Description
Book SynopsisContemporary culture provides conflicting and confusing messages about the meaning and purpose of human sexuality. This book provides much-needed pastoral guidance in addressing moral issues of sexuality in both the Catholic Church and broader culture today.
Trade ReviewThis is a marvelous collection of essays, progressive in their attention to the growing edges of tradition and faithful to the roots of the moral wisdom of ages past. -- Patricia Beattie Jung, Loyola University Chicago
This book shows that silence about sex is just as damaging to the church as is moral analysis that is out of touch with the realities people face in modern cultures. Kieran Scott and Harold D. Horell bring together history, theology, psychology, sociology, politics, and economics and have assembled an absorbing work on matters of sex, gender, and relationships that can speak to all Catholics. Theologians, church teachers, pastoral ministers, and educators will discover a wealth of information, insight, and creativity in this book. -- Lisa Sowle Cahill, J. Donald Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College
The depth and breadth of the expertise of the contributors whom Scott and Horell have gathered provide readers with new understandings of a vital area for contemporary theological and pastoral concerns. This is a much-needed and timely addition to the shelves of scholars, ministers, and educators! -- Maryanne Confoy, RSC, Jesuit Theological College, Parkville, Australia
A valuable contribution....A comprehensive and very readable approach....This is a very good book. It should be read by every bishop, especially those in the United States who couldn't bring themselves to deal openly with the subjects of marriage and sexuality. The people of God already know that it is time to move on and to reconstruct a credible approach to human sexuality. The essays presented in this volume contribute significantly to that project. * INTAMS review: Journal for the Study of Marriage & Spirituality *
This refreshingly candid collection of essays is frank about the contemporary gap between official teachings and the ordinary experience of most Catholics. Scott and Horell are to be congratulated for presenting thoughtful dialogues about sex in a spiritual, political, and scientific context, and proposing some helpful steps toward resolving the current church crisis. -- Gabriel Moran, Director of the Philosophy of Education Program, New York University, author of Fashioning a People Today
Table of ContentsPart 1 Part I: Foundational Issues of Human Sexuality Chapter 2 Moving Beyond the Sounds of Silence Chapter 3 Tender Fires: The Spiritual Promise of Sexuality Chapter 4 A Pastoral Response Chapter 5 Toward Christian Sexual Maturity: Growing in Wisdom, Age and Grace Chapter 6 A Pastoral Response Chapter 7 A New Moral Discourse on Sexuality Chapter 8 A Pastoral Response Chapter 9 Sexuality and Relationships in Ministry Chapter 10 A Pastoral Response Part 11 Part II: Specific Issues Chapter 12 Engaging the Struggle: John Paul II on Personhood and Sexuality Chapter 13 A Disembodied "Theology of the Body": John Paul II on Love, Sex and Pleasure Chapter 14 Graceful Pleasures: Why Sex is Good for Your Marriage Chapter 15 The Gift of Celibacy Chapter 16 Always Our Children? Young Catholics Consider the Pastoral Message Chapter 17 A Tortured Trio: Sexuality, Adolescents and Moral Theology Chapter 18 Cohabitation: A Reassessment Chapter 19 Sexuality and the Church: Finding Our Way
