theology; basic concepts such as conscience and moral agency; natural law and moral norms; how the Bible can be used in Christian ethics; how to dialogue on contested ethical issues; how to consider sin and moral failure; and how to mediate moral principles and moral teaching in a pastorally sensitive manner in concrete life situations.

How Catholic was Thomas Merton? Since his death in 1968, Merton’s Catholic identity has been regularly questioned, both by those who doubt the authenticity of his Catholicism given his commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and by those who admire Merton as a thinker but see him as an aberration who rebelled against his Catholicism to articulate ideas that went against the church. In this book, Gregory K. Hillis illustrates that Merton’s thought was intertwined with his identity as a Catholic priest and emerged out of a thorough immersion in the church’s liturgical, theological, and spiritual tradition. In addition to providing a substantive introduction to Merton’s life and thought, this book illustrates that Merton was fundamentally shaped by his identity as a Roman Catholic.

Winner of the 2008 Grawemeyer Award in Religion This long-awaited book by one of American Christianity's foremost ethicists proposes a framework for sexual ethics whereby justice is the criterion for all loving, including love that is related to sexual activity and relationships. It begins with historical and cross-cultural explorations, then addresses the large questions of embodiment, gender, and sexuality, and finally delineates the justice framework for sexual ethics. Though Just Love's particular focus is Christian sexual ethics, Farley's framework is broad enough to have relevance for multiple traditions. Also covered are specific issues in sexual ethics, including same-sex relationships, marriage and family, divorce and second marriage.

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“The Talk.” It’s one of the most daunting prospects parents face. Communicating the richness of Catholic teaching on sexuality in a faithful and effective way can be an overwhelming responsibility. But does it have to be so? In this thoroughly revised version of Beyond the Birds and the Bees, Greg and Lisa Popcak empower you with the tools needed to move well beyond “the Talk” by offering a comprehensive guide to raising sexually whole and holy children. Using the riches of Blessed John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, the Popcaks help you safely navigate your children from infancy through the teenage years and beyond. This book answers the questions parents may have, including: What lessons must my children learn at each stage to develop a healthy Christian sexuality? How can I have age-appropriate conversations about sensitive issues with my children? How can I teach my children what it takes to be a true Catholic man or woman? How can I help my children have healthy, Christian dating relationships? …and much more

“A treasure...a wise and entertaining book that should appeal to the spiritual pilgrim in all of us, no matter what the faith and no matter whether believer or nonbeliever.” – Chicago Tribune The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book. A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support—and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another. In this moving and inspiring book, Martin offers a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics—and people everywhere—to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry—"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"—as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community. WINNER OF THE LIVING NOW BOOK AWARD IN SOCIAL ACTIVISM/CHARITY.

Why do a third of the people raised Catholic in the United States no longer worship as Catholics? Why has the Catholic Church lost a credible teaching voice for many young people? Does the fault lie entirely with those individuals and with the secular culture? In Why the Catholic Church Must Change, Margaret Nutting Ralph first affirms that Catholics are called to seek the truth and to follow their well-formed consciences, not simply to submit mind and will to the teachings of the Magisterium. She then argues that the Catholic Church, which has been open to change in the twentieth century, must continue to be open to change in the twenty-first century: change in some of its teachings and in some of its practices.The Catholic Church has changed in the past and is being called to change in the present. Before that change can occur the Church must enter into respectful dialogue about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices. Ralph contends that Catholic culture, not just secular culture needs a critical examination. Why the Catholic Church Must Change engages the reader to enter into a necessary yet reasoned conversation about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices surrounding the Catholic Church. Margaret Nutting Ralph critically examines pertinent topics of not just the secular culture, but the Catholic culture, that affects both families and culture as a whole, and presents a model for how to discuss difficult issues in a respectful and thoughtful manner. Ralph successfully discusses the issues surrounding the Catholic Church with awareness that the church is not the whole body of Christ. The paperback edition features a new preface that explores the potential for change in the church in light of Pope Francis's first year.

'This book should be read by every bishop, priest and lay pastor in the Catholic Church as well as every gay or lesbian person who has concluded that being happily gay and Catholic is not possible. The author provides an extremely accessible guide to Catholic teaching, social theory and gay and lesbian theology which will enable every reader to truly appreciate the 'remarkable gift' of being gay and Catholic.' - Elizabeth Stuart, Senior Lecturer in Theology, University of Glamorgan, Wales. For generations, gays and lesbians from Catholic backgrounds have struggled to reconcile their sexual orientation with their Church's rigid anti-homosexual stance. Some leave the Church in despair while others suppress their sexuality in order to remain in the Church. Maurice Shinnick argues that homosexuality should be seen as a gift from God, rather than a curse. He shows how attitudes to homosexuality have developed in different Christian denominations around the world and offers a careful re-reading of Catholic teaching. This Remarkable Gift calls for a genuine dialogue between the Church and gay and lesbian people and offers a guide to the paths such a dialogue could follow.