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E-book
Author McDonough, Peter, 1939-

Title The Catholic labyrinth : power, apathy, and a passion for reform in the American church / Peter McDonough
Published New York : Oxford University Press, [2013]

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Description 1 online resource (xv, 389 pages)
Contents The matrix of American Catholicism -- The dynamics of tradition -- Prisoners in the promised land: neoconservatism as culture and strategy -- Feminism versus the family? -- Welfare reform, American values, and the triumph of Catholic neoconservatism -- Conciliarism and other dormant traditions -- Managerialism and the Catholic deficit -- SNAP and the strategy of confrontation -- Voice of the faithful and the struggle for Catholic pluralism -- The leadership roundtable and the long march through the institutions -- FutureChurch and the fog of reform -- Two steps forward ... -- In the labyrinth -- Conclusion -- Conjecture
Summary "American Catholicism has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals, declining attendance, a meltdown in the numbers of priests and nuns, and the closing of many parishes and parochial schools. Yet the church hierarchy is increasingly dominated by conservatives. In The Catholic Labyrinth, Peter McDonough tells of the struggles that animate various groups - such as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful, and the Leadership Roundtable - pushing to modernize the church. One contest pits reformers against those who defend traditional standards of sexual behavior and gender roles. In addition, the church's far-flung operations in education, social services, and healthcare raise constitutional issues about the separation of church and state. Once a sidebar to this debate, the bishops' campaign to control terms of employment and access to contraceptives in church-sponsored ministries has added fuel to the conflict. McDonough draws on behind-the-scenes documents and personal interviews with reformers and 'loyalists' to explore how retrenchment and resistance to clericalism have played out. In the midst of growing support for changes like optional celibacy for priests and the ordination of women, the flood of defections from the church continues. Nevertheless, immigration and a lingering reaction against the upheavals of the sixties, together with the polemics of neoconservatives, have helped sustain acceptance of traditional authority among Catholics in the pews"--Jacket
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 304-367) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Catholic Church -- United States -- History -- 21st century
Catholic Church -- Doctrines.
SUBJECT Catholic Church fast
Katholische Kirche gnd
Subject Church renewal -- Catholic Church -- History -- 21st century
Conservatism -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church.
RELIGION -- Christianity -- Catholic.
Church renewal -- Catholic Church
Conservatism -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church
Theology, Doctrinal
Katholizismus
Kirchenreform
Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.
Hervormingen.
United States
USA
Verenigde Staten.
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780199989836
0199989834