Our Donors Share the Word With U.S. Bishops

Say “Sr. Sara Butler” to those who, like me, came of age shortly after Vatican II, and they’ll remember a very vocal and formidable proponent of women’s ordination. Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, she made a 180 degree turn and is now an equally vocal and formidable opponent. More, in Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching, a book recently published by Pauline Books & Media, she connects this exclusively insider topic to the global and controversial issues also covered. Any support for the fittingness of (different from the reason for) the Church’s tradition, she claims, must take into account that sexual complementarity is not “significant only for reproduction….Being a man or a woman is central, not simply incidental, to one’s identity and defines one’s capacity for relationships, that is, for ‘making a gift of self’.”

Editor Erika Bachiochi autographs a copy at the book
launch this Fall at Boston College.

This giftedness is at the heart of the contribution made by each of the book’s nine authors—all women except one, including the editor, Erika Bachiochi. Their readable insights can be easily grasped by anybody with a serious and lively interest in reproductive issues, or women’s role in the Church and public life, as well as the rapport between sexuality and social justice.

Don’t think Women, Sex, and the Church is “just for girls.” You know that e-reader you’re going to get for one of the men in your life this Christmas? For another $10, you can download the book, too. Parishioners, do you wonder what to buy for a priest? Look no further. Either our Web store or a Pauline Books & Media Center near you can help. Give someone this key that opens a door to the Church’s understanding of sexuality from the perspective of modern American women.

Insight into that perspective is what prompted us to send it for Christmas to each of the 424 bishops in the U. S. Most years, we send one of our new publications or productions to them, along with our thanks for their ministry in the Church and our promise of prayers. This year our gift was made possible by the donors on a direct mail list that’s managed by Sr. Anne Eileen Heffernan. They contributed the $6,360 we needed. As the bishops write us with their thanks, we’ll pass on some of their comments to you in future blog posts, since they’re really thanking our donors, too, for sharing the Word with them.