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Good Catholics

The Battle over Abortion in the Catholic Church
by Patricia Miller (Author)
Hardcover Paperback eBook
Price: $29.95 / £25.00
Publication Date: May 2014
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 344
ISBN: 9780520958272
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 13 b/w illustrations
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About the Book

Good Catholics tells the story of the remarkable individuals who have engaged in a nearly fifty-year struggle to assert the moral legitimacy of a pro-choice position in the Catholic Church, as well as the concurrent efforts of the Catholic hierarchy to suppress abortion dissent and to translate Catholic doctrine on sexuality into law. Miller recounts a dramatic but largely untold history of protest and persecution, which demonstrates the profound and surprising influence that the conflict over abortion in the Catholic Church has had not only on the church but also on the very fabric of U.S. politics. Good Catholics addresses many of today’s hot-button questions about the separation of church and state, including what concessions society should make in public policy to matters of religious doctrine, such as the Catholic ban on contraception.

Good Catholics is a Gold Medalist (Women’s Issues) in the 2015 IPPY awards, an award presented by the Independent Publishers Book Association to recognize excellence in independent book publishing.

About the Author

Patricia Miller is a Washington, D.C.–based journalist and editor who has written extensively about the intersection of politics, sex, and religion. She was the editor of Conscience magazine, the leading journal of pro-choice Catholic thought, and was the editor in chief of the daily health care briefings for National Journal.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Virgin, the Saint, and the Nun

Part I: The History of an Idea
1. The Four Wise Women
2. The Dread Secret
3. Pope Patricia
4. Coming of Age
5. The Cardinal of Choice

Part II: The Bishops’ Lobby
6. The Bishops’ Lobby
7. Showdown at Cairo 
8. Matters of Conscience
9. Playing Politics
10. Health Care and Politics Redux

Epilogue: The Philippines
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

"For anyone looking around in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby decision and asking, 'How did we get here?' [Good Catholics] provides your answer--and then some. . . . An excellent primer on the dynamic issue of religion in reproductive health issues in the US."
— Conscience
"Anyone interested in discovering how and why the abortion issue is so inextricably tied up with Catholicism will be fascinated by this important work."
— Publishers Weekly
"The book will likely give off sparks. But if these sparks inspire people to study this potent moral question in an informed manner, it will have done a service to those on both sides of the divide -- and Miller's book is a good place to begin that study."
— National Catholic Reporter
"While evangelical Christians ultimately brought down the contraception mandate, [Miller shows] they had big help from Catholics."
— Salon
"Lends a voice to Catholics who support abortion rights, giving legitimacy to a group that is often overlooked in the abortion debate."
— Ms. Magazine
"A page-turning thriller filled with courageous individuals."
— Conscience
"Patricia Miller's excellent new book deals primarily with the top-down leadership of the Vatican and the bishops, who, it should be very clear, do not represent the views of most Catholics but are able to spook many politicians into thinking otherwise. . . . Five stars."
— Free Inquiry
"A serious study instead of what could have been a partisan puff piece."
— Women's Review of Books
"Thoroughly researched."
— The Los Angeles Review of Books
"In Good Catholics, Miller provides a clear and comprehensive history of the battle over abor- tion in the Catholic United States, using legal developments, the creation and actions of various pro-choice and pro-life organisations, high-profile news stories, and statistics on public opinion to offer a sense of the shifting debate."
— Theology and Sexuality
"Wonderful, original, and provocative. . . . Destined to be a critical and popular success."—Kristin Luker, author of Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood

"Good Catholics traces the emergence of a strong and effective pro-choice movement in American Catholicism from the 1970s to 2012. It also documents the aggressive politicization of the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy in combating dissent on abortion and birth control among American Catholics. Patricia Miller concludes that the underlying issue in this struggle is not just abortion itself, but the deep hostility of traditional Christianity to women's sexuality and the possibility of women enjoying sex without ‘paying’ for it by pregnancy and childcare."—Rosemary Radford Ruether, Professor of Theology, Claremont School of Theology and Graduate University

“A must read for all of us who are prochoice because of our faith, not despite it. We are not alone.”—Jon O'Brien, President, Catholics for Choice

Awards

  • 2015 Gold Medal for Women’s Issues Books, Independent Publisher Book Awards