SEXUAL ETHICS BIBLIOGRAPHY - University of San Francisco

SEXUAL ETHICS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Compiled by 

James T. Bretzke, S.J. 

University of San Francisco 

San Francisco, CA 

E-mail: BretzkeSJ@usfca.edu 

July 20, 2005 

Table of Contents 

CHURCH DOCUMENTS ......................................................1 

Papal Magisterial Documents ..............................................1 

Curial Documents .......................................................2 

Other Church, Magisterial Documents or Related Titles .........................4 

ABORTION ................................................................10 

Articles on Abortion .....................................................10 

Books on Abortion ......................................................26 

A.I.D.S. ....................................................................39 

BIRTH ISSUES .............................................................46 

Birth Control ..........................................................46 

Genetics, Ensoulment, Fetal Experimentation, In-Vitro Fertization, etc. ............59 

CELIBACY ................................................................66 

CORPOREAL ETHICS, GENDER, AND THE PHYSICAL LIFE ...................73 

FEMINIST SEXUAL ETHICS ................................................81 

GENERAL & MISCELLANEOUS SEXUAL ETHICS ............................88 

HOMOSEXUALITY ........................................................107 

Articles or Chapters on Homosexuality .....................................107 

Books on Homosexuality ................................................129 

MARRIAGE AND/OR FAMILY ..............................................143 

General and/or Miscellaneous ............................................143

Divorce and Annulment .................................................158 

PRE-VATICAN II AND/OR HISTORICAL WORKS ON SEXUAL ETHICS ........165 

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, PORNOGRAPHY, VIOLENCE, ETC. ................172 

ii

SEXUAL ETHICS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Compiled by 

James T. Bretzke, S.J. 

University of San Francisco 

San Francisco, CA 

E-mail: BretzkeSJ@usfca.edu 

CHURCH DOCUMENTS 

Papal Magisterial Documents 

N.B. Many of these official Church documents are widely available on a number of 

Catholic related Web-sites on the Internet 

Hogan, Richard M., and LeVoir, John M. Covenant of Love: Pope John Paul II on Sexuality, 

Marriage and Family in the Modern World. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1985. 

Contains the text of Familiaris Consortio, a commentary, plus John Paul II’s Wednesday 

audiences on the theology of the body. 

John Paul II, Pope. Evangelium vitae. Origins 24 (6 April 1995): 689-730. 

Issued 25 March 1995. Treats, among other issues, abortion, contraception, capital 

punishment, and euthanasia. 

. Familaris consortio "The Christian Family in the Modern World." 22 November 1981. 

Apostolic Exhortation given after the 1980 Synod of Bishops which considered the same 

theme. 

Among numerous other sources, can be found in Austin Flannery, O.P., ed. Vatican Council 

II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, 815-898. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1982. 

. "Population Conference Draft Document Criticized." Origins 23 (31 March 1994): 716-719. 

1

Magisterial Documents on Sexual Ethics 

Originally given in a Vatican meeting of 18 March 1994 with Nafis Sadik, executive director 

of the U.N. Fund for Population Activities, this is Pope John Paul II's critique of the final 

draft document prepared for the September 1994 U.N. International Conference on 

Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt. 

Paul VI, Pope. Humanae vitae (Encyclical Letter on the Regulation of Births). 25 July 1968. AAS 

60 (1968): 481-503. 



Organized into three major sections: New Aspects of the Problem and Competency of the 

Magisterium, Doctrinal Principles, and Pastoral Directives. 

Pius XI, Pope. Casti Connubii (Encyclical Letter on Christian Marriage). 31 December 1930. 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930 

_casti-connubii_en.html 

Curial Documents 

-------- 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Concerning the Reception of Communion by Divorcedand-Remarried 

Members of the Faithful: Letter to Bishops." Origins 24 (October 27, 

1994): 337-340. 

See also the "Response" by the three German Bishops whose pastoral letter occasioned the 

CDF Letter, "Response to Doctrinal Congregation's Letter: Message to Their People," 

Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 341-344. See also Msgr. J. Francis Stafford's "The Ecclesial 

Dimension of Conscience: Statement on the Doctrinal Congregation's Letter," Origins 24 

(October 27, 1994): 345. See also "In Truth and Love," Pastoral Letter of the Pennsylvania 

Catholic Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Divorced Catholics Who Remarry (29 July 1994), 

Origins 24 (18 August 1994): 205-208. 

. “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between 

Homosexual Persons.” Origins 33 (14 August 2003): 177;179-182. 

See in the same issues supporting statements by Bishop Wilton Gregory and Cardinal George 

(pp. 182-185), as well as a critique of the CDF document by Stephen Pope, “The Vatican’s 

Blunt Instrument,” The Tablet (9 August 2003): 4-5. 

2


. Donum vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of 

Procreation). 22 February 1987. AAS 80 (1988): 70-102; Origins 16 (19 March 1987): 697-; 

699-711. 

. Haec sacra congregatio (Sterilization in Catholic Hospitals) 13 March 1975. In Vatican 

Council II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The 

Liturgical Press, 1982): 454-455. 

. . Homoexualitatis problema. Letter to Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. 

1 October 1986. AAS 79 (1987): 543-554; Origins 16 (13 November 1986): 377; 379-382. 

http://212.77.1.245/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_198 

61001_homosexual-persons_en.html 

. Personae humanae (Declaration on Certain Problems of Sexual Ethics). 29 December 1975. 

AAS 68 (1976): 77-96; in Vatican Council II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin 

Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1982): 486-499. 

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1 

9751229_persona-humana_en.html 

This document corresponds very closely with a chapter from Cardinal Pietro Palazzini's Vita 

e virtù cristiane, (Roma, 1975). 

For a helpful commentary on some of the problems associated with the drafting of this 

document see James McManus, C.Ss.R., "Moral Theology Forum: The `Declaration on 

Certain Questions concerning Sexual Ethics', a Discussion [with Sean O'Riordan, C.Ss.R. 

and Henry Stratton]." The Clergy Review 61 (1976): 231-237. For “official” Commentaries 

published by the Vatican see Declaration on Sexual Ethics: Commentaries. Washington, 

D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1977. 

. Questio de abortu (Declaration on Procured Abortion) 18 November 1974. In Vatican 

Council II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The 

Liturgical Press, 1982): 441-453. 

. "Responses on Uterine Isolation and Related Matters." 31 July 1993. 

Latin text published in L'Osservatore Romano; English translation found in Origins 24 (1 

September 1994): 211-212. 

The CDF replied that a hysterectomy could not be performed to avert future pregnancy even 

if it is probably foreseen that such a pregnancy might endanger the life or health of the 

mother, since this would amount to a case of direct sterilization, which is always illicit. 

3


. "Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Nondiscrimination 

of Homosexual Persons." 23 July 1992. 

Revised text issued after the initial CDF letter to the US Bishops was leaked to the press. 

The revised text can be found in Catholic International 3 (1992): 857-860. 

Pontifical Commission on Population, Family and Birth. “Final Report.” Found in Robert Blair 

Kaiser, The Encyclical That Never Was: The Story of the Pontifical Commission on 

Population, Family and Birth, 1964-1966, 1-18. London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, 1987. 

Pontifical Council for the Family. "The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for 

Education Within the Family." Origins 25 (February 1, 1996): 529-52. 

Pontifical Council for the Family. “Vade Mecum for Confessors Concerning Some Aspects of the 

Morality of Conjugal Life.” Origins 26 (13 March 1997): 617; 619-235. (Also available on 

the Internet). 

Pontifical Council for the Family. “Care of the Divorced and Remarried.” Origins 26 (13 March 

1997): 625-627. 

Holy See. "Ethical Implications of a People's Changing Visage." Origins 22 (15 April 1993): 758- 

761. 

Vatican Background Paper for the United Nations sponsored meeting in Geneva, 23-26 

March 1993, on population problems in Western Europe, United States, and Canada. The 

Vatican paper concerns migration, fertility control, responsible parenthood, and other 

population issues. 

-------- 

Other Church, Magisterial Documents or Related Titles 

Archbishops of Great Britain. "Abortion and the Right to Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 336- 

344. 

nd 

Baccani, Teodoro, D.D. The Church and Birth Control. 2 rev. ed. np. 1991, 1993. 

Bishop Bacani, then an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines, looks 

at the issue of birth control in the context of the population crisis in the Philippines, and also 

considers the possibility that a wife might legitimately use artificial contraception if her 

husband refused to cooperate with her in the practice of natural family planning. 

4


Bacani was installed in January, 2003 as the first bishop of the new diocese of Novaliches, 

in Metro Manila. 

Bernardin, Cardinal Joseph. "The Abortion Controversy: Seeking a Common Ground." Catholic 

International 4 (1993): 215-221. 

Address given on 16 February 1993 to the University of Illinois Health Care Community. 

Bernardin was Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago until his death in 1996. 

Bishops of Ireland. "Yes to Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 326-335. 

Extract of a pastoral letter. 

Committee for Pro-Life Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (USA). "Human 

Sexuality in God's Plan." Catholic International 4 (October 1993): 485-487. 

Statement marking the 25th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, and originally published in the 

English edition of L'Osservatore Romano on 28 July 1993. 

Curtiss, Eldon, Msgr. "Education in Sexuality at Time of Crisis." Origins 23 (31 March 1994): 713- 

716. 

Curtiss, who is Arcbishop of Omaha, Nebraska, presented this document in the form of a 

pastoral letter to his archdiocese on 1 March 1994. 

Dupuy, Archbishop. “Pastoral Approaches.” Found in Robert Blair Kaiser, The Encyclical That 

Never Was: The Story of the Pontifical Commission on Population, Family and Birth, 1964- 

1966, 19-25. London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, 1987. 

Originally appeared in The Tablet on 21 September 1968. 

Hogan, Richard M., and LeVoir, John M. Covenant of Love: Pope John Paul II on Sexuality, 

Marriage and Family in the Modern World. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1985. 

Contains the text of Familiaris Consortio, a commentary, plus John Paul II’s Wednesday 

audiences on the theology of the body. 

Hume, Basil Cardinal. "Note on Church Teaching Concerning Homosexual People." Origins 24 (27 

April 1995): 765; 767-769. 

5


Originally presented on 6 March 1995 and in this address he stresses that homophobia has 

no place among Catholics, and that the Church's teaching on homosexuality should never be 

used to "justify" homophobic attitudes. The article also discusses the 1986 CDF Letter on 

the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. 

Hume was Primate of England until his death in 1999. 

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. "The Sacredness of Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 345- 

346. 

Law, Cardinal Bernard. "Moratorium Asked on Clinic Pro-Life Demonstrations." Origins 24 

(January 19, 1995): 515-16. 

Liebard, Odile M., comp. Love and Sexuality. Wilmington NC: Consortium Books, 1978. 

Is a compendium of official Church documents on sexual ethics covering the period from 

1880 to 1976. 

Mahoney, Roger Cardinal. "Homosexuals in the Military: Three Issues." Origins 22 (25 February 

1993): 621; 623. 

Response to President Clinton's announced plan to end the ban on homosexuals in the 

military. 

Martino, Bishop Joseph. “Pastoral Letter on Chastity.” Origins 34 (20 January 2005): 500-504. 

Decries the excesses of the sexual revolution and attributes concepts such as the moral 

acceptability of homosexuality and gay-marriage to a breakdown on the respect for the 

inseparability of the procreative and unitive dimensions of sexual expression. 

Martino is Bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania 

McCarrick, Cardinal Theodore. “Pastoral Letter on HIV/AIDS.” Origins 33 (19 Jun3 2003): 81; 

83-86. 

Notes that HIV/AIDS is truly a world-wide scourge which has caused untold suffering, 

McCarrick warns against trusting in messages of “safe sex” and condom usage, since these 

practices often fail to protect, and that condom usage “contradicts our faith’s understanding 

of sexual union as an expression of spousal love through a mutual and total gift of the self” 

(p. 84). Embracing chastity is the only acceptable means to combat AIDS. Nevertheless, 

health care is affirmed as a right for every person, even those who have contracted HIV 

6


through failures in chastity. Finally the Cardinal exhorts all to pray to God the Father that 

a cure can be found for AIDS. 

McGann, Bishop John. "The Good News of Christian Marriage." Origins 25 (February 8, 1996): 

567-68. 

McHugh, Bishop James. "Abortion and Catholics in Public Office." Origins 20 (31 May 1990): 

40-43. 

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Churches Speak On: Abortion. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: 

Gale Research, 1989. 

Contains statements and background notes from major churches: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, 

principal Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, etc. 

. The Churches Speak On: AIDS. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. 

Contains an introductory essay on the historical background of AIDS, plus discussion of 

reasons for divergent religious positions on the issue, followed by a collection of unabridged 

statements and background notes from 45 major churches or religious groups: Roman 

Catholic, Orthodox, principal Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, etc. 

. The Churches Speak On: Homosexuality. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale 

Research, 1991. 

. The Churches Speak On: Pornography. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale Research, 

1989. 

. The Churches Speak On: Sex and Family Life. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale 


Mugavero, Bishop Francis. "Pastoral Letter: The Gift of Sexuality." Origins 5 (1976): 581-586. 

Deals in a sensitive manner with the question of homosexuality. 

National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). “Always our Children. Pastoral Message to 

Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers.” Origins 27 (9 

October 1997): 285; 287-291. Revised version: Origins 28 (2 July 1998): 97;99-112 

Pastoral letter of the U.S. Catholic Bishops calling for compassion and acceptance of 

homosexuals by their parents and others. A Revised Version was issued in the summer of 

1998 which responded to various concerns for “clarity” raised by some bishops and the 

7


Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The Revised Version has the 

CDF’s approval. 

Also available on the Internet at: http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/97-208.htm 

. Human Sexuality: A Catholic Perspective for Education and Lifelong Learning. Washington, 

D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1990. 

Pennsylvania Bishops. "In Truth and Love." Pastoral Letter of the Pennsylvania Catholic Bishops 

on the Pastoral Care of Divorced Catholics Who Remarry. 29 July 1994. Origins 24 (18 

August 1994): 205-208. 

Polish Catholic Bishops. See Vescovi della Polonia. 

Quinn, Archbishop John R. "Toward an Understanding of the Letter Òn the Pastoral Care of 

Homosexual Persons'." In The Vatican and Homosexuality: Reactions to the "Letter to the 

Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons", 13-19. 

Edited by Jeannine Gramick and Pat Furey. New York: Crossroad, 1988. 

Originally appeared in America. See response in the same volume by William H. Shannon, 

pp. 20-27. 

Quinn is the former Archbishop of San Francisco. 

Saier, Msgr. Oskar, Msgr. Karl Lehmann and Msgr. Walter Kasper. "Response to Doctrinal 

Congregation's Letter: Message to Their People." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 341-344. 

Response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Concerning the Reception of 

Communion by Divorced-and-Remarried Members of the Faithful: Letter to Bishops." 

Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 337-340. 

These three men were German Bishops at the time of the document’s writing, and Lehmann 

and Kasper are now cardinals. 

Selling, Joseph, ed. Embracing Sexuality: Authority and Experience in the Catholic Church. 

Burlington VT: Ashgate, 2001. 

Looks at a range of contemporary sexual issues and the official Roman Catholic response, 

which seems not to have changed in any significant way since 1968. 

Stafford, Msgr. J. Francis. "The Ecclesial Dimension of Conscience: Statement on the Doctrinal 

Congregation's Letter." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 345. 

8


Occasioned by the discussion raised by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

"Concerning the Reception of Communion by Divorced-and-Remarried Members of the 

Faithful: Letter to Bishops." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 337-340. 

Stafford is former Archbishop of Denver, Colorado and now works in the Vatican. 

Suenans, Cardinal L.J. Christian Love and Human Sexuality. London: Incorporated Catholic Truth 

Society, 1976. 

U.S. Catholic Bishops. "Faithful for Life." Origins 25 (29 June 1995): 116-120). 

Statement of the United States Catholic Bishops on abortion and euthanasia approved during 

their June 1995 meeting in Chicago. 

Untener, Msgr. Kenneth. "Humanae vitae: What Has It Done to Us" Commonweal (18 June 

1993). 

Critiques the polarizing effect of Humanae vitae, noting that "In the eyes of many people, the 

teaching Church has committed a teacher's cardinal sin: it has become more concerned about 

itself than about the truth." (p. 12) 

Untener is Bishop of Saginaw, Michigan. 

Vatican II. "The Dignity of Marriage and the Family." Chapter 1 [#47-52] of Gaudium et spes, 

Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. 7 December 1965. In The 

Documents of Vatican Council II, 949-957. Edited by Austin P. Flannery, O.P. Collegeville: 

The Liturgical Press, 1975. 

Vescovi della Polonia. "La gioa della vita [The Joy of Life]." L'Osservatore romano 3 April 1992: 

4-6. 

Pastoral letter on abortion by the Bishops of Poland. Also found in Il Regno--Documenti 

(1992): 419-425. 

Washington State Catholic Conference. “The Prejudice Against Homosexuals and the Ministry of 

the Church.” In Moral Dilemmas, 226-233. Edited by Richard L. Purtill. Belmont CA: 

Wadsworth, 1985. 

Originally appeared in 1983 in Catholic Northwest Progress. 

Statement outlining the Church’s position against prejudice and discrimination against 

homosexual individuals, as well as an outline of the Church’s teaching on the homosexual 

9


orientation. Sensitively done pastoral statement, adopted by the bishops of Washington 

State. 

Weakland, Archbishop Rembert, O.S.B. "Listening Sessions on Abortion: A Response." Origins 

20 (31 May 1990): 33-39. 

ABORTION 

Archbishop Weakland's concluding remarks at the end of the sessions he sponsored with 

women in the Milwaukee Archdiocese in which they were encouraged to speak openly on 

their reactions to Church teaching. Weakland affirms the Church's teaching, but indicates 

a great deal of pastoral compassion to the women involved. Weakland incurred a good deal 

of wrath from the conservative right of the Catholic Church, as well as the Vatican, for 

sponsoring these sessions. 

Weakland is Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Articles on Abortion 

******** 

AA.VV. "Abortion, Law and Conscience." Doctrine and Life 42 (May/June 1992). 

Special issue devoted to the larger question of whether a Christian law-maker (including a 

referendum in which every voter would be a "law-maker") is obliged to insert Christian 

moral teaching into civil law. The specific context for this question is the abortion question 

in Ireland. 

Archbishops of Great Britain. "Abortion and the Right to Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 336- 

344. 

Arús, Francisco Bueno. "El aborto y los supuestos de su ampliación legal." Moralia 13 (1991): 

393-412. 

Beckwith, Francis J. "Arguments from Theology and the Bible." Chapter 8 in Id. Politically 

Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights, 137-150. Grand Rapids: 

Baker Book House, 1993. 

Beckwith's general thesis is that the pro-life position often has not responded adequately to 

the pro-choice position, and thus Beckwith offers what he feels are stronger arguments. In 

this chapter he considers some of the illustrative biblical texts usually employed in arguing 

against abortion. 

10

Beckwith teaches philosophy at the University of Nevada. 

. "A Critical Appraisal of Theology Arguments for Abortion Rights." Bibliotheca Sacra 148 

(1991): 337-355. 

. "Ignorance of Fetal Status as a Justification of Abortion: A Critical Analysis." In Live and 

Learning IV: Proceedings of the Fourth University Faculty for Life Conference Held at 

Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 168-77. Washington, 

DC: University Faculty for Life, 1995. 

. "Personal Bodily Rights, Abortion, and Unplugging the Violinist." International 

Philosophical Quarterly 32 (1992): 105-118. 

For a reply to this article see James F. Keenan, S.J., "Reply to Beckwith: Abortion--Whose 

Agenda Is It Anyway" International Philosophical Quarterly 32 (1992): 239-245. Keenan 

treats the issue of whether feminism is at the root of the prochoice agenda. Beckwith has a 

rejoinder to Keenan in the subsequent number. 

Bernardin, Cardinal Joseph. "The Abortion Controversy: Seeking a Common Ground." Catholic 

International 4 (1993): 215-221. 

Address given on 16 February 1993 to the University of Illinois Health Care Community. 

Bernardin was Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago until his death in 1996. 

Bishops of Ireland. "Yes to Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 326-335. 

Extract of a pastoral letter. 

Bonner, Gerald. "The Teaching of the Early Church as Regards Abortion." In Live and Learning IV: 

Proceedings of the Fourth University Faculty for Life Conference Held at Fordham 

University 3-5 June 1994, edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 230-52. Washington, DC: 

University Faculty for Life, 1995. 

Burtchaell, James Tunstead, C.S.C. "The Use of Aborted Fetal Tissue in Research and Therapy." 

Chapter 6 in The Giving and Taking of Life: Essays Ethical, 155-187. Notre Dame: 

University of Notre Dame Press, 1989. 

Byrne, Msgr. Harry J. “A Pro-Life Strategy of Persuasion.” America (22-29 January 2001): 12-16. 

In the wake of the 2000 national election Byrne raises the question of the effectiveness of 

American bishops’ documents and public statements in actually convincing politicians and 

11

Abortion 

voters to endorse pro-life policies. Byrne questions the strategy of banning pro-choice 

candidates from election fora and states that “a pro-life strategy must, however, grassroots 

discourse and interchange if the arguments of pro-choice advocates are to be persuasively 

rebutted.” (p. 15). Instead, we need to develop a “theology of persuasion” which includes 

a strong and legitimate feminism that doesn’t rely on authority that may be viewed as 

coercive for its moral force. 

One of several articles in this issue of America on the Church’s response to abortion. 

Byrnes, T.A. "How `Seamless" a Garment The Catholic Bishops and the Politics of Abortion." 

Journal of Church and State 33 (1991): 17-35. 

Byron, William, S.J. "Abortion Debate: How Intellectuals and Moral Leaders Can Help Politicians." 

Origins 22 (18 June 1992): 81; 83-87. 

Address given to the second annual conference of University Faculty for Life, 5 June 1992 

at Georgetown University. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. "Abortion and Argument by Analogy." Horizons 9 (1982): 271-287. 

Abstract: This essay examines the consistency and coherence of arguments about abortion. 

Theological, philosophical, and public policy discussions of abortion are linked by the 

necessity of understanding the legitimate claims of the fetus on the woman who bears it and 

on the community. The tools of moral philosophy are widely employed to evaluate abortion 

as one solution to problematic pregnancies. Theologians examining the problem of abortion 

from the standpoint of normative ethics take into account some of the seminal work in recent 

moral philosophy. However, the logic of the moral arguments adduced is not always given 

critical attention in either "pro-choice" or "pro-life" positions, whether religious, 

philosophical, or political in character. The analogical argument is used broadly. 

Burdensome pregnancy can be compared to other situations in which the duty of one 

individual to protect the rights of another is sustained or modified. Different evaluations of 

the morality of abortion can be clarified and reduced by probing ways in which morally 

significant features of fetal dependency and of maternal and societal obligation are partly 

revealed yet partly hidden by analogical moral argument. 

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, 1993 President of the Catholic Theological 

Society of America (CTSA) and 1997 President of the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE), is 

Professor of Theological Ethics at Boston College, studied under James Gustafson at the 

University of Chicago. 

. "Abortion Pill RU 486: Ethics, Rhetoric, and Social Practice." Hastings Center Report 17 

(1987): 5-8. 

12

Abortion 

. "Abortion, Sex and Gender: The Church's Public Voice." America 168 (22 May 1993): 6-11. 

Article adapted from Cahill's John Courtney Murray Forum lecture delivered at Fordham 

University Law School on 5 May 1993. 

Good nuanced, pro-life, examination of the wide range of issues connected with the abortion 

debate. Argues that a simplistic "single-issue" approach to pro-life arguments will be 

ultimately counter-productive. 

. "The Embryo and the Fetus: New Moral Contexts." Theological Studies 54 (1993): 124-142. 

Analyzes current uncertainty, arising from recent scientific and technological developments, 

about the "personhood" of life in the earliest stages of embryonic development, as well as to 

how human life should be treated in any possible prepersonal stages. 

Callahan, Daniel. "An Ethical Challenge to Prochoice Advocates: Abortion and the Pluralistic 

Proposition." In Bioethics, 21-35. Edited by Thomas A. Shannon. 4th Edition. New York: 

Paulist Press, 1993. 

Article originally appeared in Commonweal 117 (23 November 1990): 681-687. 

Callahan critiques the ProChoice Movement's reluctance/refusal to discuss the morality of 

abortion in terms of a failure to accept pluralism in the concrete. Also critiques similar 

attitudes among those in the ProLife Movement. 

Callahan, Sidney. “Abortion and the Sexual Agenda: A Case for Prolife Feminism.” In Readings 

in Moral Theology No. 9: Feminist Ethics and the Catholic Moral Tradition, 422-433. 

Edited by Charles E. Curran, Margaret A. Farley, R.S.M., and Richard A. McCormick, S.J. 

New York: Paulist Press, 1996. 

Callahan is a psychologist. 

. "Counseling Abortion Alternatives: Can It Be Value-Free" America 165 (7 September 

1991): 110-113. 

Camenisch, Paul F. "Abortion, Analogies and the Emergence of Value." Journal of Religious 

Ethics 4 (1976): 131-158. 

Carlin, David. "Abortion, Gay Rights and The Social Contract." America 168 (13 February 1993): 

6-10. 

13

Abortion 

Carlin was Rhode Island state senator for twelve years, and currently is associate professor 

of sociology at the Community College of Rhode Island. 

. "Americanizing the Anti-Abortion Argument." America 163 (6 October 1990): 214-217. 

At the time of this writing Carlin was the majority leader in the State Senate of Rhode Island. 

Casey, Robert. "Abortion and the Democratic Party." Origins 22 (19 May 1992): 10-13. 

Collins, Raymond F. "Abortion: An Ethical and Moral Appraisal." Louvain Studies 3 (1970-71): 

17-30. 

Conference of Korean Catholic Bishops. "A New Culture of Respect for Human Life." Pastoral 

Letter by the Conference of Korean Catholic Bishops. Catholic International 3 (1992): 331- 

333. 

Issued in Korean on 8 December 1991 to mark Human Rights Day. Planned during the 

Bishops; autumn plenary session, the letter warns against the prevailing disregard for life 

which manifests itself in abortion, suicide, euthanasia, sterilization, and other forms of selfmutilation. 

The letter is addressed to the Korean government, the Catholic community, and 

all people of good will. 

French translation available in the French edition of Catholic International. 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. Questio de abortu (Declaration on Procured 

Abortion) 18 November 1974. In Vatican Council II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. 

Austin Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1982): 441-453. 

The CDF document develops in a typical fashion: introduction, a brief look at Scripture, then 

on to the constant Tradition of the Church, before moving to the consideration of the 

question from the point of view of "reason" and the natural law. A strong paradigm of "law" 

governs the whole Declaration. Some "objections" are anticipated and replied to, but here 

one wonders if the objections have been taken seriously in all their complexity, and/or if the 

"replies" will be at all convincing to those to whom they are supposedly directed. The 

document then moves to a discussion of the inter-relation between morality and law in 

reference to legislation covering abortion. The document concludes by calling Christians to 

"heroism" if necessary "in order to remain faithful to the requirements of the divine law" and 

does concede that while one can never approve of abortion "it is above all necessary to 

combat its causes." 

Cottier, Georges, O.P. "Problèmes éthiques de l'avortement." Nova et Vetera 53 (1978): 13-36. 

14

Abortion 

Davis, Dena A. "Abortion in Jewish Thought: A Study in Casuistry." Journal of the American 

Academy of Religion 60 (1992): 313-324. 

Davis teaches law at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University. 

Davis, Nancy Ann. "The Abortion Debate: The Search for Common Ground." Ethics 103 (1993): 

516-539; 731-778. 

Review essay which treats two works: Faye D. Ginsburg's Contested Lives: The Abortion 

Debate in an American Community (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989) and 

Laurance H. Tribe's Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes (New York: Norton Press, 1990). 

Degnan, Michael, and Pannier, Russ. "Logic, Law and Abortion." Linacre Quarterly 59 (1992): 53- 

58. 

DeParle, Jason. "Beyond the Legal Right: Why Liberals and Feminists Don't Like to Talk about the 

Morality of Abortion." Washington Monthly (April 1989): 28-44. 

Dillon, Michele. "Cultural Differences in the Abortion Discourse of the Catholic Church: Evidence 

from Four Countries." Sociology of Religion 57 (Spring 1996): 25-36. 

. "Religion and Culture in Tension: The Abortion Discourse of the U.S. Catholic Bishops and 

the Southern Baptist Convention." Religion and American Culture 5 (Summer 1995): 159- 

180. 

Foster, Serrin. “The Feminist Case Against Abortion,” The Commonwealth (September 1999): 5-6. 

One of two articles giving opposing perspectives on the abortion debate. For the opposing 

article see Kate Michelman, “The Anti-Choice Stealth Strategy,” The Commonwealth 

(September 1999): 3-4. 

Foster is president of Feminist for Life of America. 

Foot, Philippa. "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect." In Virtues and 

Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy, 19-32. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University 

of California Press, 1981. 

Foran, John E., M.D. “Ectopic Pregnancy: Current Treatment Options, deju vu Humanae Vitae.” 

Linacre Quarterly 66 (February 1999): 21-28. 

Very critical of removal of the fetus in ectopic pregnancies–calling it a “direct abortion” and 

asking for a strong condemnation of this practice by the CDF. 

15

Abortion 

Gallagher, Raphael, C.Ss.R. "Church, Abortion, Irish Society." The Furrow 43 (1992): 459-471. 

Gatens-Robinson, Eugenie. "A Defense of Women's Choice: Abortion and the Ethics of Care." 

Southern Journal of Philosophy 30 (1992): 39-66. 

Argues that the usual way of forming the abortion debate in terms of "rights" of the woman 

vs. those of the fetus represents an inappropriate model. Gatens-Robinson argues for a 

"paradigm shift" to an ethics of care in which the emphasis is placed on responsibility rather 

than rights. In this paradigm, "the thinking is contextual or situated rather than 

universalizing. Such thinking involves a well-honed imaginative capacity to put oneself in 

the place of another, rather than an emphasis on a capacity to abstract from individual 

situations to unexceptional principles." (pp. 39-40). 

Gatens-Robinson teaches philosophy at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She also 

holds a master's degree in cell biology. 

Gorman, Michael J. "Abortion and the Biblical `Divine Feminine.'" In Live and Learning IV: 




Gray, Madelein. "Giving up the Gift: One Woman’s Abortion Decision." Commonweal 121 (25 

February 1994): 13-15. 

A moving personal account of one Catholic woman's difficult decision to terminate a 

pregnancy. Would be helpful for pastoral analysis of casuistry. 

Greeley, Andrew M. "The Abortion Debate and the Catholic Subculture." America 167 (11 July 

1992): 13-15. 

Greeley is a well-known priest sociologist and professor social science at the University of 

Chicago. 

Gudorf, Christine E. "How will I recognize my conscience when I find it [example of abortion]" 

Philosophy and Theology 1 (1986): 64-83. 

Gushee, David P. "The Abortion-Clinic Vigilantes: Responding to the Pro-violence Argument." 

Christian Century 112 (1995): 76-79. 

Gustafson, James M. "A Protestant Ethical Approach [to Abortion]." In The Morality of Abortion: 

Legal and Historical Perspectives, 101-122. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: 

Harvard University Press, 1970. 

16

Abortion 

Gustafson first delineates what he calls the "salient features" of a traditional Roman Catholic 

approach to a moral issue like abortion, and then proposes what he considers to be a better 

alternative approach. 

Gustafson is a well-known Protestant ethician who studied under H. Richard Niebuhr, and 

has taught at Yale, The University of Chicago, and Emory. 

Häring, Bernard, C.Ss.R. "The Life of Man." Chapter 6 in Medical Ethics, 65-119. Rev. ed. 

Middlegreen: St. Paul Publications, 1972, 1974. 

See especially Section F: "Abortion," pp. 94-119 for a good discussion of the basic issues 

involving abortion. 

Häring was a well-known German Redemptorist moral theologian who taught for many years 

at the Alphonsianum in Rome. 

. "A Theological Evaluation [of Abortion]." In The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical 

Perspectives, 123-145. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 

1970. 

Häring considers abortion in light of traditional Roman Catholic moral theology, especially 

in reference to pastoral counseling. 

Harrison, Beverly Wildung. “The Morality of Procreative Choice.” Chapter 2 in idem, Our Right 

to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion., 32-56 Boston: Beacon Press, 1983. 

. "Theology and Morality of Procreative Choice." (With Shirley Cloyes). In Making the 

Connections: Essays in Feminist Social Ethics, 115-134. Edited by Carols S. Robb. Boston: 

Beacon Press, 1985. 

Strong defense of abortion as a basic human right for women. Harrison and her work have 

had extensive influence on the proponent’s of abortion rights among feminist theologians. 

Herring, Basil F. "Abortion." Chapter 1 in Jewish Ethics and Halakhah for Our Time: Sources and 

Commentary, Vol. I, 25-36. The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics, 11. New York: KTAV, 

1984. 

Hauerwas, Stanley. "Abortion: Why the Arguments Fail." Chapter 12 in A Community of 

Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic, 212-229. Notre Dame and 

London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981. 

17

Abortion 

Argues that abortion should be treated not as a “political” issue in the liberal political arena, 

but as a religious issue calling for a faith-based response from Christians. 

Hauerwas is a well-known Methodist ethician who taught for a dozen years at Notre Dame, 

and is now on the faculty of Duke. 

. "Why Abortion is a Religious Issue." Chapter 11 in A Community of Character: Toward a 

Constructive Christian Social Ethic, 196-211. Notre Dame and London: University of Notre 

Dame Press, 1981. 

Heaney, Robert P. "RU-486 and Abortion Strategies." America 5-12 January 1991: 12-13. 

Hogan, Linda. "A Woman's Right to Choose." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 410-416. 

Humber, James M. "The Case against Abortion." The Thomist 39 (1975): 65-84. 

Hunt, John J. "A Tale of Two Countries: American and German Attitudes to Abortion Since World 

War II." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the Fourth University Faculty for Life 

Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 

122-33. Washington, DC: University Faculty for Life, 1995. 

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. "The Sacredness of Life." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 345- 

346. 

Irving, Dianne N. "`Conceptual Transfer' in Bioethics: Abortion, Human Embryo Research, and 

Psychiatric Research." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the Fourth University 

Faculty for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, edited by Joseph 

W. Koterski, S.J., 193-215. Washington, DC: University Faculty for Life, 1995. 

John Paul II, Pope. Evangelium vitae. Origins 24 (6 April 1995): 689-730. 

Issued 25 March 1995. Treats, among other issues, abortion, contraception, capital 

punishment, and euthanasia. 

Kaveny, M. Cathleen. "Toward a Thomistic Perspective on Abortion and the Law in Contemporary 

America." The Thomist 55 (1991): 343-396 

Kelly, James R. "Abortion Politics: The Last Decades, The Next Three Decades and the 1992 

Elections." America 167 (11 July 1992): 8-12;20-21. 

Kelly is a professor of sociology at Fordham University. 

18

Abortion 

. "Abortion: What Americans Really Think and the Catholic Challenge." America 165 (2 

November 1991): 310-316. 

According to the author, the great majority of Americans do not approve of abortion for nonmedical 

reasons, as a method of birth control, and oppose abortion for most of the 

circumstances for which women seek them. 

. “Common Ground for Pro-Life and Pro-Choice.” America 180 (16 January 1999): 8-13. 

Discusses the effects of the New Jersey welfare cap in forging an odd alliance between 

political interests groups which were traditionally antithetical to one another. Liberal, prochoice 

groups oppose the spending cap since it targets the poor and conservative, pro-life 

groups oppose the spending cap because it tends to pressure poor women into electing 

abortion, rather than have their welfare benefits frozen. 

"Killing Abortionists: A Symposium." First Things (December 1994): 24-31. 

Symposium of short statements by a number of figures connected with the Pro-Life 

movement who were asked to comment on the "justifiable homicide" defense advanced by 

people like Paul Hill who have murdered doctors who provided abortions. 

Kurz, William S., S.J. "Genesis and Abortion: An Exegetical Test of a Biblical Warrant in Ethics." 

Theological Studies 47 (1986): 668-680. 

K. finds problems with typical ethical argumentation based on the Genesis theme of the 

dominion of God's human image to justify abortion. Such themes are isolated from their 

biblical contexts, and conflict with more pervasive biblical themes such as the limitations of 

human freedom, human life as sacred and belonging to God alone, and God's forming and 

electing humans even from the womb. 

LaFleur, William R. Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan. Princeton: Princeton 

University Press, 1994. 

La Fleur is professor of Japanese in the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of 

Pennsylvania. 

. "Contestation and Consensus: The Morality of Abortion in Japan." Philosophy East and West 

40 (1990): 529-542. 

Law, Cardinal Bernard. "Moratorium Asked on Clinic Pro-Life Demonstrations." Origins 24 

(January 19, 1995): 515-16. 

19

Abortion 

Lawler, Philip F. "Pro-Life Killer" The Catholic World Report 4 (1994): 30-36. 

Lee, Simon. "Abortion Law: The Tragic Choices." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 282-297. 

One article of a special issue devoted to the larger question of whether a Christian law-maker 

(including a referendum in which every voter would be a "law-maker") is obliged to insert 

Christian moral teaching into civil law. The specific context for this question is the abortion 

question in Ireland. 

Lindemann, A. “Do Not Let a Woman Destroy the Unborn Babe in Her Belly: Abortion in Ancient 

Judaism and Christianity.” Studia Theologica 49 (1995): 253-271. 

Mathewes-Green, Frederica. “Perspective.” The Plough (Spring 1998): 28-34. 

. "Pro-Life, Pro-Choice: Can We Talk" The Christian Century, 3-10 January 1996, 12-14, 15. 

McAreavey, John. "Abortion and the Sacrament of Penance." The Furrow 44 (1993): 230-235. 

Discusses the canonical discipline related to a procured abortion. 

McCormick, Patrick, C.M. "Abortion: Retooling for a New Frontier." New Theology Review 5 

(1992): 48-61. 

Revised presentation given at the 1991 meeting of the College Theology Society. 

McCormick teaches moral theology at St. John's University in New York. 

McCormick, Richard, S.J. "Notes on Moral Theology: The Abortion Dossier." Theological Studies 

25 (1974): 312-359. 

Also found in Richard McCormick's Notes on Moral Theology: 1965 through 1980, (Boston: 

University Press of America, 1981): 493-520. 

McHugh, Bishop James. "Abortion and Catholics in Public Office." Origins 20 (31 May 1990): 

40-43. 

. "Guidelines for Pro-Life Activity at Abortion Clinics." Origins 24 (January 19, 1995): 516- 

17. 

McKenna, George. "On Abortion: A Lincolnian Position." The Atlantic Monthly, September 1995, 

51. 

20

Abortion 

McRedmond, Louis. "Vatican II Perspectives." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 298-304. 





Michelman, Kate. “The Anti-Choice Stealth Strategy.” The Commonwealth (September 1999): 3-4. 

One of two articles giving opposing perspectives on the abortion debate. For the opposing 

article see Serrin Foster, “The Feminist Case Against Abortion,” The Commonwealth 

(September 1999): 5-6. 

Moore, Keith. "Abortion: Logical and Theological Considerations." Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (1991): 

112-117. 

Moore is pastor of Grace Church in Randleman, North Carolina. 

Murray, Lorraine. “The Least of These.” America (22-29 January 2001): 23-24. 

Personal account of her abortion and how she eventually came to terms with it and the 

process of self-forgiveness. 


Noonan, John T., Jr. "An Almost Absolute Value in History." In The Morality of Abortion: Legal 

and Historical Perspectives, 1-59. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: Harvard 


Noonan is a Federal District Court Judge and a legal historian. 

Nyikos, Peter. "The Sundered Argument Against Abortion." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings 

of the Fourth University Faculty for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 

1994, edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 134-51. Washington, DC: University Faculty for 

Life, 1995. 

O’Brien, Dennis. “No to Abortion: Posture, Not Policy.” America (30 May 2005): 7-9. 

O’Brien critiques some of the American bishops’ approach to the issue of abortion as 

essentially being too focused on rhetoric and insufficiently attentive to the more difficult 

complex public policy issues of how to render abortion less common. 

21

Abortion 

O’Brien is the president emeritus of the University of Rochester. 

O'Connor, Cardinal John. "Peaceful, Non-Violent Prayer Vigils at Abortion Clinics." Origins 24 

(January 19, 1995): 517-19. 

O'Connor, June. "Ritual Recognition of Abortion: Japanese Buddhist Practices and American 

Jewish and Christian Proposals." 

Paper discussed at the Special Interest Session on Comparative Ethics at the Annual 

Convention of the Society of Christian Ethics, 7-9 January 1994 in Chicago and also 

presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics (Western Region) held at 

the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 18 February 1994. 

O'Connor teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, 

Riverside. 

Orrick, Phyllis. “Pro-Fight: The Uses and Misuses of the Abortion Debate,” Express: The East 

Bay’s Free Weekly 20:41 (17 July 1998): 7; 10-14.. 

Extended interview with the Cynthia Gorney, the author of Articles of Faith: A Frontline 

History of the Abortion Wars (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998 ). 

Ottati, Douglas F. "Abortion, Again." Affirmation 4 (Fall, 1991): 49-63. 

Pappas, Peter J. "Abortion and Public Policy," St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly Vol. 39, No. 

3 (1995): 233-255. 

Pavone, Frank A. "Priests and Abortion" Homiletic and Pastoral Review (August-September 

1994): 21-24. 

Practical and theological reflections on the Pro-Life Movement, and what a local priest might 

do in his parish to help foster the movement. 

Podimattam, Felix. "Morality of Early Abortion in Desperate Situations." Jeevadhara 32 (1992): 

435-451. 

Polish Catholic Bishops. See Vescovi della Polonia. 

Ramsey, Paul. "Abortion: A Review Article [Callahan; Grisez; et. al.] The Thomist 37 (1973): 174- 

226. 

22

Abortion 

Ramsey is a well-known Protestant ethician who taught at Yale for many years, and died in 

1988. 

. "Reference Points in Deciding about Abortion." In The Morality of Abortion: Legal and 

Historical Perspectives, 60-100. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: Harvard 


Rautenberg, Joseph F. "Abortion: Questions of Value and Procedure." In Moral Theology: 

Challenges for the Future. Essays in Honor of Richard A. McCormick, S.J., 240-263. 

Edited by Charles E. Curran. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 

Raymond, Paul, and Norrander, Barbara. "Religion and Attitudes toward Anti-Abortion Protest." 

Review of Religious Research 32 (1990): 151-156. 

Tolerance of the political activities of the pro-life movement is sociologically analyzed with 

data from a Lexington, KY survey. 

Rebard, Theodore P. "Abortion and the Cultural War." Faith & Reason 21 (Fall 1995): 253-75. 

Regan, Augustine. "The Human Conceptus and Personhood." Studia Moralia 30 (1992): 97-127. 

The article addresses the problem of human animation by applying the metaphysics of the 

human composite to the data of modern reproductive biology. It identifies the spiritual soul 

as the informing power that gives individual life to the human cell. It argues that the human 

person must be present ontologically from the very first moment of fertilization. 

Reidy, Maurice. "Abortion: The Moral Argument." The Furrow 43 (1992): 472-480. 

Reidy is a diocesan priest in Dublin who teaches moral theology at Holy Cross College, 

Clonliffe, Dublin. 

Riordan, Patrick, S.J. "Abortion: The Aftermath of the Supreme Court's Decision." Studies 81 

(1992): 293-302. 

Refers to the Irish situation in which an young girl, pregnant through rape, was prevented 

from traveling from Ireland to England in order to procure an abortion. 

Riordan is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Milltown Institute of Philosophy and 

Theology. 

Robinson, William. "European Dimensions of the Abortion Debate." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 

273-281. 

23

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Rudy, Kathy. "Thinking Through the Ethics of Abortion." Theology Today 51 (1994): 235-248. 

Ryan, Maura A. “The Argument for Unlimited Procreative Liberty: A Feminist Critique.” In 

Bioethics, 81-96. 4th Ed. Edited by Thomas Shannon. New York: Paulist Press, 1993. 

This article first appeared in Hastings Center Report 20 (July/August 1990): 6-12. 

Sappington, R. Jay. "Abortion: A Non-Controversial Approach." Trinity Journal 14 (1993): 183- 

199. 

Sappington is a student in the M.A. Christian Thought program at Trinity Evangelical 

Divinity School. 

Schwarz, Stephen D. "Abortion Laws and Exceptions." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the 

Fourth University Faculty for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, 

edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 152-67. Washington, DC: University Faculty for Life, 

1995. 

Sernett, Milton C. "The Efficacy of Religious Participation in the National Debates over 

Abolitionism and Abortion." Journal of Religion 64 (1985): 205-220. 

Sherwin, Susan. "Abortion Through a Feminist Ethics Lens." Dialogue 30 (1991): 327-342. 

Smith, David, M.S.C. "What Is Christian Teaching on Abortion." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 

305-317. 





Sprinkle, Joe M. "The Interpretation of Exodus 21:22-25 (lex talionis) and Abortion." Westminster 

Theological Journal 55 (1993): 233-253. 

Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland. "Reaction to the Supreme Court 

Judgment." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 346-347. 

24

Abortion 

Stott, David. "Buddhadharma and Contemporary Ethics: Some Notes on the Attitude of Tibetan 

Buddhism to Abortion and Related Procedures." Religion 22 (1992): 171-182. 

Tammey, Joseph B., Johnson, Stephen D., and Burton, Ronald. "The Abortion Controversy: 

Conflicting Beliefs and Values in American Society." Journal for the Scientific Study of 

Religion 31 (1991): 32-45. 

U.S. Catholic Bishops. "Faithful for Life." Origins 25 (29 June 1995): 116-120). 

Statement of the United States Catholic Bishops on abortion and euthanasia approved during 

their June 1995 meeting in Chicago. 

Vescovi della Polonia [Bishops of Poland]. "La gioa della vita [The Joy of Life]." L'Osservatore 

romano 3 April 1992: 4-6. 

Pastoral letter on abortion by the Bishops of Poland. Also found in Il Regno--Documenti 

(1992): 419-425. 

Weakland, Archbishop Rembert, O.S.B. "Listening Sessions on Abortion: A Response." Origins 

20 (31 May 1990): 33-39. 

Archbishop Weakland's concluding remarks at the end of the sessions he sponsored with 

women in the Milwaukee Archdiocese in which they were encouraged to speak openly on 

their reactions to Church teaching. Weakland affirms the Church's teaching, but indicates 

a great deal of pastoral compassion to the women involved. Weakland incurred a good deal 

of wrath from the conservative right of the Catholic Church, as well as the Vatican, for 

sponsoring these sessions. 

Weakland is Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Werpehowski, William. "The Pathos and Promise of Christian Ethics: A Study of the Abortion 

Debate." Horizons 12 (1985): 284-302. 

Whitmore, Todd David. "Common Ground, Not Middle Ground: Crossing the Pro-Life, Pro-Choice 

Divide." The Christian Century, 3-10 January 1996, 10-12. 

Whitmore teaches theological ethics at the University of Notre Dame. 

Whyte, Gerry. "Amending Constitutional Policy on Abortion." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 600- 

607. 

Deals with the situation in Ireland. 

25

Abortion 

. "Abortion and the Law." Doctrine and Life 42 (1992): 253-272. 





Whitehead, Kenneth D. "Regarding the Advice Being Given Prolifers by Certain "Friendly" 

Conservatives." New Oxford Review (January-February 1994): 13-17. 

Argues against political compromise on the abortion issue, since such compromise would 

amount to betrayal of the key principle of the sanctity of life. 

Whitehead is a former Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education in the Department 

of Education. 

Wills, Susan E. “Loving the Sinner: The Church’s Response to Post-Abortion Suffering.” America 

(22-29 January 2001): 8-11. 

Details what programs and promotional work has been down to advertise the various 

outreach initiatives the Church has for women who have suffered an abortion. 


Wolfe, Naomi. “Our Bodies, Our Souls: Rethinking Pro-Choice Rhetoric.” The New Republic (16 

October 1995): 26-35. 

Zalba, Marcelino, S.J. "Il problema dell'aborto nella tradizione della morale cattolica." Rassegna 

di Teologia 13 (1972): 365-388. 

Books on Abortion 

-------- 

Baehr, Ninia. Abortion Without Apology: Radical History for the 1990s. Boston: South End Press, 

1990. 

Presents stories of the Society for Humane Abortion--otherwise known as the Jane 

Collective--and draws political lessons about program, success, and co-optation that are 

relevant to the agendas of abortion-rights groups today. 

26

Abortion 

Baird, Robert M. and Rosenbaum, Stuart E., eds. The Ethics of Abortion: Pro Choice vs. Pro Life. 

Contemporary Issues. Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, 1990. 

Barry, Robert L. Medical Ethics: Essays on Abortion and Euthanasia. American University Studies: 

Series 7, Theology and Religion, 45. Frankfurt-am-Main, Bern, New York, Paris: Peter 

Lang, 1989. 

Beckwith, Francis J., and Geisler, Norman L. Matters of Life and Death: Calm Answers to Tough 

Questions about Abortion and Euthanasia. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991. 

Pro-life approach given in question and answer form. Contains the complete texts of Roe v. 

Wade, Doe v. Bolton, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Cruzan v. Harmon. 

Beckwith teaches philosophy at the University of Nevada and Geisler is an author. 

Beckwith, Francis J. Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights. 

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993. 

Argues that the pro-life position often has not responded adequately to the pro-choice 

position, and thus Beckwith offers what he feels are stronger arguments. 

Blanchard, Dallas A. The Anti-abortion Movement and the Rise of the Religious Right: From Polite 

to Fiery Protest. New York: Twayne Publishers; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada; 

New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1994. 

Böckle, Franz, Hrsg. Schwangerschaftsabbruch als individuelles und gesellschaftliches Problem. 

Patmos: Düsseldorf, 1981. 

Boonin, David. A Defense of Abortion. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy. 

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 

The author claims that every argument constructed to support a fetus’ right to life fails on its 

own terms. Furthermore, he asserts that even if a fetus were to have a right to life, abortion 

would still be morally permissible, again on the abortion critics’ own arguments. While 

these are broad claims indeed, a close reading of the text shows that Boonin constructs the 

rules to engage an analysis of anti-abortion arguments in such a way that critical pro-life 

arguments (such as the existence of an immortal soul) are simply discounted as not being an 

argument that both sides of the debate could accept. Therefore, a more truthful book jacket 

blurb might be redrafted to state that Boonin has demonstrated that there is no pro-life/antiabortion 

argument that will be accepted by both sides of the debate as morally persuasive. 

Of course such a publicity statement, while true, would probably not sell many books. 

27

Abortion 

Boonin is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 

Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in Theological Studies. 

Bosgra, Tj. Abortion, the Bible and the Church. Honolulu: Right to Life Educational Foundation, 

1981. 

A survey of 150 denominational views. 

Boss, Judith A. The Birth Lottery: Prenatal Diagnosis and Selective Abortion. Values & Ethics 

Series, 5. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1993. 

Examines the issues of selective abortion in light of prenatal diagnosis involving different 

genetic disorders, amniocentesis, CVS, etc. Arguments for selective abortion are rebutted, 

and Boss challenges the ethical use of prenatal diagnosis itself as a tool for selective 

abortion. 

Bushnell, Dana E, ed. "Nagging" Questions: Feminist Ethics in Everyday Life. Lanham MD: 

University Press of America, 1995. 

In this anthology of new and classic articles, fifteen noted feminist philosophers explore 

contemporary ethical issues that uniquely affect the lives of women. These issues in applied 

ethics include autonomy, responsibility, sexual harassment, women in the military, new 

technologies for reproduction, surrogate motherhood, pornography, abortion, coerced birth 

control, cosmetic surgery, anorexia nervosa, in vitro fertilization, feminist masochism and 

nonfeminist women. 

Byrnes, Timothy A., and Segers, Mary C., eds. The Catholic Church and the Politics of Abortion. 

Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1992. 

Ten original essays which analyze the efforts of the Catholic Church in the United States to 

shape public policy on abortion. 

Callahan, Sidney, and Callahan, Daniel, eds. Abortion: Understanding Differences. New York: 

Plenum Press, 1984. 

Carmody, Denise Lardner. The Double Cross: Ordination, Abortion, and Catholic Feminism. New 

York: Crossroad, 1986. 

Cobb, John B., Jr. Matters of Life and Death. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1991. 

28

Abortion 

Colker, Ruth. Abortion and Dialogue: Pro-choice, Pro-Life and American Law. Bloomington: 

Indiana University Press, 1992. 

Collins, Carol C., and Trager, Oliver, eds. Abortion: The Continuing Controversy. An Editorials 

on File Book. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1984. 

Condit, Celeste Michelle. Decoding Abortion Rhetoric: The Communication of Social Change. 

Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1990. 

Connery, John R., S.J. Abortion: The Development of the Roman Catholic Perspective. Chicago: 

Loyola University Press, 1977. 

Coward, Harold G., Lipner, Julius J., and Young, Katherine K. Hindu Ethics: Purity, Abortion, and 

Euthanasia. Albany: SUNY Press, 1988. 

Cozic, Charles P., and Stacey Tipp, eds. Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoint 

Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1991. 

Ch. 1 - When Does Life Begin Ch. 2 - Should Abortion Remain a Personal Choice Ch. 

3 - Is Abortion Immoral Ch. 4 - Can Abortion Be Justified Ch. 5 - Should Abortion 

Remain Legal 

Craig., Barbara M. and O'Brien, David M. Abortion and American Politics. Chatham NJ: Chatham 

House Pub., 1993. 

Crawford, Douglas R., and Michael T. Mannion. Psycho-Spiritual Healing after Abortion. Kansas 

City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1989. 

Critchlow, Donald T. Intended Consequences: Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal 

Government. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 

Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in America 180 (29 May 1999): 21. 

Cuneo, Michael W. Catholics Against the Church. Anti-abortion Protest in Toronto, 1969-1985. 

Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989. 

Dworkin, Ronald. Life's Dominion: An Argument about Abortion, Euthanasia, and Individual 

Freedom. New York: Knopf, 1993. 

Supports the mother's right to abortion and the individual's right to euthanasia. 

Reviewed by Robert J. Araujo, S.J. in Theological Studies 55 (1994): 186-187. 

29

Abortion 

. Life's Dominion. Argument About Abortion and Euthanasia. New York/Toronto: Harper 

& Collins College Publications, 1995. 

Everett, Carol, with Jack Shaw. The Scarlet Lay: Confessions of a Successful Abortionist. 

Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991 

Everett ran a large abortion clinic in Texas, and eventually moved into the pro-life 

movement. 

Fairweather, Eugene, and Gentles, Ian. The Right to Birth: Some Christian Views on Abortion. 

Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 1976. 

Feinberg, Joel, ed. The Problem of Abortion. 2nd Ed. Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 1984. 

Good selection of readings on this issue. 

Fitzsimmons, Richard and Diana, Joan P, comp. Pro-Choice/Pro-Life: An Annotated, selected 

Bibliography (1971-1989). N.Y.: Greenwood, 1991. 

Floyd, Mary K., and Goode, Polly T., comps. Abortion and Family Planning Bibliography for ... [by 

years]. Troy NY: Whitson Pub. Co., 1972-1986. 

Fowler, Paul B. Abortion: Toward an Evangelical Consensus. Portland OR: Multnomah Press, 

1987. 

Fowler is an ordained Presbyterian minister and professor of New Testament at Columbia 

Graduate School of Bible and Missions in Columbia, 

Fowler, Richard A., and House H. Wayne. Civilization in Crisis: A Christian Response to 

Homosexuality, Feminism, Euthanasia, and Abortion. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book 

House, 1988. 

Fried, Marlene Gerber, ed. From Abortion to Reproductive Freedom: Transforming a Movement. 

Boston: South End Press, 1990. 

This anthology argues for an expansion of the single-issue abortion-rights movement into a 

multi-cultural feminist movement. 

Gentles, Anne, ed. A Time to Choose Life: Women, Abortion, and Human Rights. Toronto: 

Stoddart Press, 1990. 

Contains fifteen pro-life essays from a broad range of contributors. 

30

Abortion 

Ginsburg, Faye D. Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community. Berkeley: 

University of California Press, 1989. 

Discussed in a long review essay by Nancy Ann Davis, "The Abortion Debate: The Search 

for Common Ground." Ethics 103 (1993): 516-539; 731-778. 

Glendon, Mary Ann. Abortion and Divorce in Western Law. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 

1987. 

Gorman, Michael J. Abortion & the Early Church: Christian, Jewish & Pagan Attitudes in the 

Greco-Roman World. Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982. 

Gorney, Cynthia. Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars. New York: Simon 

and Schuster, 1998. 

For an extended interview with the author see Phyllis Orrick, “Pro-Fight: The Uses and 

Misuses of the Abortion Debate,” Express: The East Bay’s Free Weekly 20:41 (17 July 

1998): 7; 10-14. 

Granfield, David. The Abortion Decision. Rev. ed. Garden City: Doubleday Image Book, 1969, 

1971. 

Grisez, Germain. Abortion: The Myths, the Realities, and the Arguments. New York: Corpus 

Books, 1970. 

En español: El Aborto, mitos, realidades y argumentos. Salamanca: Sígueme, 1972. 

Gutto, Shadrack B. O. Human Rights from Humanitarian Perspectives: An International 

Comparative Appraisal of State Laws on and Practice of Abortion and Sterilization as Means 

of Family Planning. Nairobi, Kenya: Institute for Development Studies, University of 

Nairobi, 1980. 

Hardacre, Helen. Marketing the Menacing Fetus in Japan. Berkeley CA: University of California 

Press, 1997. 

Mizuko kuyô offers ritual atonement for women who chose to have abortions, sometimes 

decades earlier. The ritual was popularized during the 1970's when religious entrepreneurs 

published frightening accounts of fetal wrath and spiritual attacks. 

Harrison, Beverly Wildung. Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion. Boston: 


31

Abortion 

Reviewed by Jean Lambert in Journal of Religion 66 (1986): 90-91. 

Heaney, Stephen J. Abortion: A New Generation of Catholic Responses. Braintree MA: The Pope 

John Center, 1992. 

22 essays supporting the Church's teaching on abortion, covering perspectives from history, 

philosophy, feminist concerns, dissent, and pluralism. 

Higgins, Gregory C. Where Do You Stand Eight Moral Issues Confronting Today's Christians. 

Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1995. 

These crucial moral issues are: moral reasoning; reproductive technology; abortion; sexual 

ethics; social justice; euthanasia; war; and capital punishment. For each of the issues the 

author presents several hypothetical human situations (your local high school board decides 

to distribute condoms at the high school, for example). Then he explores the principle moral 

issues to be decided, presenting pros and cons, without trying to steer the reader either side. 

Following several questions for discussion is a list of books and documents for further 

reading that draws heavily on Catholic-Christian sources. 

Hoshiko, Sumi. Our Choices: Women's Personal Choices about Abortion. Binghamton NY: The 

Haworth Press, 1993. 

Huser, Roger John. The Crime of Abortion in Canon Law: An Historical Synopsis and 

Commentary. Canon law studies (Catholic University of America), 162. Washington, D.C., 

The Catholic University of America Press, 1942. 

Jelen, Ted G., ed. Perspectives on the Politics of Abortion. Westport CT/ London: Praeger Pub. 

Co., 1995. 

One chapter argues that the emphasis on "rights" has made illegal and occasionally violent 

activity on the part of pro-life activists increasingly likely. Another chapter suggests that 

abortion is an instance of the more general right to self-defense. A chapter considers the 

problem of abortion from the standpoint of participants in the political process. And chapters 

examine the political tactics of the Roman Catholic Church and abortion rights in terms of 

constitutional due process. 

Jung, Patricia Beattie, and Shannon, Thomas A., eds. Abortion and Catholicism: The American 

Debate. New York: Crossroads, 1988. 

Twenty-five contributions on the different attitudes towards abortion in the American 

Catholic Church. 

32

Abortion 

Kamm, Frances Myrna. Creation and Abortion: An Essay in Moral and Legal Philosophy. New 

York: Oxford University Press, 1992. 

Deontologist point of view. 

Kamm is Associate Professor of Philosophy at New York University. 

King, Pat, ed. Catholic Women and Abortion: Stories of Healing. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 

1994. 

The stories of Maureen, Heidi, Patsy, Lianne, Marie and Liz. Each of these women, in the 

depth of her personal crisis, chose abortion. Each story is different, but each has the same 

underlying theme: I cannot face what I have done, yet I live in devastating inner conflict 

when I don't face it. 

Kopaczynski, G. Contemporary Feminism and the Right to Abortion. Scranton: University of 

Scranton Press, 1995. 

Koterski, Joseph W., S.J., ed. Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the Fourth University Faculty 

for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994. Washington, DC: University 

Faculty for Life, 1995. 

Larson, David R., ed. Abortion: Ethical Issues and Options. Loma Linda CA: Loma Linda 

University Center for Christian Bioethics, 1992. 

LaFleur, William R. Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan. Princeton: Princeton University 

Press, 1994. 

La Fleur is professor of Japanese in the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of 

Pennsylvania. 

Lee, Patrick. Abortion and Unborn Human Life. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America 

Press, 1996. 

Philosophical exposition of the pro-life position. 

Lejeune, Jerome. The Concentration Can: When Does Human Life Begin San Francisco: Ignatius, 

1990. 

This book records and adorns Lejeune's testimony as an expert witness as Davis vs. Davis 

for Blount County, Tennessee, September 21, 1989. A French geneticist, Lejeune, Served 

as an expert witness for one side of a fascinating custody case in Tennessee. Mary Sue Davis 

33

Abortion 

and her husband, Junior Lewis Davis, had artificially procreated and cryogenically preserved 

seven concepti. Now they were separated and disputing disposition of the concepti. Mrs. 

Davis, attesting that the concepti are children, wanted to thaw them and donate them for 

implantation in women who could not otherwise conceive. Mr. Davis wanted them left 

frozen or destroyed, citing his right to not become a father against his will. The Judge, 

influenced by Lejeune's views, found for Mrs. Davis. He decided that the concepti are 

embryos, not pre-embryos, and that the embryos are children whose best interests would by 

served by implantation. 

Lelyveld, Arthur. The Steadfast Stream: An Introduction to Jewish Social Values. Cleveland, OH: 

The Pilgrim Press, 1995. 

Draws on Scripture and rabbinic literature and recounts anecdotes from Jewish Lore. 

Lelyveld reveals which values became normative in the liberal Jewish tradition and how 

tradition has attempted to resolve conflicts between these values in cases of abortion, 

warfare, and capital punishment. 

MacCartney, J.J. Unborn Persons: Pope John Paul II and the Abortion Debate. New York: Peter 

Lang 1987. 

Maguire, Daniel C. Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World 

Religions. Sacred Energies Series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 

Maguire, Daniel C., ed. Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in the World’s 

Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 

Essays around a common theme that argues that alternative views of the world’s religions 

do in fact allow for both contraception and abortion. 

Mannion, Michael T., ed. Post-Abortion Aftermath: A Comprehensive Consideration. Kansas City, 

MO: Sheed & Ward, 1994. 

These essays, generated by a variety of experts at a Post-Abortion Aftermath Conference 

recently held in Washington, DC, cover a variety of issues involved in understanding the 

impact of abortion on women and families, including the many faces of post-abortion grief. 

Additionally, these experts consider the medical, emotional, and physical effects of 

pregnancy loss on both the woman and her family, and, on a more social level, the cultural 

impact of abortion and its infecting of society's values. 

Mannion, Michael T. Abortion & Healing: A Cry to Be Whole. 2d ed., rev. and enl. Kansas City, 


34

Abortion 

Handbook for post-abortion counseling. New chapters include: "Abortion and Men," which 

confirms the significance of men's influence on women's decisions to seek or not to seek 

abortion; "It's Safe to Come Home," where he writes of the Church that seeks to be an agent 

of healing for all, including those who have undergone abortion; and "The Spiritual Vision 

of Project Rachel." 

Mathewes-Green, Frederica. Real Choices: Listening to Women, Looking for Alternatives to 

Abortion. Ben Lomond CA: Conciliar Press, 1997. 

Meilaender, Gilbert. The Limits of Love. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 

1987. 

Chapters divided in four sections: Ethics and Theology; The Beginning of Life (Abortion, 

In-vitro Fertilization, etc.); The End of Life (Euthanasia, Withdrawal of Nutrition and 

Hydration, etc.); and Community (Marital and Political). 

Meilaender is Professor of Religion at Oberlin College. 

Meith, Dietmar and Irene. Schwangerschaftsabbruch. Die Herausforderung und die Alternativen. 

Herder/Spektrum, 4016. Freiburg: Herder, 1991. 

Melton, J. Gordon. The Churches Speak On: Abortion. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale 




Mensch, Elizabeth, and Freeman, Alan. The Politics of Virtue: Is Abortion Debatable. Durham 

NC: Duke University Press, 1993. 

The natural law tradition, Protestant ethical traditions, and American religious pluralism, 

fundamentalism, and secularism in the 1950's and 1960's are all examined for their 

implications on the abortion issue. 

The authors are law professors at SUNY, Buffalo. 

Milbauer, Barbara, in collaboration with Bert N. Obrentz. The Law Giveth: Legal Aspects of the 

Abortion Controversy. New York: Atheneum, 1983. 

Miller, Hal. The Abandoned Middle: The Ethics and Politics of Abortion in America. Salem MA: 

Penumbra Press, 1988. 

35

Abortion 

Reviewed by Nancy Ann Davis in Ethics 103 (1992): 211. 

Moreland, James Porter, and Geisler, Norman L. The Life and Death Debate: Moral Issues of Our 

Time. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1990. 

After some introductory material on normative ethics, the authors treat the ethical issues 

involved in abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, and war. 

Morowitz, Harold J., and Trefil, James S. The Facts of Life: Science and the Abortion Controversy. 

New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. 

Reviewed negatively by William E. May in New Oxford Review (October, 1993): 24-26. 

Muldoon, Maureen. The Abortion Debate in the United States and Canada: A Source Book. 

Garland Reference Library of Social Science, 648. New York: Garland Publishing, 1991. 

Presents demographic and sociological research, results of polls, philosophical abstracts of 

classic articles, eighteen official policy statements of various religious groups, plus seven 

statements from abortion advocacy groups, and excerpts from court decisions dealing with 

abortion. 

Nicholson, Susan T. Abortion and the Roman Catholic Church. Journal of Religious Ethics Studies 

in Religious Ethics, 2. Knoxville: Distributed by JRE, Dept. of Religious Studies, University 

of Tennessee, 1978. 

Noonan, John T., Jr., ed. The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical Perspectives. Cambridge: 


Includes essays by Noonan, Paul Ramsey, James Gustafson, Bernard Häring, George 

Hunston Williams, John Finnis, and David Louisell. 

Palo, G. L'aborto nella discussione teologica cattolica. Brescia: Queriniana, 1977. 

Pojman, Louis P., and Beckwith, Francis J., eds. The Abortion Controversy: A Reader. Boston: 

Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1994. 

29 readings set in a Pro and Con format, divided into eight sections. Includes the three major 

Supreme Court decisions. 

Rainey, R. Randall, S.J. and Dr. Gerard Magill, eds. Abortion and Public Policy: An 

Interdisciplinary Investigation within the Catholic Tradition. Omaha, NE: Creighton 


36

Abortion 

These essays, presented originally at a conference at St. Louis University in 1993, 

examine the scientific, philosophical, theological, legal, and political dimensions of 

public policy on abortion. 

Reardon, David C. Aborted Women: Silent No More. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1987. 

. The Jericho Plan: Breaking Down the Walls Which Prevent Post-Abortion Healing. 

Springfield IL: Acorn Books, 1996. 

Regan, Tom, ed. Matters of Life and Death: New Introductory Essays in Moral Philosophy. 2nd 

Ed. New York: Random House, 1980, 1986. 

Contains a series of essays on the topic of abortion. 

Rodman, Hyman; Sarvas, Betty; and Bonar, Joy Walker. The Abortion Question. New York: 

Columbia University Press, 1987. 

Rosenblatt, Roger. Life Itself: Abortion in the American Mind. New York: Random House, 1991 

Negatively reviewed by Elisabeth Kristol in First Things (August/September 1992): 41-43. 

Rubin, Eva R., ed. The Abortion Controversy: A Documentary History. Primary Documents in 

American History and Contemporary Issues Series. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. 

Rudy, Kathy. Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: Moral Diversity in the Abortion Debate. Boston: 


Schiff, Daniel. Abortion in Judaism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 

Develops a legal history of abortion in Judaism from biblical references up to the present. 

Schiff is at the Jewish Education Institute in Pittsburgh. 

Schlossberg, Terry, and Elizabeth Achtemeier. Not My Own: Abortion and the Marks of the 

Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. 

Written from an ecumenical perspective. Looks at the traditional "marks" of the church--the 

Word and sacraments--and asks what difference the church, living out its life in the world, 

can make in the lives of human beings affected by abortion. The authors argue that the 

church will minister most effectively by remembering and preserving its own distinctiveness. 

37

Abortion 

Schooyans, Michel. Aborto e politica. Città del Vaticano: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 1991. 

Tradotto dal francese. 

Schwarz, Stephen D. The Moral Question of Abortion. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1990. 

Schwarz is professor of philosophy at the University of Rhode Island. 

Shrage, Laurie. Abortion and Social Responsibility: Depolarizing the Debate. Studies in Feminist 

Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 

Argues that Rove v. Wade’s regulatory scheme of a six-month time span for abortion on 

demand polarized public debate and obscured other alternatives which might have had 

greater public support. Shrage proposes an alternative plan which allows for a shorter time 

span than 6 months for non-therapeutic abortions. 

Shrage teaches at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. 

Staggenborg, Suzanne. The Pro-Choice Movement: Organization and Activism in the Abortion 

Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. 

Steffen, Lloyd, ed. Abortion: A Reader. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1996. 

Steffen, Lloyd. Life/Choice: The Theory of Just Abortion. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1994. 

Strives to strike a balance between "Pro-Choice" and "Pro-Life" positions, and claims that 

some abortions are morally permissible while others are not. He argues that the goods of life 

are relational, not absolute, and that under certain conditions and according to certain 

principles (similar to just war argumentation) an abortion can be morally justified. 

Steffen is associate professor of religious studies and University chaplain at Lehigh 

University in Pennsylvania. 

Stetson, Brad, ed. The Silent Subject: Reflections on the Unborn in American Culture. With a 

Foreword by Richard John Neuhaus. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1996. 

Terry, Randall A. Operation Rescue. Cincinnati: Hayes Publishing, 1988. 

Thomasma, David C. Human Life in the Balance. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990. 

Book is organized in four parts. Part One treats "The Value of Human Life" and "Pre- 

Persons and Post-Persons." Part Two investigates human values and technology. Part Three 

38

considers the value of human life in relationship to the religious, philosophical and political 

heritages. Part Four argues for the development of a "life-affirming" society. 

Thomasma is the Michael I. English, S.J. Professor of Medical Ethics at the Loyola 

University of Chicago Medical Center. 

Tribe, Laurence H. Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes. New York: Norton, 1990. 

Discussed in a long review essay by Nancy Ann Davis, "The Abortion Debate: The Search 

for Common Ground." Ethics 103 (1993): 516-539; 731-778. 

Tribe is a professor of constitutional law. 

Wennberg, Robert N. Life in the Balance: Exploring the Abortion Controversy Grand Rapids: 

William B. Eerdmans, 1985. 

Wenz, Peter S. Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 

1991. 

Westley, Dick. What a Modern Catholic Believes about the Right to Life. Chicago: Thomas More 

Press, 1973. 

Deals with the ethical aspects of abortion and euthanasia. 

Weston, Anthony. Toward Better Problems: New Perspectives on Abortion, Animal Rights, The 

Environment, and Justice. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. 

Wilt, Judith. Abortion, Choice and Contemporary Fiction: The Armageddon of the Material Instinct. 

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. 

A.I.D.S. 

******** 

Allen, Peter Lewis. The Wages of Sin: Sex and Disease, Past and Present. Chicago: University of 

Chicago Press, 2000. 

Reviewed by Myles Sheehan in Theological Studies 62 (March 2001): 180-181. 

Almond, Brenda, ed. AIDS: A Moral Issue. The Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects. New York: St. 

Martin’s Press, 1997. 

Catholic International. 1 (October, 1987). 

39

Good selection of various Bishops' Pastoral statements on the Aids crisis is collected in this 

first sample issue. 

Cimperman, Maria, O.S.U. When God’s People Have HIV/AIDS: An Approach to Ethics. 

Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2005. 

Sr. Cimperman proposes integrating spirituality and morality through the virtues of fidelity, 

prudence, hope, and solidarity. 

Clark, Michael J. Defying the Darkness: Gay Theology in the Shadows. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 

1997. 

Investigates the question of suffering of gay and lesbians in the age of HIV/AIDS and points 

to inadequacies of traditional Christian answers to such suffering. 

Reviewed by Laurel C. Schneider in Religious Studies Review 24 (July 1998): 276. 

Cohen, Elliot D., and Davis, Michael., ed. Aids: Crisis in Professional Ethics. Philadelphia: Temple 


Crowley, Paul G., S.J. “Rahner’s Christian Pessimism: A Response to the Sorrow of AIDS.” 


Crowley did his doctoral studies under Michael Buckley at the Graduate Theological Union, 

and teaches theology at Santa Clara University. 

Drane, James F. "Condoms, AIDS & Catholic Ethics: Open to the Transmission of Death" 

Commonweal 118 (22 March 1991): 188-192. 

Drane, a professor of clinical medical ethics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, shares 

difficulties on the application of the term "intrinsically evil" to any and all condom use. 

Drane suggests a more careful investigation of the moral issues involved, a full 

understanding of the natural law tradition, and the use of the principles of the double effect 

and counseling the lesser evil would all lead to a conclusion that in certain cases condom use 

in marriage would be morally licit. 

Dube, Musa W., and Kanyoro, Musimbi, eds. Grant Me Justice! HIV/AIDS and Gender Readings 

of the Bible. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2005. 

Looks at how Bible-reading communities can use the Bible for liberation in the HIV/AIDS 

struggle, by looking at how the Bible affirms life, the right to healing, care, and human rights 

of all. 

40

Faden, Ruth and Geller, Gail and Powers, Madison, ed. Aids, Women and the Next Generation. 

N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1991. 

The focus is on the U.S., but the issue of how much mandated or optional pre-natal and neonatal 

testing for HIV should take place is of global importance. The contributors consider 

legal, ethical, medical, and public health criteria for HIV screening. 

Fuller, Jon D., S.J., and Keenan, James F., S.J. “The International AIDS Conference in Bangkok: 

Two Views.” America (30 August–6 September 2004): 13- 16. 

th 

Report on the 2004 15 International AIDS Conference held in July, 2004 in Bangkok by 

these two attendees. 

Fuller is and AIDS physician who teaches at the Boston University School of Medicine and 

Keenan is professor of moral theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. 

. “Tolerant Signals: The Vatican’s New Insights on Condoms for H.I.V. Prevention.” America 

183 (23 September 2000): 6-7. 

Argues that the Vatican now accepts the “lesser of two evils” principle as applying in some 

cases to recommendation of condom usage for purposes of AIDS prevention. This article 

occasioned a sustained debate among Vaticanists, some bishops, and several moral 

theologians. 

Fuller, Jon D., S.J. Aids and the Church: A Stimulus to Our Theologizing. Public Lecture March 

12, 1991. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Weston School of Theology, 1991. 

Fuller is assistant director of the Clinical AIDS Program at Boston Medical Center and 

assistant clinical professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and an 

ordained Roman Catholic priest. 

. “AIDS Prevention: A Challenge to the Catholic Moral Tradition.” America 175 (28 

December 1996): 13-20. 

Based on a talk originally given at the St. Louis University Health Sciences Center on 22 

October 1996. 

Hannon, Patrick. "AIDS--Some Theological and Moral Issues." The Furrow 42 (1991): 71-79. 

Argues that three points: 1) that these issues are not confined to sexual morality; 2) that the 

issue of condom use not be distorted; and 3) that the primary response of Christians ought 

to be in terms of gospel, not law. 

41

Hannon is professor of moral theology at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth. 

Holloway, Richard. "AIDS: The Church's Response." The Furrow 45 (1994): 151-157. 

Text of a talk presented by the Bishop of Edinburgh of the Scottish Episcopal Church. 

Keenan, James F., S.J., with Jon D. Fuller, S.J., M.D., Lisa Sowle Cahill, and Kevin Kelly, eds. 

Catholic Ethicists and HIV/AIDS Prevention. New York: Continuum, 2000. 

Reviewed by Daniel P. Sulmasy in America 184 (26 March 2001: 32-34. 

Keenan, James F., S.J. “Applying the Seventeenth-Century Casuistry of Accommodation to HIV 

Prevention.” Theological Studies 60 (September 1999): 492-512. 

. "HIV Testing of Seminary and Religious-Order Candidates." Review for Religious 55 (1996): 

297-314. 

Kelly, Kevin. “Conclusion: A Moral Theologian Faces the New Millennium in a Time of AIDS.” 

In Catholic Ethicists and HIV/AIDS Prevention, 324-332. Edited by James F. Keenan, S.J., 

Jon Fuller, S.J., Lisa Sowle Cahill, and Kevin Kelly. New York: Continuum, 2000. 

. "Living with HIV/AIDS." The Tablet 249 (13 May 1995): 597-599. 

Kelly, an English moral theologian, reflects on some of the ethical challenges posed by the 

AIDS epidemic to some of the traditional understandings of sexual ethics, sin, etc. Using the 

experience of Africa Kelly notes how the AIDS epidemic involves a number of complex 

factors, including structural evil, and suggests that intransigence in the Catholic Church's 

stand against contraception and condom use may be need to be re-examined. 

. New Directions in Sexual Ethics: Moral Theology and the Challenge to AIDS. London: 

Geoffrey Chapman, 1998. 

Despite its title, this book is really an (excellent) treatment of Roman Catholic sexual ethics 

as a whole, and stresses trying to develop a positive theology both of sexuality and 

applications to issues of sexual ethics. 

Reviewed by James Keenan, S.J. in The Tablet (4 July 1998): 878-879. 

Kerns, Thomas A. Ethical Issues in HIV Vaccine Trials in Developing Nations. New York: St. 

Martin’s Press, 1997. 

Kowalewski, Mark R. All Things to All People: The Catholic Church Confronts the AIDS Crisis. 

Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. 

42

This book examines the Roman Catholic Church in the United States as it responds to the 

AIDS crisis and persons with AIDS from a critical sociological perspective using 

organizational theory. 

LaChat, Michael. "Some Ethical Reflections on AIDS." Linacre Quarterly 55 (August, 1988): 56- 

69. 

Consideration of health care issues, disclosure to employees, etc. 

Laushway, Francis A., O. P. "The Christian Response to AIDS: A Reflection." Listening 29 

(1994): 137-152. 

Lindsey, William D. "The AIDS Crisis and the Church: A Time to Heal," Theology & Sexuality 2, 

(March 1995): 11-37. 

Malherbe, Jean-François, Zorilla, S., Spinsanti, S. Il cittadino, il medico e l'AIDS. Medicina 

domani, 6. Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni Paoline, 1991. 

McCarrick, Cardinal Theodore. “Pastoral Letter on HIV/AIDS.” Origins 33 (19 Jun3 2003): 81; 

83-86. 

Notes that HIV/AIDS is truly a world-wide scourge which has caused untold suffering, 

McCarrick warns against trusting in messages of “safe sex” and condom usage, since these 

practices often fail to protect, and that condom usage “contradicts our faith’s understanding 

of sexual union as an expression of spousal love through a mutual and total gift of the self” 

(p. 84). Embracing chastity is the only acceptable means to combat AIDS. Nevertheless, 

health care is affirmed as a right for every person, even those who have contracted HIV 

through failures in chastity. Finally the Cardinal exhorts all to pray to God the Father that 

a cure can be found for AIDS. 

McDermott, John M., S.J. "Is AIDS God's Punishment" Homiletic and Pastoral Review 7 (1991): 

32; 50-58. 

Rather harsh and conservative article, arguing against being overly compassionate towards 

AIDS sufferers. McDermott argues that respect for a proper notion of God requires us to 

accept that God does punish sinful behavior, such as homosexual activity, but this 

punishment is not “vengeful” but rather a call to salvation through acceptance of the Cross 

and suffering as a means of effecting conversion. 

McDermott is a systematic theologian who has taught at Fordham University, the Pontifical 

Gregorian University, and is currently on the faculty of the Josephinum. 

McDonagh, Enda. "Theology In a Time of AIDS." Irish Theological Quarterly 60 (1994): 81-99. 

43

Melton, J. Gordon. The Churches Speak On: AIDS. The Churches Speak Series. Detroit: Gale 


Contains an introductory essay on the historical background of AIDS, plus discussion of 

reasons for divergent religious positions on the issue, followed by a collection of unabridged 

statements and background notes from 45 major churches or religious groups: Roman 

Catholic, Orthodox, principal Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, etc. 

Murphy, Timothy F., and Walters, LeRoy. "The Moral Significance of AIDS." The Journal of 

Medicine and Philosophy 19 (1994): 519-524. 

Murphy, Timothy F. Ethics in an Epidemic. AIDS, Morality, and Culture. Berkeley CA, London: 

University of California Press, 1995. 

Nairn, Thomas A. "The Use of Zairian Children in HIV Vaccine Experimentation: A Cross-Cultural 

Study in Medical Ethics." The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics (1993): 223--243. 

Nicolson, Ronald. "AIDS: The Ethical Issues." Missionalia 22 (November 1994): 227-44. 

. God in AIDS London: SCM, 1996. 

Overall, Christine, and Zion, William P., eds. Perspectives on Aids: Ethical and Social Issues. 

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 

Overall, Christine and Zion, William P., eds. Perspectives on AIDS: Ethical and Social Issues. 

Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. 

Overberg, Kenneth R., ed. Aids, Ethics & Religion: Embracing a World of Suffering. Maryknoll: 

Orbis Books, 1994. 

Overberg brings together carefully selected articles and essays by those on the front linesdoctors 

and pastoral ministers, scientists and specialists-that clearly state the challenges for 

medical, social and religious ministry. 

Paterson, Gillian. Women in the Time of AIDS. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997. 

Quinn, Msgr. Francis. "The Church and AIDS Prevention." Origins 21 (5 March 1992): 635-636. 

Argues against condom distribution in high schools, but does counsel condom use if one has 

the HIV virus and has already decided to engage in "sinful sexual activity." 

Quinn, Msgr. John R. "Distributing Condoms in High Schools." America 165 (2 November 1991): 

320. 

44

Quinn was Archbishop of San Francisco at the time this article was authored. 

Richard, John. "Ministry with Those Suffering from HIV/AIDS." Origins 24 (8 December 1994): 

433-435. 

Russell, Letty M., ed. The Church with AIDS: Renewal in the Midst of Crisis. Louisville: 

Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990. 

Reflections from Catholic and Protestant participants in a National Council of Churches 

study group. 

Schenk, Elizabeth Anne. "Care of the Person with HIV/AIDS: The Biblical Mandate." Ashland 

Theological Journal 25 (1993): 68-84. 

Sesser, Stan. "Letter From Japan: Hidden Death." The New Yorker (14 November 1994): 62-90. 

Discusses how AIDS and HIV-positive patients are treated culturally in Japan. The Japanese 

ethos tends to stigmatize very severely people like AIDS sufferers, while downplaying, 

almost to the point of denial, the reality of the existence of the HIV virus in Japan. The 

article chronicles well how cultural traditions can impede a compassionate treatment of those 

who suffer from this disease. 

Sottile-Malona, Beverly. "Condoms and AIDS." America 165 (2 November 1991): 317-319. 

According to the author, the effectiveness of condoms to reduce the risk of HIV transmission 

is not as good as the public has been led to believe. 

Sottile-Malona is diocesan coordinator of Natural Family Planning for the Diocese of 

Buffalo, NY. 

Smith, Ann. "Where Cafod Stands." The Tablet (25 September 2004): 8-9. 

Smith, a corporate strategist at Cafod, the Catholic development agency of England and 

Wales, argues that simplistic messages like abstinence and fidelity alone as a response to 

HIV often are based on erroneous assumptions that fail to take into account more complex 

economic and cultural realities which if left untended will put more people at risk for HIV 

transmission. Smith argues that condom usage should be considered as part of the 

prevention strategy in certain places in the world. 

Smith, Richard L. AIDS, Gays, and the American Catholic Church Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1994. 

Spohn, William C. "Moral Dimension of AIDS." Theological Studies 49 (1988): 89-109. 

45

After many years teaching at the Jesuit School of Theology-at-Berkeley, Spohn is now 

Professor of Theology at the University of Santa Clara, California. 

Thampu, Valson. "AIDS and the Heretical Imperative." Evangelical Review of Theology 18 (1994): 

60-69. 

Reprinted from Thampu's book, AIDS: Heresy and Prophecy. New Delhi, TRACI, 1993. 

Thampu critiques secular Western culture which he asserts has imposed biases which must 

be counteracted by the prophetic dimension of the Gospel, and which also neglect the 

cultural backgrounds of non-Western societies in developing strategies for confronting a 

global problem such as AIDS. 

Thampu is a member of the TRACI community and lecturer and Chaplain of St. Stephen's 

College in Delhi, India. 

Tokarz, Ronald. Way of the Cross for Those Who are HIV Positive and For Those Living With 

AIDS. Collegeville MN: The Liturgical Press, 1994. 

"U.S. Bishops: The Shape of the Debate." America 153 (23 January 1988): 51-52. 

Various episcopal responses to the flap over the NCCB policy statement on AIDS education. 

World Council of Churches (WCC). Facing AIDS: The Challenge, the Churches’ Response: A 

WCC Study Document. Geneva: WCC Publications, 1997. 

Includes the official statement of the WCC Central Committee which came out of a 1994 

mandated study. 

Wuerl, Msgr. Donald. "Responding as Christians to AIDS." Origins 21 (12 March 1992): 642. 

Brief diocesan message. 

Wuerl is archbishop of Pittsburgh. 

BIRTH ISSUES 

Birth Control 

******** 

AA.VV. «Humanae vitae»: 20 anni dopo. Atti del II Congresso Internazionale di Teologia Morale, 

Roma, 9-12 novembre 1988. Milano: Edizioni Ares, 1989. 

46

Congress supporting Humanae vitae sponsored by the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for the 

Study of Marriage and the Family (Lateran University) and two institutions of Opus Dei: 

Centro Accademico Romano della Santa Croce and the Università di Navarra. 

AA.VV. Natural Family Planning: Nature's Way--God's Way. Milwaukee: De Rance, Inc., 1980. 

Three main parts deal with 1) Experience of NFP, 2) Sciences, and 3) Theology. An 

appendix provides excerpts various magisterial documents dealing with contraception. 

Theological contributions from Carlo Caffarra, Edouard Hamel, S.J., Bonifice Honings, 

Gustave Martelet, S.J., Dionigi Tettamanzi, and Marcellino Zalba, S.J. 

Translations also in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish. 

Alpern, Kenneth D., ed. Ethics of Reproductive Technology. Oxford/New York: Oxford University 

Press, 1993. 

al-Hibri, Azizah, Daniel Maguire, and James B. Martin-Schramm. Religious and Ethical 

Perspectives on Population Issues. Washington: The Religious Consultation on Population, 

Reproductive Health and Ethics, 1993. 

Astorga, Maria Christina A. “Natural or Artificial Re-examining the Morality of Birth Regulation 

Methods in Relation to SDM [Standard Days Method].” Landas 17 (2, 2003): 270-282. 

While upholding the value of NFP and the SDM as natural means of avoiding conception 

Astorga does note that the current magisterial teaching on artificial contraception has not 

been formulated infallibly, and that we should be careful of laying undue pastoral burdens 

on poor people in this regard, and allow them to follow their own consciences in this area. 

Originally delivered at the Loyola School of Theology on 18 June 2003. 

Astorga is professor of theology at the Ateneo de Manila and at the Loyola School of 

Theology in Quezon City, Philippines. 

nd 

Baccani, Teodoro, D.D. The Church and Birth Control. 2 rev. ed. np. 1991, 1993. 

Bishop Bacani, then an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines, looks 

at the issue of birth control in the context of the population crisis in the Philippines, and also 

considers the possibility that a wife might legitimately use artificial contraception if her 

husband refused to cooperate with her in the practice of natural family planning. 

47

Bacani was installed in January, 2003 as the first bishop of the new diocese of Novaliches, 

in Metro Manila. He was forced to resign a little over a year later in a controversy regarding 

possible sexual harassment of a secretary. 

Bak, Felix. "Bernard Häring and Humanae Vitae." Antonianum 49 (1974): 198-238. 

von Balthasar, Hans Urs. "A Word on Humanae Vitae." Communio 20 (1993): 437-450. 

Reprinted from von Balthasar's New Elucidations, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986). 

Auf Deutsch: Neue Klarstellungen. Einsiedeln: Johannes Verlag, 1979. 

Baum, Gregory. "Can the Church Change Her Position on Birth Control" In Contraception and 

Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 311-344. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, 

S.J., ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Böckle, Franz. "Bibliographical Survey on the Question of Birth Control." Concilium 5 (1/1965): 

53-69. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. “Thomas Aquinas: Marriage, Procreation, and the Law of Nature.” Ch. 6 in 

id. Between the Sexes: Foundations for a Christian Ethics of Sexuality, 105-122. New York: 

Paulist Press; and Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985. 

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, 1993 President of the CTSA, 1997 President of 

the Society of Christian Ethics, and Professor of Theological Ethics at Boston College, 

studied under James Gustafson at the University of Chicago. 

. "What is the Nature of the Unity of Sex, Love and Procreation A Response to Elio 

Sgreccia." In Gift of Life: Catholic Scholars Respond to the Vatican Instruction, 137-148. 

Edited by Edmund D. Pellegrino, John Collins Harvey and John P. Langan. Washington, 

D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1990. 

See paper by Msgr. Elio Sgreccia in the same volume. 

Callahan, Daniel, ed. The Catholic Case for Contraception. London: Macmillan, 1969. 

Articles and essays by theologians and doctors opposed to Humanae vitae. 

Catholics for a Free Choice. "Catholics and Contraception." Conscience 15 (1995): 32-38. 

Claussen, Janet. "My Argument with Natural Family Planning." America 172 (11 February 1995): 

20-22. 

48

A married woman's account with her frustration at the ineffectiveness of Natural Family 

Planning, and those who argue for it while not paying adequate attention to the method's 

problems. 

Cole, Basil, O.P. "Humanae Vitae and Some Principles for Re-Evangelization." Faith and Reason 

19 (1993): 95ff. 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. Haec sacra congregatio (Sterilization in Catholic 

Hospitals) 13 March 1975. In Vatican Council II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. 

Austin Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1982): 454-455. 

Conley, Kieran, O.S.B. "Procreation and the Person." In Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic 

Predicament, 61-71. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: Herder 

and Herder, 1964. 

Connor, Robert A. "Natural Law versus the `Contralife Will'." Divus Thomas 93 (1990): 32-57. 

Examines the position of Ford, Grisez, Boyle, Finnis, and May on Humanae vitae (i.e., that 

contraception is evil because it is "contra-life"), and argues that the moral theory of the 

encyclical would be better served by considering its grounding in the objectivity of the 

Thomistic esse of the person. 

Curran, Charles E., Hunt, Robert E., et. al. Dissent In and For the Church: Theologians and 

Humanae Vitae. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1969. 

Curran, Charles E., ed. Contraception: Authority and Dissent. New York: Herder and Herder, 1969. 

D'Antonio, William V. "Responsible Parenthood and the Population Dilemma." In Contraception 

and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 131-153. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. 

Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Dewart, Leslie. "Casti Connubii and the Development of Dogma." In Contraception and Holiness: 

The Catholic Predicament, 202-310. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. 

New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Doering, Bernard. “Silent Dissenter: Jacques Maritain on Contraception.” Commonweal (18 May 

2001): 17-20. 

Article which uses extensive letter excerpts from Maritain to indicate his analysis (and 

approval) of the possibility of non-barrier contraceptive means such as the pill or Norplant 

(though these would be developed only after his death). The analysis Maritain provides of 

the finis operantis issues in this instance runs counter to the line of argumentation adopted 

in Humanae vitae and maintained since by its principal defenders. 

49

Dulles, Avery, S.J. "`Humanae Vitae': How the Dissent Affects the Church." Origins 22 (1993): 

774-777. 

Dulles, an ecclesiologist, lists what he calls "seven deleterious consequences" of the widespread 

dissent from the teaching of Humanae vitae. His listing is quite straight-forward, and 

calls both sides to greater reflection. 

Address given in a workshop on medical and moral issues sponsored by the Pope John XXIII 

Medical-Moral Research and Education Center, and held in Dallas from 1-5 February 1993. 

Egner, G. Contraception vs. Tradition: A Catholic Critique. New York: Herder and Herder, 1967. 

Fehring, Richard J. "Reflections on the Spirituality of Natural Family Planning." Chicago Studies 

33 (1994): 179-187. 

Considers NFP as a form of ascetical fasting which in turn would have spiritual benefits for 

those who use it. However, the presentation has a number of unexamined premises which 

are rather weak logically. 

Fehring is a registered nurse and associate professor of nursing at Marquette University. 

. "Towards a Model of Fertility Integration." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the 

Fourth University Faculty for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, 

edited by Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., 216-29. Washington, DC: University Faculty for Life, 

1995. 

Finley, Mitch. "The Dark Side of Natural Family Planning." America 23 February 1991: 206-207. 

The author, a married man, presents some of the physical, psychological and inter-personal 

difficulties of relying on NFP as the form of contraception. 

Finnis, John. Moral Absolutes: Tradition, Revision, and Truth. The 1988 Michael J. McGivney 

Lectures of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Washington, D.C.: 


Argues strongly for the existence of moral absolutes, and discusses the problem of 

contraception, which historically gave rise to the current formal attack on moral absolutes. 

Flannery, Kevin, S.J., and Koterski, Joseph, S.J. "Paul VI Was Right." America 169 (25 September 

1993): 7-11. 

See the Response immediately following by Richard A. McCormick, S.J. on pp. 11-14. 

50

Flannery is assistant professor of ancient philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University 

and Koterski is assistant professor of philosophy at Fordham University. 

Ford, John C., S.J., and Grisez, Germain. "Contraception and the Infallibility of the Ordinary 

Magisterium." Theological Studies 39 (1978): 258-312. 

The authors argue that the teaching on contraception fulfills the requirements to be 

considered infallible, and therefore binding and irreformable. 

Ford, John C., S.J., and Kelly, Gerald, S.J. "Periodic Continence." Theological Studies 23 (1962): 

590-624. 

Status questionis presented by two well-known pre-Vatican II American moral theologians. 

George, Robert. "Sexual Morality's Positive Goals and the Problem of Legalism." Origins 22 

(1993): 778-780. 



Grabowski, John S. “Evangelium Vitae and Humanae Vitae: A tale of two encyclicals.” Homiletic 

and Pastoral Review 97 (November 1996): 7-15. 

Very sympathetic exposition of John Paul II’s sexual ethics. 

Grabowski teaches at the Catholic University of America. 

Grisez, Germain G. Contraception and the Natural Law. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 

1964. 

Grisez's thesis is that "For one who engages in sexual intercourse directly to will any positive 

deed by which conception is thought to be prevented, or even rendered less probable, is 

intrinsically and seriously immoral" (p. 12). 

. Contraception...Is It Always Wrong Huntington IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1965. 

. "Èvery Marital Act Ought to Be Open to New Life': Toward of Clearer Understanding." The 

Thomist 52 (1988): 365-426. 

. "A New Formulation of a Natural-Law Argument against Contraception." The Thomist 30 

(1966): 343-361. 

51

Hagen, John D., Jr., and Tentler, Leslie Woodcock. “Humanae vitae’s Legacy: Two Views.” 

Commonweal (4 June 2004): 8-10. 

Hagen is a lawyer in Minneapolis and Tentler is professor of history at The Catholic 

University of America. 

Harrison, Brian W., O.S. "The Ex Cathedra Status of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae." Faith and 

Reason 19 (1993): 25-78. 

Maintains that the Encyclical is formally infallible. 

Harvey, John F. “Expressing Marital Love during the Fertile Phase.” Journal of Natural Family 

Planning 5 (1981): 203-220. 

Fr. Harvey is well-known as the founder of “Courage”–a Catholic organization for 

homosexual men and women which is grounded on the traditional magisterial teachings and 

demands sexual continence for its members. 

Heaney, Robert P., M.D. "Sex, Natural Law and Bread Crumbs." America (26 February 1994): 12- 

16. 

Argues from a scientific stand-point that the Church's traditional teaching on marriage as 

derived from its interpretation of natural law is flawed, being based on both bad biology and 

poor reductionistic analysis. 

See response by Janet Smith, "Barnyard Morality." America (13 August 1994): 12-14. 

Horgan, John, ed. Humanae Vitae and the Bishops. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1972. 

Contains reports of various bishops' conferences to Humanae vitae. 

John Paul II, Pope. "Population Conference Draft Document Criticized." Origins 23 (31 March 

1994): 716-719. 

Originally given in a Vatican meeting of 18 March 1994 with Nafis Sadik, executive director 

of the U.N. Fund for Population Activities, this is Pope John Paul II's critique of the final 

draft document prepared for the September 1994 U.N. International Conference on 

Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt. 

Kaiser, Robert Blair. The Encyclical That Never Was: The Story of the Pontifical Commission on 

Population, Family and Birth, 1964-1966. London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, 1987. 

Initially published in the U.S.A. in 1985 under the title The Politics of Sex and Religion. 

52

Journalistic style account of the origin and history of the work of the Pontifical Commission 

on Birth, first established by John XXIII and then augmented by Paul VI. Includes the socalled 

"majority report" which was presented to Paul VI, and discusses some of the reasons 

for the rejection of this report, and the drafting of the encyclical Humanae vitae which took 

an opposite tack. 

Kaufman, Philip S., O.S.B. Why You Can Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic. Bloomington 

IN: Myer Stone Books, 1989. 

Discusses probabilism, infallibility and many of the issues connected with the proclamation 

of the birth control teaching of the Church. 

Komonchak, Joseph A. "Humanae vitae and Its Reception: Ecclesiological Reflections." 


Kutz, Stanley, C.S.B. "Conscience and Contraception." In Contraception and Holiness: The 

Catholic Predicament, 23-60. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: 

Herder and Herder, 1964. 

López Trujillo, Alfonso Cardinal, and Archbishop Elio Sgreccia, eds. Humanae Vitae. Servizio 

profetico per l'uomo. Atti del convegno di studi in occasione del XXV anniversario della 

enciclica Humanae Vitae, Roma 24-26 novembre 1993. Roma: Anonima Veritas Editrice, 

1995. 

Maguire, Daniel C. Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World 

Religions. Sacred Energies Series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 

Maguire, Daniel C., ed. Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in the World’s 

Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 

Essays around a common theme that argues that alternative views of the world’s religions 

do in fact allow for both contraception and abortion. 

Malone, Richard. "Humanae Vitae revisited." Communio 15 (1988): 517-520. 

Marshall, John. "Questions of Method." The Tablet 246 (18 July 1992): 895-896. 

Critiques the Billings method and its exaggerated claims. 

May, William E. "Calming the Dissent: Understanding the Profound Message of Humanae Vitae." 

Catholic Medical Quarterly 44 (November 1993): 5-13. 

53

May is Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for 

Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. 

. "Humanae vitae, Natural Law and Catholic Moral Thought." In «Humanae vitae»: 20 anni 

dopo. Atti del II Congresso Internazionale di Teologia Morale, Roma, 9-12 novembre 1988, 

43-72. Milano: Edizioni Ares, 1989. 

Paper read at a congress supporting Humanae vitae sponsored by the John Paul II Pontifical 

Institute for the Study of Marriage and the Family (Lateran University) and two institutions 

of Opus Dei: Centro Accademico Romano della Santa Croce and the Università di Navarra. 

McCarthy, Jeremiah. "A Discernment Model for the Ethics of Birth Control: An Application of a 

Narrative Method with Critical Observations." PhD Dissertation. Graduate Theological 

Union, Berkeley, 1985. 

McCormick, Richard A., S.J. "`Humanae Vitae' 25 Years Later." America 169 (17 July 1993): 6-8; 

10-12. 

. "A Response." America 169 (25 September 1993): 11-14. 

McCormick's response to Kevin Flannery's and Joseph Koterski's "Paul VI Was Right" 

which is found in the same issue on pp. 7-11. 

McMahon, Kevin. O.P. "`Humane Vitae': 25th Anniversary." Origins 22 (1993): 774-777. 

McMahon articulates some of the major arguments against the acceptance of Humanae vitae, 

and then refutes these arguments. His statement of the dissenting views is fairly presented, 

though his counter-arguments would probably not change anyone's informed position on the 

issue. 



Moskowitz, Ellen H., and Bruce Jennings, eds. Coerced Contraception: Moral and Policy 

Challenges of Long-Acting Birth Control. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 

1996. 

Long-acting and reversible contraceptives, such as Norplant and Depo-Provera, have been 

praised as highly effective, moderately priced and generally safe. Yet, as this book argues, 

the very qualities that make these contraceptives an important alternative for individual 

choice in family planning also makes them a potential tool of coercive social policy, for 

example, when policymakers link their use to welfare benefits, or judges, to probation 

agreements. In this book, authors from the fields of medicine, ethics, law, and the social 

54

sciences probe the unique and vexing ethical and public policy issues raised by long-acting 

contraception. 

Murray, Paul. "The Power of Humanae Vitae: Take Another Look." Commonweal 121 (15 July 

1994): 14-18. 

Presents an 8-point positive view of Humanae vitae. 

Murray is an elementary school teacher in Pocatello, Idaho, married with four children, and 

with his wife, Susan, a NFP instructor. 

Noonan, John T., Jr. Contraception: A History of Its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and 

Canonists. Enlarged edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965, 1986. 

Encyclopedic study of the various notions and practices of contraception from pre-Christian 

times onwards. Noonan takes great care to investigate the social context of the various 

positions in order to demonstrate that while the "teaching" against contraception may have 

been "constant" in the Church, the reasons given for that teaching and the concomitant issues 

involved have changed very much throughout the centuries. 

Reviewed by Lisa Sowle Cahill in Journal of Religion 67 (1987): 583-585. 

O'Connell, Timothy E. "Sexuality and the Procreative Norm." In Contemporary Ethical Issues in 

the Jewish and Christian Traditions, 81-110. Edited by Frederick E. Greenspahn. Hoboken: 

Ktav Publishing House, 1986. 

O'Donnell, Thomas J., S.J. "Ùterine Isolation' Unacceptable in Catholic Teaching." Linacre 

Quarterly 61 (1994): 58-61. 

In the aftermath of the CDF ruling O'Donnell recants his earlier position on the acceptability 

of this procedure. However, he gives no arguments, other than the fact of the Vatican 

statement, for his change of position. 

O'Rourke, Kevin, O.P. "Humanae Vitae, a 25-Year Retrospective." Linacre Quarterly 60 

(November 1993): 76-80. 

O'Rourke is Director of the Center for Health Care Ethics at the St. Louis University Medical 

Center. 

Paul VI, Pope. Humanae vitae (Encyclical Letter on the Regulation of Births). 25 July 1968. AAS 

60 (1968): 481-503. 

55



Also available online on the Holy See’s web-page (http://www.vatican.va) at 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968 

_humanae-vitae_en.html 




Pojol, Peter O., S. J. “What’s the Difference Infertile-period Marital Acts and Artificial 

Contraception.” Landas 16 (2, 2002): 250-260. 

Pojol looks at various arguments put forward by those arguing for the moral difference 

between natural family planning and artificial contraception, such as proof of love, gains of 

NFP over artificial contraception, and so on. These arguments fail to show the moral 

difference between the two methods. Pojol does look more favorably though on the position 

put forward by Grisez and others that NFP is non-procreative, while artificial contraception 

is anti-procreative. The former may be licit at times, while the latter is not, and would be 

intrinsically evil. In the final section of the article, though, Pojol acknowledges that while 

not all moral theologians are convinced by the claim of artificial contraception as being 

intrinsically evil, it nevertheless still represents the current teaching of the Magisterium of 

the Church. 

At this writing Pojol was a priest-graduate student at the Loyola School of Theology, Quezon 

City, Philippines. 

Pontifical Commission on Population, Family and Birth. “Final Report.” Found in Robert Blair 

Kaiser, The Encyclical That Never Was: The Story of the Pontifical Commission on 

Population, Family and Birth, 1964-1966, 1-18. London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, 1987. 

Popiel, Jennifer J. “Necessary Connections Catholicism, Feminism and Contraception.” America 

(17 November 1999): 22-25. 

Challenges the view that feminism demands acceptance of contraception. 

Pyle, Leo. Pope and Pill. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1968. 

Quay, Paul M., S.J. Contraception and Conjugal Love." Theological Studies 22 (1961): 18-40. 

Quay holds that "each single act of coition is a natural sign of the full, mutual procreative 

love of two partners," and that contraception substitutes a sign of "monstrous selfishness." 

Therefore, a husband who uses a condom "worships" his wife "with his body--but not enough 

56

to share with her his substance." Likewise, "The woman who uses a diaphragm has closed 

herself to her husband. She has accepted his affection but not his substance. She permits 

him entrance but does not suffer him to be master." In Quay's view such a sexual union 

would be the "sign and symbol of wifely submission, of patriarchal authority, [which] is 

made over covertly to serve the purposes of a wealkly uxorious male and a domineeringly 

feminist wife" (p. 35). 

Rahner, Karl, S.J. "On the Encyclical Humanae vitae." In idem. Theological Investigations, vol. 

9. London: Longman and Todd, 1974. 

Rahner, Karl, S.J. and Häring, Bernard, C.Ss.R. "Zur Enzyklika «Humane vitae»." Stimmen der Zeit 

(1968): 193-210. 

In italiano in Riflessioni sull'enciclica "Humanae vitae". Punti scottanti di teologia, 26. 

Roma: Edizioni Paoline, 1968. 

Rhonheimer, Martin. "Contraception, Sexual Behavior, and Natural Law. Philosophical 

Foundations of the Norm of Humanae vitae." In «Humanae vitae»: 20 anni dopo. Atti del 

II Congresso Internazionale di Teologia Morale, Roma, 9-12 novembre 1988, 73-114. 

Milano: Edizioni Ares, 1989. 




Also found in Linacre Quarterly 56 (1989). 

Rigali, Norbert J. "Artificial Birth Control: An Impasse Revisited." Theological Studies 47 (1986): 

681-690. 

Rigali contends that the controversy over artificial birth control is a conflict between classical 

and historical consciousness. 

Roberts, Archbishop Thomas D., S.J., ed. Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament. 


Ruether, Rosemary R. "Birth Control and the Ideals of Marital Sexuality." In Contraception and 

Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 72-91. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., 

ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Selling, Joseph A. "Moral Teaching: Traditional Teaching and Humanae vitae." Louvain Studies 

7 (1978): 24-44. 

57

Article abstracted from Selling's 1977 dissertation done under Louis Janssens at the 

University of Louvain. 

Smith, Harmon L. "Contraception and Natural Law: A Half-Century of Anglican Moral Reflection." 

In The Anglican Moral Choice, 180-200. Edited by Paul Elmen. Wilton CT: Morehouse- 

Barlow Co., Inc. 1983. 

Begins with a brief historical overview of traditional Anglican moral theology with reference 

to the Thomistic natural law tradition. Smith then summarizes statements from the Lambeth 

Conferences of 1930, 1958, and 1968 to show the development of Anglican thinking on 

contraception. Finally the positions of 5 representative theologians are summarized: R.C. 

Mortimer, Kenneth Kirk, Joseph Fletcher, John Macquarrie, and Herbert Waddams. 

Smith is professor of moral theology and community health science at Duke University. 

Smith, Janet E. Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University 

of America Press, 1991. 

Discusses the controversy over the Encyclical from both a theological and philosophical 

point of view. 

Smith teaches philosophy at the University of Dallas. 

. "The Munus of Transmitting Human Life: A New Approach to Humanae Vitae." The 

Thomist 54 (1990): 385-427. 

. “Veritatis Splendor, Proportionalism, and Contraception.” Irish Theological Quarterly 63 

(1998): 307-326. 

Smith, Janet E., ed. Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 

1993. 

22 essays defending Humanae Vitae, including a new annotated translation of the Encyclical 

itself. Authors include Paul Quay, Dietrich Von Hildebrand, G.E.M. Anscombe, John 

Finnis, Carlo Caffarra, John Kippley, William E. May, and Smith herself, who also provides 

her own translation of "Humanae Vitae" and an introduction to each essay. The articles 

focus frequently on the "anthropological ground" of the assertion that each act of intercourse 

must remain inseparably unitive and procreative. 

Tettamanzi, Msgr. [later Cardinal] Dionigi. Un'enciclica profetica: La Humanae vitae vent'anni 

dopo. Milano: Ancora, 1988. 

Collection of Tettamanzi's articles which have appeared in L'Osservatore Romano. 

58

Theron, Stephen. "Natural Law in Humanae vitae." In «Humanae vitae»: 20 anni dopo. Atti del 

II Congresso Internazionale di Teologia Morale, Roma, 9-12 novembre 1988, 487-496. 

Milano: Edizioni Ares, 1989. 




Untener, Msgr. Kenneth. "Humanae vitae: What Has It Done to Us" Commonweal (18 June 

1993). 

Critiques the polarizing effect of Humanae vitae, noting that "In the eyes of many people, the 

teaching Church has committed a teacher's cardinal sin: it has become more concerned about 

itself than about the truth." (p. 12) 

Untener was Bishop of Saginaw, Michigan. 

Valsecchi, Ambrogio. Controversy: The Birth Control Debate 1958-1968. Introduction by Gregory 

Baum. Translated by Dorothy White. Washington, D.C.: Corpus Books, 1968. 

Wirth, Elizabeth. “Like a Natural Woman.” Re:Generation Quarterly 6:4 nd. 

Catholic woman speaks about her decision process to practice NFP. 

******** 

Genetics, Ensoulment, Fetal Experimentation, In-Vitro Fertization, etc. 

Alpern, Kenneth D., ed. The Ethics of Reproductive Technology. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 

1992. 

Barry, Robert L, O.P., and Kesler, Darrell. "Pharaoh's Magicians: The Ethics and Efficacy of 

Human Fetal Tissue Transplants." The Thomist 54 (1990): 575-607. 

Boss, Judith A. "The Moral Justification of Prenatal Diagnosis." In Live and Learning IV: 




Burtchaell, James Tunstead, C.S.C. "The Use of Aborted Fetal Tissue in Research and Therapy." 

Chapter 6 in The Giving and Taking of Life: Essays Ethical, 155-187. Notre Dame: 


59

Genetics, Fetal Experimentation, In-Vitro Fertization, etc. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. "The Embryo and the Fetus: New Moral Contexts." Theological Studies 54 

(1993): 124-142. 

Analyzes current uncertainty, arising from recent scientific and technological developments, 

about the "personhood" of life in the earliest stages of embryonic development, as well as to 

how human life should be treated in any possible prepersonal stages. 

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, Past-President of the Catholic Theological Society 

of America (CTSA) and the Society of Christian Ethics, and Professor of Theological Ethics 

at Boston College, studied under James Gustafson at the University of Chicago. 

. "What is the Nature of the Unity of Sex, Love and Procreation A Response to Elio 

Sgreccia." In Gift of Life: Catholic Scholars Respond to the Vatican Instruction, 137-148. 

Edited by Edmund D. Pellegrino, John Collins Harvey and John P. Langan. Washington, 


See paper by Msgr. Elio Sgreccia in the same volume. 

Chadwick, Derek; Bock, Greg; and Whelan, Julie, eds. Human Genetic Information: Science, Law, 

and Ethics. Ciba Foundation Symposium. Chichester: John Wiley, 1990. 

Childress, James F. "Reproductive Interventions: Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy." In Moral 

Theology: Challenges for the Future. Essays in Honor of Richard A. McCormick, S.J., 285- 

309. Edited by Charles E. Curran. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. Donum vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human 

Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation). 22 February 1987. AAS 80 (1988): 70- 

102; Origins 16 (19 March 1987): 697-; 699-711. 

. "Responses on Uterine Isolation and Related Matters." 31 July 1993. 

Latin text published in L'Osservatore Romano; English translation found in Origins 24 (1 

September 1994): 211-212. 

The CDF replied that a hysterectomy could not be performed to avert future pregnancy even 

if it is probably foreseen that such a pregnancy might endanger the life or health of the 

mother, since this would amount to a case of direct sterilization, which is always illicit. 

Cook-Deegan, Robert. The Gene Wars. Norton: 1993. 

Aspects of the Human Genome Project. 

60

Reviewed and discussed by John Seabrook in The New Yorker (28 March 1994): 109-114. 

Critchlow, Donald T. Intended Consequences: Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal 

Government. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 

Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in America 180 (29 May 1999): 21. 

Coughlan, Michael. The Vatican, The Law and the Human Embryo. Iowa City: University of Iowa 

Press; London: Macmillan, 1990. 

Daniel, William, S.J. "Towards a Theology of Procreation: An Examination of the Vatican 

Instruction Donum Vitae." Pacifica 3 (1990): 61-86. 

Critiques the CDF argument against IVF as poorly based; a better argument would be drawn 

on the treatment of the embryo or future child, rather than stressing, as the CDF document 

did, the failure to respect the dignity of the parents as procreators. 

Dunstan, G.R., and Seller, Mary J., eds. The Status of the Human Embryo: Perspectives from Moral 

Tradition. London: Oxford University Press, 1988. 

Reviewed by Agneta Sutton in Heythrop Journal 32 (1991): 271-272. 

Feinberg, John S. "A Baby at any Cost and by any Means The Morality of In Vitro Fertilization 

and Frozen Embryos." Trinity Journal 14 (1993): 143-173. 

Adapted from Ethics for a Brave New World by John S. and Paul D. Feinberg (Westchester 

IL: Crossway, 1993). 

Feinberg is Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity 

School. 

Fuchs, Josef, S.J. "`Soul' and Ènsoulment' in the Individual Coming into Being of the Human 

Person." Chapter 5 in Idem. Moral Demands and Personal Obligations, 74-87. Washington, 


German original: "Seele und Beseelung im individuellen Werden des Menschen." Stimmen 

der Zeit 207 (1989): 522-530. 

Iglesias, Teresa. IVF and Justice: Moral, Social and Legal Issues Related to Human ìn vitro' 

Fertilisation. London: Linacre Centre, 1991. 

61

Irving, Dianne N. "`Conceptual Transfer' in Bioethics: Abortion, Human Embryo Research, and 

Psychiatric Research." In Live and Learning IV: Proceedings of the Fourth University Faculty 

for Life Conference Held at Fordham University 3-5 June 1994, edited by Joseph W. 

Koterski, S.J., 193-215. Washington, DC: University Faculty for Life, 1995. 

Jans, Jan. "God or Man Normative Theology in the Instruction Donum Vitae." Louvain Studies 

17 (1992): 48-64. 

Janssens, Louis. "Artificial Insemination: Ethical Considerations." Louvain Studies 5 (1980): 3- 

29. 

Janssens claims there are eight fundamental dimensions of the human person: (1) subject; 

(2) embodied subject; (3) part of the material world; (4) interrelational with other persons; 

(5) an interdependent social being; (6) historical; (7) equal but unique; (8) called to know and 

worship God. Classic article for the expression of the principle of totality in the personalist 

model. Janssens' personalist moral system is critiqued by Brian Johnstone, C.Ss.R. in the 

latter's "From Physicalism to Personalism," Studia Moralia 30 (1992): 71-96. 

Johnson, Mark, and Jean Porter. "Delayed Hominization." Theological Studies 56 (December 1995): 

743-70. 

A Quaestio disputata on the moral state of the pre-embryo in the light of contemporary 

biological and theological reflection. 

Also see the reply by Thomas Shannon: “Delayed Hominization: A Response to Mark 

Johnson.” Theological Studies 57 (1996): 731-734. In addition see Johnson’s response to 

Shannon, and Shannon’s subsequent response to Johnson: “Quaestio Disputata: Delayed 

Hominization.” Theological Studies 58 (1997): 708-717. 

Johnstone, Brian V., C.Ss.R. "The Instruction of «Donum Vitae» and Its Reception." Studia 

Moralia 26 (1988): 209-229. 

Johnstone, an Australian, is professor of moral theology at the Alphonsianum in Rome. 

Lauritzen, Paul. Pursuing Parenthood: Ethical Issues in Assisted Reproduction. Bloomington: 

Indiana University Press, 1993. 

Reviewed by Maura Ryan in Theological Studies 55 (1994): 185-186. 

Lund-Molfese, Nicholas C., and Kelly, Michael L., Eds. Human Dignity and Reproductive 

Technology. Lanham MD: University Press of America, 2003. 

62

This book brought together philosophers, theologians, scientists, lawyers, and scholars from 

across the United States. 

Macklin, Ruth. Surrogates and Other Mothers: The Debates over Assisted Reproduction. 

Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. 


1987. 





O'Mahoney, P.J. A Question of Life: Its Beginning and Transmission. A Moral Perspective on the 

New Genetics in the West, U.S.S.R., Poland and East Germany. London: Sheed and Ward, 

1989. 

Pellegrino, Edmund D., John Collins Harvey and John P. Langan, eds. Gift of Life: Catholic 

Scholars Respond to the Vatican Instruction. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University 

Press, 1990. 

Papers presented at a conference sponsored by Georgetown University on the CDF 

document, Donum vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origins and on the 

Dignity of Procreation, Replies to Certain Questions of the Day). Papers are divided into 

Clinical and Technical Aspects, Moral-Theological Foundations, and Impact on Legislation 

and Public Policy. The English translation of Donum vitae is also included. 

Rae, Scott B. Brave New Families: Biblical Ethics and Reproductive Technologies. Grand Rapids, 

MI: Baker Book House, 1996. 

Ruether, Rosemary Radford. "Humanae Vitae - Twenty-Five 32 Years Later." Feminist Theology 

6 (May 1994): 11-14. 

Ryan, Maura A. "The Case for Unlimited Procreative Liberty: A Feminist Critique." In Bioethics, 

81-96. Edited by Thomas A. Shannon. 4th Edition. New York: Paulist Press, 1993. 


. Ethics and Economics of Assisted Reproduction: The Cost of Longing. Moral Traditions 

Series. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2001. 

63

Taking the experience of infertility as a crisis of the self, the spirit, and the body, she argues 

for the place of reproductive technologies within a temperature, affordable, sustainable, and 

just health care system. 

Schüller, Bruno, S.J. "Paranesis and Moral Argument in Donum Vitae." In Gift of Life: Catholic 

Scholars Respond to the Vatican Instruction, 81-98. Edited by Edmund D. Pellegrino, John 

Collins Harvey and John P. Langan. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1990. 

Sgreccia, Msgr. Elio. "Moral Theology and Artificial Procreation in Light of Donum Vitae." In Gift 

of Life: Catholic Scholars Respond to the Vatican Instruction, 115-135. Edited by Edmund 

D. Pellegrino, John Collins Harvey and John P. Langan. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown 


See response by Lisa Cahill in the same volume. 

. "The Slippery Slope Toward "Brave New World." Catholic International 5 (1994): 20-22. 

Bishop Sgreccia, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presents his ethical 

reflections on the idea of cloning human beings, in the wake of the report of the first human 

cloning achieved in October 1993 at George Washington University. 

Shannon, Thomas A. and Wolter, Allan B., O.F.M. "Reflections on the Moral Status of the Pre- 

Embryo." Theological Studies 51 (1990): 603-626. 

Reviews the scientific literature to help determine when the early human embryo becomes 

an individual, a single entity, and analyzes the claim to personhood in the light of these 

findings. 

Shannon, Thomas A. “Delayed Hominization: A Response to Mark Johnson.” Theological Studies 

57 (1996): 731-734. 

See Mark Johnson’s and Jean Porter, "Delayed Hominization." Theological Studies 56 

(December 1995): 743-70. 

A Quaestio disputata on the moral state of the pre-embryo in the light of contemporary 

biological and theological reflection. 

., ed. Reproductive Technologies: A Reader. Readings in Bioethics. Chicago: Rowman 

Littlefield, 2003. 

. What Are They Saying About Genetic Engineering. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. 

64

Srampickal, Thomas. "Artificial Insemination and In Vitro Fertilization." Jeevadhara 32 (1992): 

468-483. 

Sutton, Agneta. Prenatal Diagnosis: Confronting the Ethical Issues. London: Linacre Centre, 1990. 

Suzuki, David, and Knudston, Peter. Genethics: The Clash between the New Genetics and Human 

Values. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989. 

Tentler, Leslie Woodcock. Catholics and Contraception: An American History. Cushwah Center 

Studies of Catholicism in Twentieth-Century America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 

2004. 

Tentler concentrates on the lay people in the American pews and the priests in the pulpits and 

confessionals from a period which commences with the nearly unanimous opposition to birth 

control by religious leaders in the late nineteenth century and concludes with the period of 

the initial reaction, and large-scale rejection which the American Catholic laity accorded to 

Paul VI’s 1968 Encyclical Humanae vitae which reaffirmed the unconditional ban on 

artificial contraception. Along the way Tentler shows the larger forces of cultural change and 

the development of mores which would impact views of sex and sexuality beyond simply the 

contraception question/issue. Her work brings together an incredible amount of research into 

the archives of dioceses and religious orders, especially those who preached the once popular 

parish missions which were a bulwark of support for the Church’s position on birth control. 

This archival research is augmented by a considerable number of interviews conducted with 

American clergy who were ordained prior to 1960. The book concludes with a riveting 

account of the role played by John Ford, S.J. as a peritus at Vatican II, and his behind-thescenes 

efforts to thwart the Pontifical Birth Control Commission’s majority report which had 

called for a change in the Church’s absolute opposition to birth control. Tentler shows, 

though, that Ford’s victory with the publication of Humanae vitae had the opposite effect of 

what he expected, since the resulting fallout did not prevent American Catholics’ practice 

of birth control from mirroring that of the general population and exacerbated a significant 

decline in the obedience and respect given to the Church’s hierarchical authority. 

Tentler is professor of history at The Catholic University of America. 

Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in Catholic Studies: An Online Journal 

http://CatholicBooksRevue.org 

White, Robert J. "The Aborted Fetus: A Commercial Prize" America 153 (23 January 1988): 53- 

54. 

******** 

65

CELIBACY 

Audet, Jean Paul. Structures of Christian Priesthood: Home, Marriage, and Celibacy in the Pastoral 

Service of the Church: The Origin of a Tradition and Its Meaning for Today. Translated by 

Rosemary Sheed. London: Sheed & Ward, 1967. 

French original: Mariage et celibat dans le service pastoral de l'Eglise. 

Auer, Alfons, Egenter, Richard, and O'Connor, Fergal. Celibacy and Virginity. Introduction by 

Rosemary Haughton. Dublin and Sydney: M. H. Gill & Son, 1968. 

Barry, William, S.J., Madeline Birmingham, R.C., William J. Connolly, S.J., Robert J. Fahey, 

Virginia Sullivan Finn, James J. Gill, S.J. "Affectivity and Sexuality: Their Relationship to 

the Spiritual and Apostolic Life of Jesuits, Comments on Three Experiences." Studies in the 

Spirituality of Jesuits 10, nos. 2 and 3 (March-May 1978). 

Basset, William, and Huizing, Peter, eds. Celibacy in the Church. Concilium no. 78 (1972). 

Boisvert, Laurent. Il celibato religioso. Cinisello Balsamo: Ed. Paoline, 1992. 

Brown, Peter. Il corpo e la società: Uomini, donne e astinenza sessuale nei primi secoli cristiani. 

Torino: Einaudi, 1992. 

Calvez, Jean-Yves. "Célibat religieux." Etudes 381 (1994): 241-249. 

La disponibilité au service du Royaume est souvent invoquée pour rendre compte du célibat 

religieux. C'est en faire un moyen. Il vaut mieux le fonder sur la foi même, sur l'expérience 

religieuse de confiance la plus intime. 

Canadian Religious Conference. Consecrated Celibacy. Donum Dei, 16. Ottawa: Canadian 

Religious Conference, 1971. 

Contributions by Edith Blais, et. al. 

Cantalamessa, Raniero. Virginity: A Positive Approach to Celibacy for the Sake of the Kingdom of 

Heaven. New York: Alba House, 1996. 

This book is aimed primarily at young people and explains how to live the charism of 

virginity and celibacy charismatically, "as a gift, in all humility, in joy and perfect freedom." 

Charue, A.M., et. al. Priesthood and Celibacy. Milano-Roma: Ancora, 1972. 

66

Celibacy 

Cholij, Roman. Clerical Celibacy in East and West. Leominster, Herefordshire: Fowler-Wright 

Books, 1989. 

Clark, Keith, O.F.M., Cap. Being Sexual and Celibate. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1986. 

Coate, Mary Ann. "Who Chooses Celibacy - and Why" The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 97-105. 

One of several articles in the number of the issue devoted to the theme of celibacy. 

Cochini, Christian. Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy. Preface by Alfons M. Stickler. 

Translated by Nelly Marans. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990. 

French original: Origines apostoliques du celibat sacerdotal. 

Conner, Paul M. Celibate Love. Huntington IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1979. 

Constantelos, Demetrios J. Marriage, Sexuality & Celibacy: A Greek Orthodox Perspective. 

Minneapolis: Light and Life Pub. Co., 1975. 

Coombs, Marie Theresa. & Nemeck, Francis Kelly. Discerning Vocations to Marriage, Celibacy and 

Singlehood. Liturgical Press-Michael Glazier, 1994. 

Crosby, Michael H. Celibacy: Means of Control or Mandate of the Heart Ave Maria Press, 1996. 

Uses personal stories to discuss celibacy, arguing that when mandated by an institution it 

ceases to be a gift of the Spirit but rather becomes a means of control. 

Demmer, Klaus, M.S.C. Zumutung aus dem Ewigen. Gedanken zum priesterliche Zölibat. 

Freiburg: Herder, 1991. 

Demmer is Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. 

Denzler, Georg. Die Geschichte des Zölibats. Freiburg: Herder, 1993. 

Driscoll, Michael S. "Sexuality and Spirituality in the Life of the Celibate." Chicago Studies 32 

(1993): 203-213. 

One of several articles in this issue devoted to various aspects of sexuality and spirituality. 

Dourley, John P. Love, Celibacy and the Inner Marriage. Studies in Jungian Psychology, 29. 

Toronto: Inner City Books, 1987. 

67

Celibacy 

Dowell, Susan. "A Feminist Critique." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 76-86. 


Duby, Thomas. And You Are Christ's: The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life. San 

Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987. 

Elliott, Dyan. Spiritual Marriage: Sexual Abstinence in Medieval Wedlock. Princeton: Princeton 


Reviewed by Margaret R. Miles in Theological Studies 55 (1994): 148-150. 

Ford, J[osephine]. Massyngberde. A Trilogy on Wisdom and Celibacy. Cardinal O'Hara Series, 4. 

Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1967. 

Francklyn, Victoria. "An Appraisal of Current Attempts to Formulate a Theology of Celibacy." 

M.A. Thesis. Graduate Theological Union, 1972. 

Frein, George, ed. Celibacy: The Necessary Option. New York: Herder and Herder, 1968. 

Papers which were presented at the symposium held 6-8 September 1967 at the University 

of Notre Dame and sponsored by the National Association for Pastoral Renewal. 

Goergen, Donald, O.P. The Sexual Celibate. A Crossroad Book. New York: Seabury Press, 1974. 

Goffi, Tullo. "Sessualità e celibato, oggi." Parte Terza, Capitolo 6 in Problemi e prospettive di 

teologia morale, 391-404. A cura di Tullo Goffi. Brescia: Queriniana, 1976. 

Gorres, Ida Friederike Coudenhove. Is Celibacy Outdated Westminster MD: Newman Press, 1965. 

German original: Laiengedanken zum Zölibat. 

Guillemette, Nil, S.J. “Priestly Celibacy–Mixed Celibate Friendships: An Annotated Bibliography.” 

Landas 2 (1988): 263-271. 

Gunzel, Raymond J. Celibacy: Renewing the Gift, Releasing the Power. Kansas City, MO: Sheed 

& Ward, 1988. 

Gustafson, Janie. "Celibate Passion." In Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological 

Reflection, 277-281. Edited by James B. Nelson and Sandra P. Longfellow. Louisville: 


68

Celibacy 

Harkx, Peter. The Fathers on Celibacy. Translated by Religious Book Consultants. De Pere WI: 

St. Norbert Abbey Press, 1968. 

Harvey, John. "The Counselling of Those with Homosexual Inclination." Catholic Medical 

Quarterly 45 (February 1994): 23-28. 

Harvey is noted for his organization, "Courage," which counsels celibacy for all 

homosexuals, in accord with the Magisterium's teachings. 

Hebert, Albert J. Priestly Celibacy--Recurrent Battle and Lasting Values. Houston: Lumen Christi 

Press, 1971. 

von Hildebrand, Dietrich. Celibacy and the Crisis of Faith. Translated by John Crosby. Chicago 

Franciscan Herald Press, 1971. 

German original: Zölibat und Glaubenskrise. 

von Hildebrand was a well-known Catholic lay philosopher who taught for many years at 

Fordham University after coming to America. 

Huddleston, Mary Anne, ed. Celibate Loving: Encounter in Three Dimensions. New York: Paulist 

Press, 1984. 

Johnson, James R. “Toward a Biblical Approach to Masturbation.” Journal of Psychology and 

Theology 10 (Summer 1982): 137-146. 

Within the context of evangelical theology the author evaluates six traditional objections to 

masturbation based on biblical texts. The author concludes that the biblical texts provide 

limiting principles but do not support a universal condemnation of the practice. 

Kimmerling, Ben. "Celibacy and Intimacy." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 587-96. 


Klein, Terrance W. “The Silent Love: Trying to Understand Celibacy.” Chicago Studies 41 (Spring 

2002): 70-79. 

Kraft, William F. “Psychospiritual View of Masturbation.” Human Development 3 (Summer 

1982): 39-45. 

. Sexual Dimensions of the Celibate Life. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1979. 

69

Celibacy 

Lebacqz, Karen. "Appropriate Vulnerability." In Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological 

Reflection, 256-261. Edited by James B. Nelson and Sandra P. Longfellow. Louisville: 


Discusses an ethic of "single sexuality." 

Lebacqz was professor of Christian ethics for many years at the Pacific School of Religion 

and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and is now on the Faculty of 

Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal. 

Linnane, Brian, S.J. “Celibacy and Sexual Malpractice: Dimensions of Power and Powerlessness 

in Patriarchal Society.” In Theology and the New Histories, 227-244. College Theology 

Society Annual Vol. 44. Edited by Gary Macy. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1999. 

Malone, Mary. "Unfinished Agenda: A Critical Look at the History of Celibacy." The Way 

Supplement 77 (1993): 66-75. 


Matungulu Otene. Celibacy and the African Value of Fecundity. 

French original: Celibat consacre pour une Afrique assoiffee de fecondite. Spearhead, 65. 

Eldoret, Kenya: Gaba Publications, AMECEA Pastoral Institute, 1981. 

Matura, Thaddee. Celibacy and Community: The Gospel Foundations for Religious Life. 

Translated by Paul J. Oligny. Chicago Franciscan Herald Press, 1968. 

French original: Celibat et communaute. 

McAllister, Robert J. Living the Vows: The Emotional Conflicts of Celibate Religious. San 

Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986. 

McDonough, William. "Acknowledging the Gift of Gay Priestly Celibacy." Review for Religious 

55 (1996): 283-296. 

Argues that both the nature of sexuality as well as the implications from some of the 

Church's own teaching on sexuality call for those who are homosexual to acknowledge this 

fact publicly. Also offers some helpful reflections on the nature of celibacy for priests, 

religious, and seminarians who find their sexual orientation to be essentially homosexual. 

McDonough is a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, and teaches moral 

theology at the University of St. Thomas School of Divinity. 

70

Celibacy 

McGoldrick, Desmond F. Living the Celibate Life: An Essay in the Higher Psychology of Faith. 

New York: Vantage Press, 1970. 

Murphy, Sheila M. A Delicate Dance: Sex, Celibacy, and Relationships among Catholic Clergy and 

Religious. New York: Crossroad, 1992. 

Nouwen, Henri J. M. Clowning in Rome: Reflections on Solitude, Celibacy, Prayer, and 

Contemplation. Garden City: Image Books, 1979. 

Obuna, Emmanuel. African Priests and Celibacy: In a Culture Where a Man without Children Is a 

Waste. Rome: Leberit, 1986. 

O'Keefe, James. "Living with Compulsory Celibacy." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 37-45. 


O'Neill, David P. Priestly Celibacy and Maturity. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1965. 

Oraison, Marc. Celibate: The Celibate Condition and Sex. Translated by Leonard Mayhew. New 

York: Sheed and Ward, 1967. 

French original: Le Celibat. 

Orchard, Gillian. "Making Sense of Celibacy." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 5-13. 


Pable, Martin, OFMCap. “Skills Needed for Celibacy.” Review for Religious 57 (May-June 1998): 

275-285. 

Philips, Alan. “The Truth about Priests.” The Tablet (14 July 2001): 1011-1012. 

Notes that for many celibacy will be a life-long struggle, since there is a “near abyss” that is 

meant to be filled only by another human person, and that neither God nor anything else is 

designed to fill this “near abyss.” Quite a worthwhile article. 

Raguin, Yves, S.J. Celibacy for Our Times. Translated by Mary Humbert Kennedy. Religious 

experience series, 7. St. Meinrad: Abbey Press, 1974. 

French original: Celibat pour notre temps. 

71

Celibacy 

Raguin is an expert in Buddhism and has lived and worked for many years in China and 

Taiwan. 

Sanford, Keith. “Toward a Masturbation Ethic.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 22 (1994): 

21-28. 

Schneiders, Sandra, I.H.M. "Celibacy as Charism." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 13-25. 


Sheldrake, Philip. "Celibacy and Clerical Culture." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 26-36. 


Sipe, A.W. Richard. Celibacy: A Way of Loving, Living, and Serving. With a Foreword by Susan 

Muto. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 1996. 

Looks at the practical implications of celibacy. 

. A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1990. 

. Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis. New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers, 1995. 

Spohn, William C. "St. Paul on Apostolic Celibacy and the Body of Christ." Studies in the 

Spirituality of the Jesuits 17 (January 1985). 

Stickler, Cardinal Alfons M. "El celibato ecclesiastic, Zu historian y sus fundamentos teológicos." 

Scripta Theologica. 26 (1994): 13-78. 

Thomas, Gordon. Desire and Denial: Celibacy and the Church. Boston: Little, Brown, 1986. 

Thome, Josef. Gedanken zum Zölibat. Aachen: Mainz Verlag, 1992. 

Vogels, Heinz-Jürgen. Celibacy: Gift or Law. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1993. 

German original: Priester dürfen heiraten: Biblische, geschichtliche und rechtliche Gründe 

gegen den Pflichtzölibat. Bonn: Köllen Verlag 1992. 

Looks at scriptural and early church history to argue that priestly celibacy should be an 

option, and not a requirement. Nevertheless, he holds the gospel value of celibacy, but feels 

this is best seen as a charism rather than a legal discipline. 

72

Celibacy 

Wade, Joseph D. Chastity, Sexuality & Personal Hangups: A Guide to Celibacy for Religious and 

Laity. Staten Island: Alba House, 1971. 

Woodgate, Michael. "Celibacy in Another Tradition." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 106-111. 


******** 

CORPOREAL ETHICS, GENDER, AND THE PHYSICAL LIFE 

N.B., For gender issues more specifically related to feminist ethics see the separate section Feminist 

Ethics. 

Abramson, Paul R., and Steven D. Pinkerton, eds. Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture. Chicago Series on 

Sexuality, History, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 

In this comprehensive multi disciplinary study of human sexuality, an international team of 

scholars looks at the influences of nature and nurture, biology and culture, and sex and 

gender in the sexual experiences of humans and other primates. Using as its center the idea 

that sexual pleasure is the primary motivational force behind sexuality and that reproduction 

is simply a byproduct of the pleasurability of sex, this book examines sexuality at the 

individual, societal, and cultural levels. 

Ashley, Benedict M. Theologies of the Body: Humanist and Christian. Braintree MA: Pope John 

Center, 1985. 

Aubert, Jean-Marie. "Il rispetto per la vita corporale." Parte Terza, Capitolo 4 in Problemi e 

Prospettive di Teologia Morale, 333-362. A cura di Tullo Goffi. Brescia: Queriniana, 1976. 

Bekkenkamp, J. and De Haardt, M. Begin with the Body: Corporeality Religion and Gender. 

Leuven: Peeters, 1998. 

Black, Peter. “The Broken Wings of Eros: Christian Ethics and the Denial of Desire.” Theological 

Studies 64 (March 2003): 106-126. 

Part of the annual “Notes on Moral Theology” section, which in this volume deals with 

sexual ethics. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. "Humanity as Female and Male: The Ethics of Sexuality." In Called to Love: 

Towards a Contemporary Christian Ethic, 75-95. Proceedings of the Theology Institute of 

73

Villanova University, 17. Edited by Francis A Eigo. Villanova: Villanova University Press, 

1985. 

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, former president of both the Catholic Theological 

Society of America (CTSA) and the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE), and Professor of 

Theological Ethics at Boston College, studied under James Gustafson at the University of 

Chicago. 

Callaghan, Brendan, SJ. "Idolatry and Intimacy: Thought towards a Synthesis on Sexuality," 

Theology & Sexuality 1, (September 1994): 96-105. 

Carnes, Patrick. Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: 

CompCare Publishers, 1992. 

Uses the 12 Step model of addiction and recovery to discuss sexual addiction. 

Cavanaugh, Michael E. “The Impact of Psychosexual Growth on Marriage and Religious Life.” 

Human Development 4 (Fall 1983): 16-24. 

Brief overview of the stages of psychosexual development, written for the non-specialist 

audience, with observations regarding how an arrested development at one or another stage 

will have deleterious effects on one’s life. 

Chiavacci, Enrico. Morale della vita fisica. Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna, 1976. 

Chilstrom, Herbert W., and Erdahl, Lowell O. Sexual Fulfillment: For Single and Married, Straight 

and Gay, Young and Old. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 

Both authors are retired Lutheran pastors in the ELCA. 

Clasquin, Michel. "Contemporary Theravada and Zen Buddhist Attitudes to Human Sexuality: An 

Exercise in Comparative Ethics." Religion 22 (1992): 63-83. 

Connell, R.W., and Dowsett, G.W., eds. Rethinking Sex: Social Theory and Sexuality Research. 


This volumes examines the dominant research models from the United States and Western 

Europe and proposes a new perspective, one sensitive to the social construction of sexuality 

and its research and to variation in sexual practices across cultures. 

Dominian, Jack. Proposals for a New Sexual Ethic. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1977. 

Dominian is an English psychiatrist. 

74

Douglas, Kelly Brown. Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective. Maryknoll: Orbis 

Books, 1999. 

Argues that the black church community has treated sexuality as a taboo subject and this has 

hampered constructive responses to a variety of sexual issues such as teenage pregnancies, 

AIDS, intolerance of sexuality diversity, etc. 

Ellingson, Stephen, and Green, M. Christian, eds. Religion and Sexuality in Cross-Cultural 

Perspective. New York: Routledge, 2002. 

Explores the diversity of religious rituals and mythologies pertaining to sexuality as a way 

of examining conventional notions of what is normative in our sexual lives. 

Ellison, Marvin. Erotic Justice: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality. Louisville: Westminster/John 

Knox Press, 1996. 

Argues that the current moral problem in the sexual and family crisis is not “sexuality” but 

sexual injustice. This sexual injustice stems from a pervasive negativity toward sex, coupled 

with heterocentrism, compulsory heterosexualtiy, and the eroticization of patterns of 

dominance in social relations. Thus, a liberating moral discourse is required--a justicecentered 

discourse that will be pro-feminist, pro-gay/lesbian, and anti-rascist. 

Reviewed by Christine Gudorf in Theological Studies 59 (1998): 187. 

Ellison, Marvin, and Thorson-Smith, Sylvia, eds. Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice- 

Love. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003. 

Two dozen essays which play off the controversial 1991 Presbyterian study co-authored by 

the editors entitled “Keeping Body and Soul Together: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Social 

Justice.” 

Faure, Bernard. The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton 


Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in Theological Studies 60 (December 1999): 796. 

Ferder, Fran, O.F.M. and Heagle, John. Tender Fires: The Promise of Sexuality. New York: 

Crossroad, 2002. 

The authors are therapists and co-directors of the TARA counseling and renewal center near 

Seattle. 

75

Feuerstein, Georg, ed. Enlightened Sexuality: Essays on Body-Positive Spirituality. Freedom CA: 

The Crossing Press, 1989. 

Fortune, Marie M. Love Does No Harm: Sexual Ethics for the Rest of Us. New York: Continuum, 

1995. 

Foucault, Michael. The Use of Pleasure. Translated by Robert Hurley. Vol. 2, The History of 

Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books, 1986. 

Fout, John C. and Tantillo, Maura Shaw., eds. American Sexual Politics: Sex, Gender, and Race 

since the Civil War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. 

These sixteen essays illuminate the shifting tensions between sexual reform and repression 

as seen in historical explorations of men's and women's sexuality, of the sexual-social 

dynamics of lesbians and gay men, of the violent repression of African-American sexuality. 

Gilson, Anne Bathurst. Eros Breaking Free: Interpreting Sexual Theo-Ethics. Cleveland: The 

Pilgrim Press, 1995. 

Graham, Elaine L. "Towards a Theology of Desire," Theology and Sexuality 1 (September 1994): 

13-30. 

Gudorf, Christine E. Body, Sex, and Pleasure: Reconstructing Christian Sexual Ethics. Cleveland: 


Guevin, Benedict M., O.S.B. Christian Anthropology and Sexual Ethics. Lanham MD: University 

Press of America, 2002. 

Presents a Catholic view of sexual ethics based on a Christian theological anthropology. 

Includes treatment of the natural law and liturgy in forming the virtue of chastity. 

Guevin is Professor of Theology at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. 

Guindon, André, O.M.I. "Gestuelle sexuelle et révélation de Dieu." Eglise et Théologie 11 (19980): 

371-398. 

Abstract: Can a discourse on human sexuality be theological the argument is that this 

discourse does not become theological because biblical or traditional sexual precepts are 

transmitted and commented upon. to be theological, sexual anthropology and ethics must 

measure up to the standard of God's self-revelation so that the sexual behavior of someone 

who is made in God's image may reveal to that individual and to others the God of Jesus the 

Christ. It is argued that sexual behaviour understood as the language of intimacy manifests 

76

God as benevolent, relational, loving and covenantal. Hence the theological plausibility of 

this paradigm. 

Hamelin, Alonzo, O.F.M. "Man's Rights over his Body and the Principle of Totality." Concilium 

5 (2/1966): 49-55. 

Hart, Archibald D. The Sexual Man. Dallas and Vancouver: Word Publishing, 1994. 

Deals with male sexuality. 

Reviewed by Jonathan Mills in Crux 30 (September 1994): 45-46. 

Hart is dean of the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller. 

Irwin, Alexander C. Eros Toward the World: Paul Tillich and Theology of the Erotic. Minneapolis: 

Fortress Press, 1991. 

Jackson, Roger R. "Ambiguous Sexuality: Imagery and Interpretation in Tantric Buddhism." 

Religion 22 (1992): 85-100. 

Janssens, Louis. "Artificial Insemination: Ethical Considerations." Louvain Studies 8 (1980): 3-29. 




worship God. Classic article for the expression of the principle of totality in the personalist 

model. 

Jordan, Mark D. Ethics of Sex. Boston and Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. 

Keenan, James F., S.J. "Christian Perspectives on the Human Body." Theological Studies 55 

(1994): 330-346. 

Considers various notions of the body throughout the Christian tradition. Has a lot of good 

bibliographical information. 

Keenan is Associate Professor of Moral Theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology 

in Cambridge, MA. 

Kehrwald, Leif. The Spirituality of Intimacy. St. Anthony’s Messenger Press, 1996. 

Kelsey, Morton T., and Barbara Kelsey. Sacrament of Sexuality: The Spirituality and Psychology 

of Sex. Warwick NY: Amity House, 1986. 

77

Discusses the full range of sexual experience, from celibacy to marriage, heterosexuality and 

homosexuality, sexuality in love and relationships, as well as the relation of sexuality to 

Scripture and psychology. 

King, Ursula, and Beattie, Tina, eds. Gender, Religion and Diversity. New York: Continuum, 2005. 

Koester, Craig R. "The Bible and Sexual Boundaries." Lutheran Quarterly 7 (1993): 375-390. 

Kvam, Kristen E., Schearing, Linda S., and Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. Jewish, Christian and Muslim 

Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press, 1999. 

Laumann, Edward O., John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels. The Social 

Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of 


Law, Jane Marie, ed. Religious Reflections on the Human Body. Bloomington: Indiana University 

Press, 1995. 

Lebacqz, Karen, ed. With David Sinacore-Guinn. Sexuality: A Reader. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 

19 

Anthology of contemporary readings grouped around various themes of sexual ethics. 

Leko, M. "Il problema etico del corpo." Studia Moralia 13 (1975): 67-107. 

Lowen, Alexander. Love, Sex and your Heart. New York: Macmillan 1988. 

Markowitz, Fran and Ashkenazi, Michael eds. Sex, Sexuality, and the Anthropologist. Urbana, 

Illinois: University of Illinois Press,1999. 

Masters, William H., M.D., Virginia E. Johnson, and Robert C. Kolodny, M.D. Heterosexuality. 

New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 

McCammon, Susan; Knox, David; and Schacht, Caroline. Making Choices in Sexuality. Pacific 

Grove CA: Brooks Cole Publishing Co., 1998. 

Designed as a college textbook to aid students in making informed choices about sexual 

matters. 

The authors are all of East Carolina University. 

Metz, J.B. "Corporeita." In Dizionario Teologico, Vol. I, 331-339. Brescia: Morcelliana, 1966. 

78

Middleton, DeWight R. Exotics and Erotics: Human Cultural and Sexual Diversity. Prospect 

Heights IL: Waveland Press, 2001. 

Anthropological approach using case studies to illustrate the connection between universal 

human sexuality and its local manifestations in cultural contexts. 

Moore, Gareth, O.P. The Body in Context. Sex in Catholic Thought. 1992. 

. "Nature and Sexual Differences." New Blackfriars 75 (January 1994): 52-64. 

Argues against a conception that sees each individual as having a determinate sexual nature 

as part of one's biological inheritance and physical constitution, which should then be used 

to determine sexual norms. Thus, what is in accord with this nature would be good, and what 

is against it would be bad. 

Nelson, James B. Between Two Gardens: Reflections on Sexuality and Religious Experience. 

Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 19 

Olsen, V. Norskov. The New Relatedness for Man and Woman in Christ: A Mirror of the Divine. 

Loma Linda CA: Loma Linda University Center for Christian Bioethics, 1993. 

Parsons, Susan E. Ethics of Gender. Boston and Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. 

Phipps, William E. The Sexuality of Jesus. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1996. 

Phipps suggests how Jesus' life and teaching undermine traditional attitudes toward women 

and the human body and how the Jesus of the Gospels can inform contemporary discussions 

of sexuality and gender. 

Prokes, Mary Timothy. Toward a Theology of the Body. Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 

1997. 

Regan, A., C.Ss.R. "Human Body in Moral Theology: Some Basic Orientations." Studia Moralia 

17 (1979): 151-188. 

Rossi, Alice S., ed. Sexuality Across the Life Course. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. 

Rossi brings together fourteen diverse essays on sexual behavior, covering adolescence 

through old age and addressing such groups as singles, married couples, homosexuals, and 

African-American men and women. 

Scanzoni, Letha. Sexuality. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984. 

79

Seitz, Christopher R. "Human Sexuality: Viewed from the Bible's Understanding of the Human 

Condition." Theology Today 52 (1995): 236-246. 

Seitz is Professor of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School. 

Selling, Joseph. “The ‘Meanings” of Human Sexuality.” Louvain Studies 23 (1998): 22-37. 

Written version of a workshop given in 1997 for the New Ways Ministry conference. 

Selling is married and professor of moral theology at Leuven. 

Soble, Alan, ed. The Philosophy of Sex: Contemporary Readings. 3rd ed. Lanham MD: Rowman 

& Littlefield, 1997. 

Solomon, Robert C. "The Virtue of (Erotic) Love." In Philosophical Perspectives on Sex and Love, 

241-55. Edited by Robert M. Stewart. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 

Spencer, Daniel T. Gay and Gaia: Ethics, Ecology, and the Erotic. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 

1996. 

Argues that ecological ethics should ground all of ethics, and thus authentic justice seeks 

right relations among all creation. An appropriate response to creation should be rooted in 

an appreciation of the erotic. 

Stewart, Robert M., comp. Philosophical Perspectives on Sex and Love. New York: Oxford 


Anthology of a wide variety of readings and authors, grouped into four categories: 1) Sex 

Roles, Equality, and Social Policy; 2) Sexual Norms and Ethics; 3) Erotic Love; and 4) 

Friendship and Familial Love. 

Thatcher, Adrian, and Stuart, Elizabeth, eds. Christian Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender. 

Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1996. 

Anthology of readings, many already published elsewhere (even in other anthologies), 

organized thematically which deal with issues of sexuality, gender, power, relationship, and 

violence. 

Thatcher, Adrian. Liberating Sex: A Christian Sexual Theology. London: SPCK, 1993. 

Reviewed by Ann Loades in Theology and Sexuality 1 (1994): 121-122. 

80

Tilley, Maureen A., and Susan A. Ross, eds. Broken and Whole: Essays on Religion and the Body. 

1993 Annual Volume of the College Theological Society, vol. 39. Lanham, MD: University 


Contents: Part I: Historical Perspectives on Religion and the Body. Part II: Contemporary 

Perspectives on Christianity and the Body. Part III: Spirituality and the Body. 

Vivian, Tim. "Èverything Made by God is Good'. A Letter concerning Sexuality from Saint 

Athanasius to the Monk Amoun." Eglise et théologie 24 (1993): 75-108. 

Walton, Heather. "Theology of Desire," Theology and Sexuality. 1 (September 1994): 31-41. 

Zgourides, George D. Human Sexuality: Contemporary Perspectives. New York: Harper Collins 

College Publishers, 1996. 

FEMINIST SEXUAL ETHICS 

******** 

Addelson, Kathryn Pyne. Impure Thoughts: Essays on Philosophy, Feminism, and Ethics. 


Throughout these interdisciplinary pieces, Addelson draws examples from the feminist, civil 

rights, and antiwar movements to offer a different way of approaching philosophical ethics. 

Andolsen, Barbara Hikert. "Selected Topics in Feminist and Womanist Ethics: Introduction." In 

The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 257-260. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: 

The Society of Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Armour, Ellen T. Deconstruction, Feminist Theology, and the Problem of Difference: Subverting 

the Race/Gender Divide. Religion and Postmodernism Series. Chicago: University of 


Armour is associate professor of religious studies at Rhodes College in Memphis. 

Ashley, Benedict M, O.P. Justice in the Church: Gender and Participation. Washington, D.C.: 

Catholic University of America, 1996. 

Gives an apologia for the Vatican’s policy of non-ordination of women and their continued 

exclusion from leadership roles in the Church. His basic thesis is that which “appears” as 

an “injustice” is a legitimate distinction between personal equality and functional difference. 

This distinction is grounded in the hierarchical nature of the order of creation, grounded in 

the natural law, and furthermore positively willed by Jesus himself. 

81

Critically reviewed by Mary Hines in Theological Studies 59 (June 1998): 354-355. 

Baker-Fletcher, Karen. "Dusting Off the Texts: Historical Resources for Womanist Ethics." In The 

Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 291-298. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The 

Society of Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Becher, Jeanne, ed. Women, Religion and Sexuality: Studies on the Impact of Religious Teachings 

on Women. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991; Valley Forge PA: Trinity Press 

International, 1995. 

Twelve papers from the WCC multi-faith study on "Female Sexuality and Bodily Functions 

in Different Religions" which present Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, Akan, Buddhist, Orthodox, 

Roman Catholic, and Anglican perspectives. 

Becher is assistant to the director of the World Council of Churches' Subunit on Women. 

Benhabib, Seyla, and Cornell, Drucilla, eds. Feminism as Critique: On the Politics of Gender. 

Feminist Perspectives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987. 

Børresen, Kari. Subordination and Equivalence. The Nature and Role of Women in Augustine and 

Thomas Aquinas. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1995. 

Bushnell, Dana E, ed. "Nagging" Questions: Feminist Ethics in Everyday Life. Lanham MD: 


In this anthology of new and classic articles, fifteen noted feminist philosophers explore 

contemporary ethical issues that uniquely affect the lives of women. These issues in applied 

ethics include autonomy, responsibility, sexual harassment, women in the military, new 

technologies for reproduction, surrogate motherhood, pornography, abortion, coerced birth 

control, cosmetic surgery, anorexia nervosa, in vitro fertilization, feminist masochism and 

nonfeminist women. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Cahill, Lisa Sowle. "On Being A Catholic Feminist." Santa Clara Lectures 27 

April 2003. 

Available online at: 

http://www.scu.edu/bannancenter/eventsandconferences/lectures/archives/cahill.cfm 

[HTML] 

http://www.scu.edu/bannancenter/eventsandconferences/lectures/loader.cfmurl=/commo 

nspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=6449 [PDF] 

82

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, 1993 President of the CTSA, and Professor of 


Chicago. 

. "Sex and Gender: Catholic Teaching and the Signs of Our Times." Milltown Studies 34 

(1994): 31-52. 

Discusses how Roman Catholic sexual ethics has, and has not, engaged the modern world 

with its teaching. Cahill delineates changes already made, and suggests further developments 

and ramifications which should flow from these changes, especially in more nuanced 

understanding of what constitutes a woman's proper gender-based roles. 

. "Sexual Ethics: A Feminist Biblical Perspective." Interpretation 49 (1995): 5-16. 

. Women and Sexuality. New York: Paulist Press, 1992. 

The 1992 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality. Contains a chapter on the "Development of the 

Natural Law Approach" and "Biblical Sources of Ethics." 

Callahan, Sidney. “Abortion and the Sexual Agenda: A Case for Prolife Feminism.” In Readings 

in Moral Theology No. 9: Feminist Ethics and the Catholic Moral Tradition, 422-433. 

Edited by Charles E. Curran, Margaret A. Farley, R.S.M., and Richard A. McCormick, S.J. 

New York: Paulist Press, 1996. 

Callahan is a psychologist. 

. "Counseling Abortion Alternatives: Can It Be Value-Free" America 165 (7 September 

1991): 110-113. 

Carmody, Denise Lardner. The Double Cross: Ordination, Abortion, and Catholic Feminism. New 

York : Crossroad, 1986. 

Carr, Anne, and Fiorenza, Elsiabeth Schüssler, eds. "Motherhood: Experience, Institution, 

Theology." Concilium 206 (1989). 

Cooper-White, Pamela. The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church's Response. 

Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995. 

Curran, Charles E., Farley, Margaret A., McCormick, Richard A., S.J., eds. Readings in Moral 

Theology No. 9: Feminist Ethics and the Catholic Moral Tradition. New York: Paulist 

Press, 1996. 

83

Daly, Lois K. "Ecofeminism and Ethics." In The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 285- 

290. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The Society of Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Daly, Mary. "Personal History: Sin Big." The New Yorker: Special Women's Issue, 26 February and 

4 March 1996, 76. 

General overview of Daly's development of her feminist ethics. 

Dipose, Rosalyn. The Bodies of Women: Ethics, Embodiment, and Sexual Difference. New York: 

Routledge, 1994. 

Dipose holds that most ethics have been based on presuppositions which omit critical 

analysis of sexual difference and the embodied effects of this difference, e.g., even feminist 

ethics tends to exclude women’s bodies. Dipose aims to correct this omission by using 

insights drawn from Foucault’s “aesthetics of self” and Derrida’s notion of “gift.” 

Dowell, Susan. "A Feminist Critique." The Way Supplement 77 (1993): 76-86. 


Dwyer, John C. Human Sexuality: Christian View. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1987. 

Farley, Margaret A., R.S.M. "Feminism and Universal Morality." In Prospects for a Common 

Morality, 170-190. Edited by Gene Outka and John P. Reeder, Jr. Princeton: Princeton 


Farley is Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale University. 

. "Sources of Sexual Inequality in the History of Christian Thought." Journal of Religion 56 

(1976): 162-176. 



House, 1988. 

Fulkerson, Mary McClintock. "Sexism as Original Sin: Developing a Theacentric Discourse." 

Journal of the American Academy of Religion 39 (1991): 653-675. 

Furman, Frida Kerner. "Women, Aging, and Ethics: Reflections on Bodily Experience." In The 

Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 229-256. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The 

Society of Christian Ethics, 1994. 

84

Gilson, Anne Bathurst. Eros Breaking Free: Interpreting Sexual Theo-Ethics Cleveland: Pilgrim 

Press, 1995. 

A lesbian sexual ethics. 

Gonzalez, Michelle. “Hans Urs von Balthasar and Contemporary Feminist Theology.” Theological 

Studies 65 (September 2004): 566-595. 

Harrison, Beverly Wildung. "Theology and Morality of Procreative Choice." (With Shirley Cloyes). 

In Making the Connections: Essays in Feminist Social Ethics, 115-134. Edited by Carols S. 

Robb. Boston: Beacon Press, 1985. 

Heyward, Carter. Staying Power: Reflections on Gender, Justice, and Compassion. Cleveland: 

Pilgrim Press, 19 

Hunt, Mary E. "Shifting Spiritual Authorities for Feminist Ethics." In The Annual of the Society 

of Christian Ethics. 267-274. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The Society of Christian 

Ethics, 1994. 

. "Transforming Moral Theology: A Feminist Ethical Challenge." Concilium 182 (1985): 84- 

90. 

One of a series of articles on feminist theology. 

Hunt is lesbian feminist theologian. 

Iyori, Naoko, MMB. "Testimoniza di Suor Naoko Iyori." [Given at the WCC 1990 Assembly in 

Seoul: 5-12 March 1990]. Il Regno 35 (1 giugno 1990): 358-359. 

A moving and graphic account of one Philippine girl's entrapment in the Asian sex industry 

in Japan and the Philippines. 

Jung, Patricia Beattie; Hunt Mary E., and Balakirshnan, Radhika, eds. Good Sex: Feminist 

Perspectives from the World’s Religions. Picataway NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001. 

Kopaczynski, G. Contemporary Feminism and the Right to Abortion. Scranton: University of 

Scranton Press, 1995. 

Kroker, Arthur and Kroker, Marilouise, eds. The Last Sex: Feminism and Outlaw Bodies. New 

York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. 

The Last Sex is a theoretical examination of the "new" feminism. Written from the inside 

of a new sexual horizon, The Last Sex broadens the traditional feminist debate to include 

85

contributions from transsexuals writing about their transsexuality, as well as gay and lesbian 

reflections on the major shifts taking place in feminist theory. 

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Churches Speak On: Women's Ordination. The Churches Speak Series. 

Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. 

Mowrey, Merlyn E. "Feminist Ethics and the "Postmodernist Debates." In The Annual of the 

Society of Christian Ethics. 275-284. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The Society of 

Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Paglia, Camille. Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson. New 

Haven: Yale University Press, 1990; New York : Vintage Books, 1991. 

Parsons, Susan. "Feminist Reflections on Embodiment and Sexuality." Studies in Christian Ethics 

4 (2/1991): 16-28. 

One of a series of articles devoted to the general theme of sexual ethics. 

Pellauer, Mary. "Understanding Sexism." In Issues of Justice: Social Sources and Religious 

Meanings, 127-152. Edited by Warren R. Copeland and Roger D. Hatch. Macon (GA): 

Mercer University Press, 1988. 

Pellauer is from the Commission for Women, Evangelical Church in America. 





Popiel, Jennifer J. “Necessary Connections Catholicism, Feminism and Contraception.” America 

(17 November 1999): 22-25. 

Challenges the view that feminism demands acceptance of contraception. 

Purvis, Sally B. "Lines and Textures: Authoritative Sources for Contemporary Christian Feminist 

Ethics." In The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 261-266. Edited by Harlan 

Beckley. Boston: The Society of Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Raines, John S., and Maguire, Daniel C., eds. What Men Owe to Women: Men’s Voices from World 

Religions. Albany: SUNY Press, 2001. 

Essays by contemporary male representatives from a variety of religious traditions. 

86

Robb, Carol S. Equal Value: An Ethical Approach to Economics and Sex. Boston: Beacon Press, 

1995. 

Discusses the connections among economics, gender, and sex, focusing on questions such 

as women’s inferior treatment in the economic section, sexual harassment, domestic 

violence, and inequitable responsibility for child-bearing. 

Robb is Professor of Christian Ethics at the San Francisco Theological Seminary and the 

Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. 

Ross, Susan. "Can God Be a Bride Some Problems with an Ancient Metaphor." America (1 

November 2004): 12-15. 

Ross is professor of theology at Loyola University, Chicago. 

Ryan, Maura A. "The Case for Unlimited Procreative Liberty: A Feminist Critique." In Bioethics, 

81-96. Edited by Thomas A. Shannon. 4th Edition. New York: Paulist Press, 1993. 


Sanday, Peggy Reeves. Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexuality 

Inequality. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981. 

Sanders, Cheryl J. "Womanist Ethics: Contemporary Trends and Themes." In The Annual of the 

Society of Christian Ethics. 299-306. Edited by Harlan Beckley. Boston: The Society of 

Christian Ethics, 1994. 

Scanzoni, Letha, and Hardesty, Nancy A. All We're Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today. 

Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986; 3rd, rev. ed. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992. 

Secker, Susan L. “Human Experience and Women’s Experience: Resources for Catholic Ethics.” 

In Readings in Moral Theology No. 8: Dialogue About Catholic Sexual Teaching, 577-599. 

Edited by Charles E. Curran and Richard A. McCormick, S.J. New York: Paulist Press, 1993 

Secker’s essay first appeared in The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics in 1991. 

Storkey, Elaine. "Atonement and Feminism." Anvil 11 (1994): 227-235. 

Webster, Alison. Found Wanting: Women, Christianity, and Sexuality. Herdon VA: Cassell 

Academic, 1995. 

This book is a lesbian and feminist critique of Christian teachings and sexuality. 

87

Wollstonecraft, Mary, [1759-1797]. A Vindication of the Rights of Women: With Strictures on 

Political and Moral Subjects. London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1792. 

See also A Critical Edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women: 

With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects. Edited by Ulrich H. Hard. Troy NY: 

Whetstone Pub. Co., 1982. 

******** 

GENERAL & MISCELLANEOUS SEXUAL ETHICS 

Arnold, William V. Pastoral Responses to Sexual Issues. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 

1993. 

Discusses sexual issues from physiological, psychological and theological perspectives in 

order to assist in the formulation of pastoral responses. 

Reviewed by Gareth Moore, O.P in Studies in Christian Ethics 8 (1995): 95-98. 

Aumann, Jordan, O.P., and Baars, Conrad. The Unique Heart: Reflections on Love and Sexuality. 

New York: Alba House, 1991. 

Drawing upon psychiatry, theology and philosophy, Aumann and Baars formulate an 

approach to love and sexuality that stresses the need to subject human emotions to the 

rational powers of the intellect and will. 

Aumann teaches at the Angelicum in Rome, and Baars died in 1981. 

Barnhouse, Ruth Tiffany, Holmes, Urban T. Holmes, III, eds.. Male and Female: Christian 

Approaches to Sexuality. New York : Seabury Press, 1976. 

Baum, Gregory, and Coleman, John, eds. "The Sexual Revolution." Concilium 173 (1984). 

Belliotti, Raymond A. Good Sex. Perspectives on Sexual Ethics. London: The European Group, 

1993. 

Böckle, Franz. "The Church and Sexuality." Concilium 10 (1974): 144-155. 

. "Geschlecterbeziehung und Liebesfähigkeit." In Christlicher Glaube in moderner 

Gesellschaft, 109-153. Enzyklopädische Bibliothek, 6. Herausgegeben von Franz Böckle, 

et al. Freiburg: Herder, 1981. 

88

Boyle, Patrick J., S.J. Parvitas Materiae in Sexto in Contemporary Catholic Thought. Lanham: 


Presents an historical overview of the traditional teaching, followed by a consideration of 

contemporary objections to the teaching as well as a critical evaluation of both traditional and 

contemporary teachings on the parvity of matter in sexual sins. 

Bresciani, Carlo. Personalismo e morale sessuale: Aspetti teologici e psicologici. Casale 

Monferrato: Piemme, 1983. 

Brown, Peter. The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. 

New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. 

Reviewed by Charles Kannengiesser in Religious Studies Review 19 (1993): 126-129. 

Brundage, James A. Law, Sex and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: University of 


Caffarra, Msgr. Carlo. Etica generale della sessualità. Milano: Edizioni Ares, 1992. 

Dispense del suo corso dato presso l'Istituto Giovanni Paolo II. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Between the Sexes: Foundations for a Christian Ethics of Sexuality. New York: 


Historical, Biblical and Ecumenical discussions. 




. "Catholic Sexual Ethics and the Dignity of the Person: A Double Message." Theological 

Studies 50 (1989): 120-150. 

Explores the origins and significance of personalism in Roman Catholic sexual ethics, and 

how this language is used variously by different authors and schools to promote rather 

different understandings of human sexuality. 

. "Catholic Sexual Teaching: Context, Function, and Authority." In Vatican Authority and 

American Catholic Dissent, 187-205. Edited by William May. 1987. 

89

Miscellaneous Sexual Ethics 

. "Human Sexuality." In Moral Theology: Challenges for the Future. Essays in Honor of 

Richard A. McCormick, S.J., 192-212. Edited by Charles E. Curran. New York: Paulist 

Press, 1990. 

Basically details Richard McCormick's contribution to the understanding of sexual ethics. 

. "Is Catholic Ethics Biblical The Example of Sex and Gender." Warren Lecture Series in 

Catholic Studies 20 (1992). 

Using the example of sexual ethics, Cahill gives an overview of the traditional approaches 

of Roman Catholic moral theology, contrasts these with various Protestant usages of 

Scripture in ethics, and then concludes by outlining a revised approach to sexuality and 

gender issues which would be more sensitive to the creative use of the Bible. 

Lecture presented at the University of Tulsa on 15 March 1992. 

. "Sex and Gender: Catholic Teaching and the Signs of Our Times." Milltown Studies 34 

(1994): 31-52. 

Discusses how Roman Catholic sexual ethics has, and has not, engaged the modern world 

with its teaching. Cahill delineates changes already made, and suggests further developments 

and ramifications which should flow from these changes, especially in more nuanced 

understanding of what constitutes a woman's proper gender-based roles. 

. "Sex and Gender: The Universal Catechism's Presentation." America 3 March 1989: 197- 

200;217. 

Balanced critique of the first draft of the Universal Catechism's treatment of the issues 

relating to sexual ethics. 

. Sex, Gender and Christian Ethics. New Studies in Christian Ethics. New York: Cambridge 


Brings together much of Cahill’s recent work on sexual ethics from a feminist perspective. 

The author addresses the ethics of sexuality, marriage, parenthood and family from a feminist 

standpoint. She wants to reaffirm the traditional unity of sex, love and parenthood as a 

guiding framework, not as an absolute norm. She also develops the significance of New 

Testament models of community and of moral formation, to argue that the human values 

associated with sex and family should be embodied in a context of concern for society's poor 

and marginalized. 

Reviewed by Christine Gudorf in Theological Studies 58 (1997): 385-387 

90


Reviewed by Walter J. Woods in America 177 (16-23 August 1997): 27-28. 

For a sustained assessment by a Lutheran ethician, see Ted Peters’ “Feminist and Catholic: 

The Family Ethics of Lisa Sowle Cahill.” Dialog 35 (1996): 269-277 

. "Sexual Ethics: A Feminist Biblical Perspective." Interpretation 49 (1995): 5-16. 

Calvez, Jean-Yves, S.J. "Morale sociale et moral sexuelle." Etudes 378 (1993): 641-650. 

Dans son enseignement social, l'Eglise fait appel à la responsabilité des hommes, à leur 

reflexion. Sur la sexualité, le jugement, prédéterminé, ne laisse place à aucune délibération 

propre. Les deux domaines sont-ils si différents 

Carey, John J. Sexuality Debate in North American Churches: 1988-95. Controversies, Unresolved 

Issues, Future Prospectives. Canada: E. Mellen Press, 1995. 

Chapelle, Albert, S.J. Sexualité et Sainteté. Bruxelles: Institut d'Etudes Théologiques Editions, 

1977. 

Clark, Elizabeth A. "Sex, Shame, and Rhetoric: En-gingering Early Christian Ethics." Journal of 

the American Academy of Religion 59 (1991): 221-245. 

1990 Presidential Address of the American Academy of Religion. 

Coleman, Gerald D., S.S. Human Sexuality: An All-Embracing Gift. New York: Alba House, 1992. 

Comprehensive work on sexual ethics, drawing data from the sciences, as well as Scripture 

and the Magisterium. 

Coleman is rector of St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. 

Collins, Raymond F. "The Bible and Sexuality." Part Four, chs 7-8, in Christian Morality: Biblical 

Foundations, 151-207. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986. 

Chapter 7: "Human Sexuality in the Jewish Scriptures," pp. 151-182. Chapter 8: "Human 

Sexuality in the Christian Scriptures," pp. 183-207. 

After many years teaching New Testament at Louvain, Collins is now on the faculty of the 

Catholic University of America. 

. Sexual Ethics and the New Testament. New York: Crossroad, 2000. 

91


Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. Donum vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human 

Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation). 22 February 1987. AAS 80 (1988): 70- 

102; Origins 16 (19 March 1987): 697-; 699-711. 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. Personae humanae (Declaration on Certain 

Problems of Sexual Ethics). 29 December 1975. AAS 68 (1976): 77-96; in Vatican Council 

II. More Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery, O.P., (Collegeville: The Liturgical 

Press, 1982): 486-499. 

Connors, Russell B., Jr. “Toward a Consistent Catholic Ethics: A Different Dialogue Partner for 

Sexual Morality.” Irish Theological Quarterly 61 (1995): 219-234. 

Countryman, L. William. Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their 

Implications for Today. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988. 

. "New Testament Sexual Ethics and Today's World." In Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources 

for Theological Reflection, 28-53. Edited by James B. Nelson and Sandra P. Longfellow. 

Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

Curran, Charles E. "La morale sexuelle catholic d'hier à demain." Lumière & vie 39 (décembre, 

1990): 117-131. 

. "Catholic Social and Sexual Teaching: A Methodological Comparison." Theology Today 45 

(1988). 

Also found as chapter 5 in Curran's Tensions in Moral Theology, 87-109. Notre Dame: 


Contrasts the development, or lack thereof, of Roman Catholic social and sexual teaching 

by considering each in terms of three methodological issues: a shift from classicist to 

historical consciousness; a shift from abstract consideration of human nature to a personalist 

view, with concomitant stress on freedom, equality, and participation; and a shift from a legal 

ethical model to acceptance of a relationality-responsibility model. Curran's position is 

critiqued by John S. Grabowski and Michael J. Naughton in their article "Catholic Social and 

Sexual Ethics: Inconsistent or Organic" The Thomist 57 (1993): 555-578. 

. "The Development of Sexual Ethics in Contemporary Roman Catholicism." Chapter 4 in 

Tensions in Moral Theology, 74-86. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988. 

Originally appeared in Christian Century. 

92


. "Sexual Ethics: A Critique." Chapter 2 in Idem. Issues in Sexual and Medical Ethics, 30-52. 

Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1978. 

Curran's critique of the 1975 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Personae humanae 

(Declaration on Certain Problems of Sexual Ethics). 

. Issues in Sexual and Medical Ethics. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1978. 

Curran, Charles E. and McCormick, Richard A., S.J., eds. Readings in Moral Theology No. 8: 

Dialogue About Catholic Sexual Teaching. New York: Paulist Press, 1993. 

Divided into nine parts: General Perspective, Responsible Parenthood and Creation, 

Sterilization, Artificial Insemination and In Vitro Fertilization, Homosexuality, 

Masturbation, Chastity, Sin, and Sexuality Outside Marriage, North American Scene, and 

Overall Evaluation. 

Reviewed by Julie Clague in The Tablet 248 (17 September 1994). 

Curran, Charles E. "Masturbation and Objectively Grave Matter." Chapter 8 in Id. A New Look at 

Christian Morality, 201-221. Notre Dame: Fides Publishers, 1968. 

Curran discusses and critiques the traditional theological opinion that masturbation always 

involves objectively grave matter. Curran proposes a different stance in light of fundamental 

option theory, and a close analysis of St. Thomas Aquinas' understanding of the difference 

between mortal and venial sin. Curran's book does have a Nihil obstat and an Imprimatur, 

even though Curran advances some of the theories which eventually led to his 1986 

condemnation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

Davies, Susan E., and Haney, Eleanor H., eds. Redefining Sexual Ethics: A Sourcebook of Essays, 

Stories and Poems. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1991. 

Diverse collection divided into two principal sections: analysis and construction. 

Delhaye, Ph. Aux sources de la morale coniugale. Gembloux-Paris, 1971. 

Dominian, Jack, and Montefiore, Hugh. God, Sex, and Love: An Exercise in Ecumenical Ethics. 

London: SCM Press; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989. 

Dominian, Jack. The Church and the Sexual Revolution. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 

1971. 

93


Dominian is a Catholic psychiatrist. 

. Proposals for a New Sexual Ethics. London: Darton, Longmann and Todd, 1977. 

Dunn, H. P. Ethics for Doctors, Nurses and Patients. Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1994. 

Patrick Dunn, M.D., is an obstetrician and gynecologist in Auckland, New Zealand. He 

bases his teaching on natural law and official Catholic teaching. The topics he treats include: 

some basic principles of Christian medical ethics; official ethics codes; doctor-patient 

relationships; death and euthanasia; abnormal children; reproduction; contraception; 

sterilization; abortion; homosexuality; fertility; pregnancy and delivery; and sexology. 

Dwyer, John C. Human Sexuality: A Christian View. Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1987. 

Reflections on the phenomenon of sexuality from the Christian standpoint, i.e., the view of 

God and the human condition which becomes real in the words and life of Jesus. 

Farley, Margaret A., R.S.M. Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics. New York: 

Continuum Books, 2006. 

Looks at justice as the key criterion for all loving. Farley begins with a historical and crosscultural 

overview before moving to questions of embodiment, gender, and sexuality. She 

also addresses issues of same-sex relationships, marriage, family, divorce, second marriage, 

celibacy, and the “negativities” of sex. 

Farley is a past-president of the Society of Christian Ethics, President of the Catholic 

Theological Society of America, and professor of ethics at Yale University. 

. Just Love: Sexual Ethics and Social Change. New York: Continuum, 1997. 

Looks at the issue of justice from the perspective of issues of marriage, parenting, divorce, 

homosexual relationships, and celibacy, considering these within the framework of cultural 

diversity, gender analysis, and human embodiment. 

. "Sexual Ethics." In Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological Reflection, 54-67. 

Edited by James B. Nelson and Sandra P. Longfellow. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox 

Press, 1994. 

Article, which originally appeared in Reich, Warren T., ed. Encyclopedia of Bioethics, ed. 

Warren T. Reich, (New York: Free Press, 1978, 1982) gives a good historical overview of 

the principal themes of sexual ethics. 

94


Ferasin, Egidio. "`Dottrina Costante' della Chiesa sulla Sessualità" Salesianum 54 (1992): 123- 

150. 

. "Morale sessuale: educazione dell'amore." In Problemi morali dei giovani oggi, 153-189. 

Edited by Guido Gatti and Gianfranco Coffele. Roma: LAS, 1990. 

Forde, Gerhard O. "Law and Sexual Behavior." Lutheran Quarterly 9 (Spring 1995): 3-22. 

Forliti, John E. Reverence for LIfe and Family: Catechesis in Sexuality. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown 

Co., 1981. 

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New 

York: Random House, 1978. 

Foucault holds that the very notion of "sexuality" is a historical construct, generally 

employed by the interests of the bourgeoisie. 

Fox, Thomas C. Sexuality and Catholicism. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1995. 

Reviewed by Edward Vacek, S.J. in Theological Studies 57 (1996): 387-388. 

Fucek, Ivan, S.J. E` vocazione all'amore la sessualità dell'uomo (Comandamenti VI e IX), I. 

Fondamenti antropologico-teologici. Ad uso degli studenti. Roma: PUG, 1989. 

Fucek is Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. 

. "Prospettive teologiche ed etiche in tema di corporeità umana." Medicina e Morale (1990): 

933-948. 

This article completes Fucek's earlier article, "L'unità e la dignità della persona 

nell'antropologia sessuale cristiana." 

. "L'unità e la dignità della persona nell'antropologia sessuale cristiana." Medicina e Morale 

(1989): 465-489. 

This article is concluded in Fucek's "Prospettive teologiche ed etiche in tema di corporeità 

umana." 

Genovesi, Vincent J., S.J. In Pursuit of Love: Catholic Morality and Human Sexuality. Theology 

and Life Series, 18. Michael Glazier, 1987; Revised edition: Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 

1996.. 

95


Designed as an undergraduate textbook, Genovesi treats sexual ethics in the larger context 

of an understanding of basic Roman Catholic moral theology. 

Favorably reviewed by Edward Vacek in America (5 September 1987). 

Goldhill, Simon. Foucault's Virginity: Ancient Erotic Fiction and the History of Sexuality. 

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. 

Grabowski, John S. and Naughton, Michael J. "Catholic Social and Sexual Ethics: Inconsistent or 

Organic" The Thomist 57 (1993): 555-578. 

Critiques the position of Charles Curran, developed in the latter's "Catholic Social and 

Sexual Teaching: A Methodological Comparison" Theology Today 45 (1988), and also 

challenges some aspects of the personalist paradigm. 

th 

Grabowski, John S. “Person or Nature Rival Personalisms in 20 Century Catholic Sexual Ethics.” 

Studia Moralia 35 (1997): 283-312. 

Looks at the various personalist approaches from Dietrich von Hildebrand and Herbert Doms 

through Louis Janssens, Paul Quay, and Karol Wojtyla. 

Grabowski studied systematic theology under Donald Keefe, S.J. at Marquette University 

and is associate professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of America. 

. "The Status of the Sexual Good as a Direction for Moral Theology." The Heythrop Journal 

35 (1994): 15-34. 

Greeley, Andrew. Sex: The Catholic Experience. Tabor Publishing, 1994. 

Chapters cover a variety of topics: Augustinian legacy, birth control, sexual abuse, love and 

marriage, relationships, marital infidelity, relationship between sex and religion, and love 

after sixty. 

Greeley is a priest-sociologist. 

. Sexual Intimacy. Chicago: Thomas More Press, 1973. 

Green, Ronald M., ed. Religion and Sexual Health: Ethical, Theological and Clinical Perspectives. 

Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992. 

This collection focuses primarily upon Western Christianity and is divided into three 

sections. In the first section, there are essays on Christianity and sexuality, with attention to 

96


the theological traditions of the West, particularly Roman Catholicism, as well as the 

practices of ordinary Christians. In addition, there are essays on homosexuality and the 

patriarchal family. The last two sections of the book are more oriented towards either the 

experience of some contemporary Christians or the response of clinicians to those 

experience. Not surprisingly, the focus of attention is upon the way(s) in which the religious 

background of the clients interfere with their healthy sexual functioning. 

Grenz, Stanley. Sexual Ethics: A Biblical Perspective. Dallas: Word Pub., 1990. 

Griffith, Edward F. A Sex Guide to Happy Marriage. Rev. ed. New York: Emerson Books, 1935, 

1952. 

Discusses a wide range of issues involved in marriage, including contraception, sterility, 

abortion, the number and spacing of children, sex education, etc. The work went through 

numerous editions and several revisions. 

Griffith was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians. 

Guindon, André, O.M.I. "L'éthique sexuelle qu'en Eglise je professe. A propose de The Sexual 

Creators." Eglise et théologie 24 (1993): 5-23. 

. The Sexual Creators: An Ethical Proposal for Concerned Christians. Lanham: University 


Book criticized by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on grounds of its 

theological method, the understanding of human sexuality and related issues, its 

anthropology, and discussion of specific issues such as homosexuality, pre-marital sex, and 

marriage by phases. For the text of the CDF critique see Origins 21 (13 February 1992): 573; 

575-580. For a text of Guindon's response to the CDF critique see Origins 22 (25 February 

1993): 630-636. 

. "Sexual acts or sexual lifestyles: a methodological problem in sexual ethics." Eglise et 

Théologie l8 (1987): 315-340. 

. The Sexual Language: An Essay in Moral Theology. Ottawa: The University of Ottawa Press, 

1977. 

Hamel, Edouard, S.J. "La sexualité illuminée par la Révélation." Studia Missionalia 37 (1978): 

307-325. 

97


Hanigan, James P. "Veritatis Splendor and Sexual Ethics." In Veritatis Splendor: American 

Responses, ed. Michael E. Allsopp and John J. O'Keefe, 208-24. Kansas City, M.O.: Sheed 

& Ward, 1995. 

Hanigan, a former Jesuit, is married and teaches moral theology at Duquesne University. 

. What Are They Saying About Sexual Morality. New York: Paulist Press, 1982. 

This book is a good survey of the general themes and conflict areas in Roman Catholic 

sexual ethics today. Special attention is given to the work of Philip Keane, André Guindon, 

the CTSA Study on Human Sexuality (Kosnik, et. al.), as well as Humanae Vitae and the 

1975 CDF Declaration on Sexual Ethics. 

Hill, John. "Persona Humana--On Sexual Ethics: An Interpretation." The Thomist 41 (1977): 540- 

566. 

Hoose, Bernard. "Concerning Sex." Chapter 2 in Id. Received Wisdom: Reviewing the Role of 

Tradition in Christian Ethics. 43-78. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1994. 

Hoose, an Australian, lectures in moral theology at Heythrop College. 

. "Theological Trends. Sexual Ethics: Some Recent Developments." The Way 33 (1993): 54- 

61. 

Brief overview of some theological shifts in approach and understanding of sexual ethics. 

Ide, A.F.; Rogers, J.R.; and Zemel, J.S. Resurrection, Sex and God: Essays on the Foundations of 

Faith. Dallas: Minuteman, 1990. 

Janssens, Louis. "Artificial Insemination: Ethical Considerations." Louvain Studies 5 (1980): 3- 

29. 




worship God. Janssens' personalist moral system is critiqued by Brian Johnstone, C.Ss.R. 

in the latter's "From Physicalism to Personalism," Studia Moralia 30 (1992): 71-96. 

Jung, Patricia Beattie, with Joseph Andrew Coray, eds. Sexual Diversity and Catholicism: Toward 

the Development of Moral Theology. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001. 

98


Jung, Patricia Beattie, with Joseph Andrew Coray, eds. Sexual Diversity and Catholicism: Toward 

the Development of Moral Theology. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001. 

The fifteen essays are divided into an Introduction (by Patricia Beattie Jung) followed by 

sections on Interpreting Church Teachings (with the lead essay by Bishop Thomas 

Gumbleton, the only non-lay contributor), Interpreting the Bible (looking at hermeneutical 

issues, sexual violence, and same-sex issues in the Old and New Testaments presented by 

biblical scholars), Interpreting Secular Disciplines (with contributions by psychologists and 

philosophers), and a final section on Interpreting Human Experience with essays by two lay 

Catholic women ethicians, Cristina Traina and Mary Hunt. The book also contains a helpful 

index and list of ecclesial documents cited in the various essays. While not every area is 

given the same focus or breadth of treatment, by and large the essays are quite well-written 

and a good attempt has been made to incorporate a balanced variety of issues, viewpoints, 

and approaches, including special attention to the insights that the various disciplines of 

theology, Scripture, ethics, and the social sciences might bring to a better understanding of 

sexuality-in all of its rich diversity and moral complexity. 

Reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in Landas (forthcoming). 

Kane, Paula; Kenneally, James; and Kennelly Karen, eds. Gender Identities in American 

Catholicism. American Catholic Identities Series. New York: Orbis Books, 2001. 

Anthology of historical documents that illustrate how gender is a prime determiner of social 

position in both American society and the Church. 

Keane, Philip, S.S. Sexual Morality: A Catholic Perspective. New York: Paulist Press, 1977. 

Written as a textbook for a seminary-type course in Catholic sexual ethics. 

Kelly, Msgr. George A., ed. Human Sexuality in Our Times. Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 1979. 

Includes Msgr. William B. Smith's article, "Morality and Sexuality: What the Church 

Teaches." 

Kelly, Kevin. New Directions in Sexual Ethics: Moral Theology and the Challenge to AIDS. 

London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1998. 

Despite its title, this book is not primarily about AIDS, but serves as an excellent treatment 

of Roman Catholic sexual ethics as a whole, and stresses trying to develop a positive 

theology both of sexuality and applications to issues of sexual ethics. 

99


Kinsey, Alfred C., Pomeroy, Wardell, and Martin, Clyde. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. 

Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1948. 

The so-called “Kinsey Report” on male sexual practices in the United States, which 

revolutionized conceptions of popular moral practices by indicating that the interviews 

conducted for the study held that 90% of those interviewed had masturbated, 85% had 

engaged in pre-marital intercourse, between 30-45% had had extramarital sex, 70% had 

visited prostitutes, and that 37% had experienced orgasm in at least one homosexual act. 

Koester, Craig R. "The Bible and Sexual Boundaries." Lutheran Quarterly 7 (1993): 375-390. 

Kosnik, Anthony, et. al. Human Sexuality: New Directions in American Catholic Thought. A Study 

Commissioned by The Catholic Theological Society of America. Garden City: Doubleday, 

1979. 

Controversial study which presents a spectrum of possible views held by various Roman 

Catholic moral theologians on a wide variety of issues in sexual ethics. 

See James Gaffney's review article of the various reviews given this work: "Human 

Sexuality: A Review of Reviews." Horizons 5 (1978): 81-85. 

Kroker, Arthur and Kroker, Marilouise, eds. Body Invaders: Panic Sex in America. New York: St. 

Martin's Press, 1988. 

Lawler, Ronald David, Joseph M. Boyle, Jr., and William E. May. Catholic Sexual Ethics: A 

Summary, Explanation, & Defense. Rev. ed. Huntington IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1985, 

1996. 

A rather more conservative group of authors. 

Lebacqz, Karen, and Barton, Ronald G. Sex in the Parish. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox 

Press, 1991 

Seeks to indicate limits on appropriate and inappropriate sexual expression between clergy 

and parishioners. 

Locht, Pierre de. Morale sexuelle et magistère. Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1992. 

López Azpitarte, Eduardo, S.J. "La dimension social de la sexualidad." Estudios Eclesiásticos 56 

(1981): 1237-1252. 

López teaches in the Facultad de Teología Gartuja de Granada. 

100


. "Fundamentos de la ética sexual." Estudios Eclesiasticos 50 (1975): 95-127. 

Loughlin, Gerard. Alien Sex: The Body and Desire in Cinema and Theology. Oxford: Blackwell, 

1999. 

Marietta, Don E., Jr. Philosophy of Sexuality. Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. 

Mattioli, Anselmo. Le realtà sessuali nella Bibbia. Storia e dottrina. Casale Monferrato: Ed. 

Piemme, 1987. 

McClelland, William Robert. Worldly Spirituality: Biblical Reflections on Money, Politics, and Sex. 

St. Louis: CBP Press, 1990. 

McGinn, Bernard. "Mysticism and Sexuality." The Way Supplement 

77 (1993): 46-54. 

McMahon, Kevin. Sexuality: Theological Voices. Braintree MA: The Pope John Center, 1987. 

Discusses approaches of Germain Grisez, Robert and Mary Rosera Joyce, William E. May, 

Richard McCormick, Charles Curran, and John Giles Milhaven. 

McMahon teaches at Mt. St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, MD. 

McManus, James, C.Ss.R. "Moral Theology Forum: The `Declaration on Certain Questions 

concerning Sexual Ethics', a Discussion [with Sean O'Riordan, C.Ss.R. and Henry Stratton]." 

The Clergy Review 61 (1976): 231-237. 

A helpful commentary on some of the problems associated with the drafting of Personae 

humanae (Declaration on Certain Problems of Sexual Ethics). 

Meehan, Francis X. "Contemporary Theological Developments on Sexuality." In Human Sexuality 

and Personhood: Proceedings of the Workshop for the Hierarchies of the United States and 

Canada Sponsored by the Pope John Center through a Grant from the Knights of Columbus, 

173-190. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Pope John Center, 1981, 1990. 

Miller, Monica Migliorino. Sexuality and Authority in the Catholic Church. Scranton: University 

of Scranton Press, 1995. 

A rather neo-conservative anti-feminist treatment. 

Negatively reviewed by Susan Ross in Theological Studies 57 (1996): 368-369. 

101


Monti, Joseph. Arguing About Sex: The Rhetoric of Christian Sexual Morality. Albany: State 

University of New York Press, 1995. 

This book is about sexual morality, the Christian Church, and moral argument in late 

modernity. The book offers a critical evaluation of the intellectual and cultural contexts in 

which the practical moral discourse of institutions takes place, and then seeks to build a 

constructive ethical argument about sexual morality in a Christian context. 

Reviewed by Patricia Beattie Jung in Theological Studies 57 (1996): 375-376. 

Mounier, Frédéric. L'amour, le sexe et les catholiques. Paris: Centurion, 1994. 

Mulholland, Maureen. "Sexuality and the Mentally Handicapped. The Law's Response." Studies 

in Christian Ethics 4 (2/1991): 53-63. 


See article by Egbert Schroten in the same issue. 

Muto, Susan. "Sexuality and Spirituality in the Single Life." Chicago Studies 32 (1993): 193-202. 


Neal, Marie Augusta. "A Sociological Perspective on the Moral Issues of Sexuality Today." 

Concilium 10 (1974): 156-165. 

Nelson, James B. “Love, Power, and Justice in Sexual Ethics.” In Christian Ethics: Problems and 

Prospects, 284-298. Edited by Lisa Sowle Cahill and James F. Childress. Cleveland: 


Article done for the Festschrift for James M. Gustafson made up of contributions from his 

former students. 

Nelson, James B., and Longfellow, Sandra P., eds. Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for 

Theological Reflection. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

Seeks to give a comprehensive and integrated treatment of sexuality in relationship to both 

ethics and spirituality. 34 essays, all previously published elsewhere, are divided into five 

sections: 1) Methods and Sources; 2) Sexuality and Spirituality; 3) Gender and Orientation; 

4) Ethical Issues in Sexuality; and 5) Sexual Orientation: A Test Case for the Church. 

O'Connell, Timothy E. "Transmitting Moral Values." Chicago Studies 30 (1991): 235-250. 

102


Using the example of the issue of sexual education, O'Connell raises the issue of how moral 

values are transmitted in religious education. Brief references are made to the work of 

several contemporary American moral theologians. 

O'Connell is Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University, Chicago. 

Oliver, Mary Anne McPherson. Conjugal Spirituality: The Primacy of Mutual Love in Christian 

Tradition. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1995. 

Oraison, Marc. Le mystère humain de la sexualité. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1966. 

In English: The Human Mystery of Sexuality. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1967. 

"Orientamenti educativi sull'amore umano." Seminarium 24 (1-2, 1984). 

Parrinder, Geoffery. Sexual Morality in the World's Religions. Novato CA: Oneworld Publications, 

1997. 

Payer, Pierre J. Sex and the Penitentials: The Development of A Sexual Code 550-1150. Toronto: 

University of Toronto Press, 1984. 

Payer is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Vincent University. 





Piana, Giannino. "Orientamenti di etica sessuale." In Corso di Morale: Volume 2, Diakonia), 269- 

366. A cura di Tullo Goffi Giannino Piana. Brescia: Queriniana, 1983. 

Pohier, Jacques-Marie. "Pleasure and Christianity." Concilium 10 (1974): 166-173. 

Pope John Center. Human Sexuality and Personhood. Rev. ed. Braintree MA: Pope John Center, 

1981, 1990. 

Proceedings of the Workshop for the Hierarchies of the United States and Canada Sponsored 

by the Pope John Center held in Dallas, Texas from 2-6 February 1981. 

Post, Stephen G. "Love, Religion, and Sexual Revolution." The Journal of Religion 72 (1992): 403- 

416. 

103


Uses Max Scheler's four modalities of value in this analysis, in which Post maintains "that 

the modern cultural assumption that happiness is achieved as a matter of course through 

liberation from sexual control has proved unfounded" (p. 403). 

Post teaches at Case Western Reserve Medical School. 

Quay, Paul M., S.J. The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 

1985. 

Ramsey, Paul. One Flesh: A Christian View of Sex within, outside, and before Marriage. 

Nottingham: Grove, 1975. 

Rashkow, Ilona N. Taboo Or Not Taboo: Sexuality and Family in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: 

Fortress Press, 2000. 

Reviewed by Ronald A. Simkins in Theological Studies 62 (September 2001): 649-650. 

Rediger, G. Lloyd. Ministry and Sexuality: Cases, Counseling, and Care. Minneapolis: Augsburg 

Fortress, 1995. 

Reidy, Maurice. Freedom to Be Friends: Morals and Sexual Affection. London: Collins, 1990. 

Catholic teaching on friendship and sexuality. 

Rhymes, Douglas. No New Morality: Christian Personal Values and Sexual Morality. London: 

Constable, 1964. 

Contains chapters on marriage, moral education of youth, corporeal ethics, and a short 

reflection on homosexuality. 

Rhymes was Canon Librarian of Southwark Cathedral. 

Riley, Patrick. Civilizing Sex: On Chastity and the Common Good. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2000. 

Looks at the role of sex as a civilizing force in Western culture in the Judeo-Christian 

tradition from ancient to modern times. 

Riley is a former lecturer at the Catholic University of America. 

Rogers, Eugene F., Jr. Sexuality and the Christian Body: Their Way into the Triune God. Oxford: 

Blackwell, 1999. 

104


, ed. Theology and Sexuality. Boston and Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. 

Rotter, Hans. "Zum Grundlegung einer christlichen Sexualethik." Stimmen der Zeit 193 (1984): 

115-126. 

Sanford, Keith. "Toward a Masturbation Ethic." Journal of Psychology and Theology 22 (1994): 

21-28. 

Schroten, Egbert. "Sexuality and the Mentally Handicapped. The Perspective of Moral Theology." 

Studies in Christian Ethics 4 (2/1991): 64-67. 


See article by Maureen Mulholland in the same issue. 

Smedes, Lewis B. Sex for Christians: the Limits and liberties of Sexual living. Grand Rapids: 

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992. 

Smith, Msgr. William B. "Morality and Sexuality: What the Church Teaches." In Human Sexuality 

in Our Times, 148-171. Edited by Msgr. George A. Kelly. Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 

1979. 

Msgr. William B. Smith is an Opus Dei theologian who teaches moral theology at 

Dunwoodie, NY, and currently writes the Question/Answer column on moral matters for 

Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 

Spong, John Shelby. Living in Sin A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality. San Francisco: Harper 

& Row, 1988. 

Spong is an Anglican bishop. 

Stafford, Tim. Sexual Chaos: Charting a Christian Course through Turbulent Times. Rev. ed. 

Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 

Original title: The Sexual Christian. 

Stewart, Robert M., ed. Philosophical Perspectives on Sex and Love. New York, Oxford: Oxford 


Suenens, Cardinal Leon Joseph. Christian Love and Human Sexuality. London: Catholic Truth 

Society, 1976. 

105


Tambling, Jeremy. Confession: Sexuality, Sin, The Subject. Manchester and New York: 

Manchester University Press/St. Martin's Press, 1990. 

Reviewed by Jamie S. Scott in Religious Studies Review 18 (1992): 315. 

Thatcher, Adrian. "Religious Education and Sex Education." Theology & Sexuality 1 (1994): 73- 

88. 

Thomas, David M., ed. Christian Reflections on Human Sexuality. St. Meinrad IN: Abbey Press, 

1978. 

Timmerman, Joan H. The Mardi Gras Syndrome: Rethinking Christian Sexuality. New York: 


Turner, Philip. "Undertakings and Promises or Promises and Undertakings The Anatomy of an 

Argument about Sexual Ethics." Studies in Christian Ethics 4 (2/1991): 1-13. 


See response by Christopher D. Wiltser in the same issue, pp. 14-15. 

Turner, Philip, ed. Men and Women: Sexual Ethics in Turbulent Times. Cambridge MA: Cowley, 

1989. 

United States Catholic Conference. Human Sexuality: A Catholic Perspective for Education and 

Lifelong Learning. Washington, D.C., USCC, 1991. 

Vardy, Peter. The Puzzle of Sex. Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997. 

Designed as an undergraduate text-book on the intersection of sex, sexual ethics, and religion 

in the Judeo-Christian tradition. 

Vaux, Kenneth. Birth Ethics: Religious and Cultural Values in the Genesis of Life. Crossroad: 

1989. 

Reviewed by Lisa Sowle Cahill in America 3 February 1990. 

Vidal, Marciano. Moral del amor y de la sexualidad. Lux mundi, 24. Madrid: Sigueme, 1971. 

Traduzione italiana: Morale dell'amore e della sessualità. Orizzonti nuovi. 2 ed. Assisi: 

Cittadella, 1976. 

106

Whitehead, Evelyn and James. Sense of Sexuality: Christian Love and Intimacy. Garden City: 

Doubleday, 1989: New York: Crossroad Pub. Co., 1995. 

Authored by a well-known Catholic husband and wife team who present psychological 

workshops on marriage and relationships. 

HOMOSEXUALITY: 

Articles or Chapters on Homosexuality 

******** 

AA.VV. “Dossier: The Homosexual Challenge.” Catholic World Report 7 (July 1997): 44-55. 

Series of articles by strongly conservative authors seeking to highlight the danger of 

acceptance of homosexuality in society today. 

Adam, A.K.M. “Disciples Together, Constantly.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 

123-132. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Discusses Christian sexual ethics as being based on a theological understanding of the 

relationships between God and Jesus, Israel, and the Church. One of a series of essays in 

Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. The other two sections are Part I, “What Do the 

Scriptures Say” and Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. 

All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Adam is Asst. Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and an 

ordained Episcopal priest. 

Balboa, Jaime Ronaldo. “Church Dogmatics, Natural Theology, and the Slippery Slope of 

Geschlect: A Constructivist-Gay Liberationist Reading of Barth.” AAR: Journal of the 

American Academy of Religion 66 (Winter 1998): 771-790. 

Bartlett, David L. "A Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality." In Homosexuality and the Christian 

Faith, 23-40. Edited by H.L. Twiss. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1978. 

Bartow, Charles L. “Speaking the Text and Preaching the Gospel.” In Homosexuality and Christian 

Community, 86-98. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox 

Press, 1996. 

Looks at how the Bible might be read in a congregation and uses Romans 1:18-32 as an 

illustrative case. One of a series of essays in Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our 

Theological Reflection”. The other two sections are Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say” 

107

and Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. All the contributors are members of the 

Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Bartow is the Carl and Helen Egner Professor of Speech Communication in Ministry at 

Princeton Theological Seminary and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Black, Peter C.Ss.R. “Revisions of Homosexuality: The Catechism and ‘Always Our Children’.” 

Louvain Studies 25 (Spring 2000): 72-81. 

Looks at the revisions to the original texts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the 

U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter Always Our Children. It has a good analysis of the textual 

changes and lifts up some of the implied difficulties in the revised texts. 

Blount, Brian K. “Reading and Understanding the New Testament on Homosexuality.” In 

Homosexuality and Christian Community, 28-38. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: 

Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Examines the Pauline references to homoerotic activity, and argues that these 

pronouncements are socially and historically conditioned, and therefore should be 

distinguished from Paul’s faith pronouncements. One of a series of essays in Part I, “What 

Do the Scriptures Say”. The other two sections are Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform 

Our Theological Reflection” and Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. All the 

contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Blount is Asst. Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and an 

ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Bonsor, Jack A. “Homosexual Orientation and Anthropology: Reflections on the Category 

‘Objective Disorder’.” Theological Studies 59 (1998): 60-83. 

. “An Objective Disorder: Homosexual Orientation and God’s Eternal Law.” Horizons 24 

(Fall 1997): 193-214. 

Looks at Aquinas’ claim to know God’s eternal law based on the argument that when we 

know the work of art (i.e., the human) we can ascertain the intent of the artist (i.e., God’s 

eternal law). Using Heidegger’s hermeneutical account of the work of art suggests that 

Aquinas has the simile wrong. If this is the case, then perhaps there are grounds to rethink 

the traditional Catholic position on homosexuality. 

Boughton, Lynne C. "Biblical Texts and Homosexuality: A Response to John Boswell." Irish 

Theological Quarterly 58 (1992): 141-153. 

108

See reply to this article by Leland J. White, "Biblical Texts and Contemporary Gay People: 

A Response to Boswell and Boughton." Irish Theological Quarterly 59 (1993): 286-301. 

Browning, Peter. "Homosexuality, Ordination, and Polity," Quarterly Review 14, no. 2 (Summer 

1994): 161-179. 

Brubaker, Pamela K. “A Terror of Touch: Homosexuality Debates in the Churches.” Theology and 

Sexuality 6 (March 1997): 56-70. 

Carlin, David. "Abortion, Gay Rights and The Social Contract." America 168 (13 February 1993): 

6-10. 

Carlin was Rhode Island state senator for twelve years, and currently is associate professor 

of sociology at the Community College of Rhode Island. 

. "The Gay Movement and Aggressive Secularism." America 173 (23 September 1995): 12-16. 

Carlin argues that Catholics should oppose the so-called agenda of the Gay Rights 

movement. See the response by David S. Toolan, S.J., "In Defense of Gay Politics: 

Confessions of a Pastoralist," which follows in the same issue on pages 18-21. 

Coleman, Gerald D., S.S. "Homosexuals and Spirituality." Chicago Studies 32 (1993): 222-233. 



. "The Vatican Statement on Homosexuality." Theological Studies 48 (1987): 727-734. 

Is a response to the Theological Studies' June 87 article by Bruce Williams, critiquing the 

Vatican Document on the use and interpretation of certain Biblical passages condemning 

homosexual behavior. Raises the question of what constitutional homosexuality means in 

reference to the morality of homosexual behavior for such a person himself, as opposed to 

drawing general norms for the heterosexual population. Criticizes the Vatican document for 

seeming to imply that homosexual orientation is a matter of more-or-less free choice on the 

part of homosexuals. 

Comstock, Gary David. "One of the Family Gay Scholars and the Politics of the Academy." 

Theology & Sexuality 1 (1994): 89-95. 

109

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [CDF]. “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give 

Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons.” Origins 33 (14 August 2003): 

177;179-182. 

See in the same issues supporting statements by Bishop Wilton Gregory and Cardinal George 

(pp. 182-185), as well as a critique of the CDF document by Stephen Pope, “The Vatican’s 

Blunt Instrument,” The Tablet (9 August 2003): 4-5. 

. Homoexualitatis problema. Letter to Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. 

1 October 1986. AAS 79 (1987): 543-554; Origins 16 (13 November 1986): 377; 379-382. 

http://212.77.1.245/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_198 

61001_homosexual-persons_en.html 

. "Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Nondiscrimination 

of Homosexual Persons." 23 July 1992. 

Revised text issued after the initial CDF letter to the US Bishops was leaked to the press. 

The revised text can be found in Catholic International 3 (1992): 857-860. 

Consiglio, William E. "Doing Therapy in an Alien Culture with Christians Overcoming 

Homosexuality." The Journal of Pastoral Counseling 28 (1993): 66-75. 

Cotter, Jim. "Same-Sex Relationships." Studies in Christian Ethics 4 (2/1991): 29-37. 


See response by David Atkinson in the same issue, pp. 38-41. 

Crowley, Paul G., S.J. “Homosexuality and the Counsel of the Cross.” Theological Studies 65 

(September 2004): 500-529. 

Questions the current magisterial teaching which counsels gay Catholics to join their 

sufferings to the Cross of Christ, especially in its assumptions about homosexuality, suffering 

as a dimension of sexuality, and the meaning of the Cross, inasmuch as the implication may 

be that a “crucifixion” of the homosexual inclination would be required. 

Curran, Charles E. "Homosexuality and Moral Theology: Methodological and Substantive 

Considerations." The Thomist 35 (1971): 447-481. 

Cuyás, Manuel, S.J. "Omosessuali: comprensione e verità." Rassegna di Teologia 31 (1990): 502- 

509. 

110

While not overtly homophobic, Cuyás still sees homosexuality as a "handicap" and his 

reflections are basically a re-statement of the Vatican position, though not vitriolic. 

Cuyás is a Spaniard who lectures regularly in medical ethics at the Pontifical Gregorian 

University in Rome. 

da Passano, Paolo Ferrari. "Omosessualità e Diritto." La Civiltà Cattolica 145 (2 aprile 1994): 17-26. 

Davies, Margaret. "New Testament Ethics and Ours: Homosexuality and Sexuality in Romans 1:26- 

27." Biblical Interpretation 3 (1995): 315-31. 

The article contains one major argument and one minor argument. The major argument is 

that Paul's strictures against homosexual practice were taken over from Leviticus and 

expressed concern of Hellenistic Judaism. The Pauline subversion of the web of relations 

which make sense of the exclusion of homosexual practice within the Jewish tradition, 

however, leaves the Pauline strictures without warrant. The minor argument is that we in the 

twentieth century should subvert the Pauline assumption of difference between males and 

females, again adopted from the Jewish tradition, and that we should recognize a continuum 

and variety. Such a subversion would allow us to see ourselves primarily as people rather 

than primarily as either men or women. 

DeVito, Robert. “Questions about the Construction of (Homo)sexuality: Same-Sex Relations in the 

Hebrew Bible.” In Sexual Diversity and Catholicism: Toward the Development of Moral 

Theology, 108-122. Edited Patricia Beattie Jung with Joseph Andrew Coray. Collegeville: 

Liturgical Press, 2001. 

Doyle, Áilín. “Moral Dilemmas Forum: The Bible and Homosexuality.” Doctrine and Life 47 

(1997): 233-239. 

Brief overview of how biblical texts can and should be read and interpreted, the meaning of 

biblical “revelation,” along with a short consideration of some of the biblical texts which 

deal with homosexual activity. The article is followed by a “Our Readers Write” forum, pp. 

239-242, which contains some reflections on pastoral counseling of those with homosexual 

orientation who find themselves in a conflict with accepting this orientation and still trying 

to remain true to a biblically nourished faith. The dilemma is sharpened by a consideration 

of the Sodom and Gomorrah story. This article might be helpful as a handout to a parish 

study group as an introduction to some of the issues involved in using the Bible in dealing 

with contemporary issues like homosexuality. 

Duff, Nancy J. “How to Discuss Moral Issues Surrounding Homosexuality When You Know Your 

Are Right.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 144-159. Edited by Choon-Leong 

Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

111

Using the 1993 “Princeton Declaration” on the non-ordination of practicing homosexuals as 

her illustrative text, Duff argues that one must consider contrary arguments to one’s moral 

position, even when one is absolutely convinced of the correctness of one’s moral position. 

One of a series of essays in Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. The other two sections 

are Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our 

Theological Reflection”. All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological 

Faculty. 

Duff is Associate Profess or New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and an 

ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Eibach, Ulrich. "Homosexualität und Kirche." Theologische Beiträge 25 (1994): 192-211. 

Empereur, James L., S.J. Spiritual Direction and the Gay Person. New York: Cassell & 

Continuum, 1998. 

Farley, Margaret, R.S.M. "An Ethic for Same-Sex Relations." In Challenge to Love: Gay and 

Lesbian Catholics in the Church, 95-102. Edited by Robert Nugent. New York: Crossroad, 

1989. 

Flannery, Kevin L., S.J. “Homosexuality and Types of Dualism: A Platonico-Aristotelian 

Approach.” Gregorianum 81 (2/2000): 353-372. 

Flannery explicitly accepts the immorality of homosexuality and agrees with the conclusions 

condemning homosexuality advanced by Grisez and Finnis. In this article he seeks to close 

a potential argument against this position by accepting the possibility of acknowledging that 

pleasure can be a quasi-end of sexual activity, but that for homosexual this “please becomes 

‘disengaged’ from the activity in which he is engaged and he begins to seek it for its own 

sake.” (P. 371). Following Aristotle, Flannery argues that “for such people, the pleasure does 

not inhere in their lives. They may indeed find pleasure in their “sex lives” (a modern 

coinage which says much about our age); but for sexual pleasure to ‘inhere in their lives” 

their sexual behavior would have to be integrated into lives that include a unique spouse, 

possibly children, and ‘the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife’ [Familiaris 

Consortio, #32] of which, for example, John Paul II speaks.” p. 371. 

Flannery is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical Gregorian University. 

Forde, Gerhard O. "The Normative Character of Scripture for Matters of Faith and Life: Human 

Sexuality in Light of Romans 1:16-32." Word & World 14 (Summer 1994): 305-14. 

Strong Lutheran theological consideration of the normativity of faith in Christ alone, and the 

relation of the Christian believer's stance toward the Gospel and the Law. No clear 

conclusions about contemporary homosexual issues are given, however. This article is part 

112

of several papers on related themes of human sexuality, originally presented at a Luther 

Seminary (St. Paul) forum in February, 1994. 

Fulkerson, Mary McClintock. "Gender - Being It or Doing It: The Church, Homosexuality, and the 

Politics of Identity." Union Seminary Quarterly Review 47 (1993): 29-46. 

Fuller, Jon, S.J., M.D. “On ‘Straightening Out’ Catholic Seminaries.” America 187 (16 December 

2002): 7-9. 

Argues that the movement to exclude gay men from seminaries will have the effect of 

creating an unhealthy psychological environment. 

Furnish, Victor Paul. "The Bible and Homosexuality: Reading the Texts in Context." In 

Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate, 18-35. Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker. 

Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

. "Homosexuality." Chapter 3 in idem. The Moral Teaching of Paul: Selected Issues, 52-82. 

2nd ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1985. 

Gagnon, Robert A.J. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Nashville: 

Abingdon Press, 2001. 

Gaiser, Frederick J. "A New Word on Homosexuality Isaiah 56:1-8 as Case Study." Word & World 

14 (Summer 1994): 280-93. 

Using the acceptance of eunuchs in Third Isaiah as evidence of a "new word" in the biblical 

canon on how believers might deal creatively with a group formerly held as 

"excommunicant," Gaiser argues for the possibility of developing an analogous theology of 

acceptance of practicing homosexuals into the Christian community. This article is part of 

several papers on related themes of human sexuality, originally presented at a Luther 

Seminary (St. Paul) forum in February, 1994. 

Gallagher, Raphael, C.Ss.R. "Homosexuality, Discrimination and a Vatican Document." Doctrine 

and Life 42 (1992): 435-440. 

Discusses and critiques the 1992 CDF document on allowing discrimination against 

homosexuals. 

Gill, Sean. "Odd but not Queer: English Liberal Protestant Theologies of Human Sexuality and the 

Gay Paradigm," Theology and Sexuality 3, (September 1995): 48-57. 

Gillespie, Thomas W. “The Pastoral Dilemma.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 113- 

122. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

113

Considers the dilemma between dealing with homosexual persons and maintaining fidelity 

the gospel which the pastor faces in dealing with homosexuality. One of a series of essays 

in Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. The other two sections are Part I, “What Do the 

Scriptures Say” and Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. 

All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Gillespie is President and Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary 

and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Glenn, William D. “As God Intended,” America 184 (21 May 2001): 26-29. 

Glenn, a psychotherapist and former Jesuit scholastic for ten years, looks back on his 

experience of being gay in a Jesuit high school (though he was not yet “out” to himself or 

anyone else at this time). This was a talk originally given to the student body of Glenn’s 

alma mater, Creighton Preparatory High School, in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Goode, Deirdre. “The New Testament and Homosexuality: Are We Getting Anywhere” Religious 

Studies Review 26 (October 2000): 307-312. 

Discusses Brawley’s Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality; Seow’s Homosexuality and 

Christian Community; Brooten’s Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to 

Female Homoeroticism; Nissinen’s Homoeroticism in the Biblical World and Frontain’s 

Reclaiming the Sacred: The Bible in Gay and Lesbian Culture. 

Graham, Larry Kent. Discovering Images of God: Narratives of Care among Lesbians and Gays. 

Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. 

Gramick, Jeannine. “Sister Gramick and Father Nugent Called to Rome.” Origins 30 (8 June 

2000): 62-64. 

Related statements of both Nugent, Gramick and their respective religious superiors 

regarding the further restrictions on their ability to speak regarding their earlier removal from 

ministry to homosexuals by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 14 July 1999. 

The further action prohibits them from speaking or writing in the public forum about the July 

14, 1999 notification itself, the ecclesiastical processes that led up to it, or about the issue of 

homosexuality. 

Guindon, André, O.M.I. "Homosexualités et méthodologie éthique. Review article of 

Homosexualités masculines et morale chrétienne by Xavier Thévenot." Eglise et Théologie 

17 (1986): 57-84. 

114

Haacker, Klaus. "Exegetische Gesichtspunkte zum Thema Homosexualität." Theologische Beiträge 

25 (1994): 173-180. 

Halsey, Betsy L. "What Does the Lord Require of Us: Ministries to and With Gays and Lesbians," 

Quarterly Review 14, no. 2 (Summer 1994): 181-195. 

Hartman, Keith. Congregations in Conflict: The Battle over Homosexuality. New Brunswick NJ: 

Rutgers University Press, 1996. 

Hartwig, Michael J. "Galileo, Gene Researchers and the Ethics of Homosexuality." Theology & 

Sexuality 1 (1994): 106-111. 

Harvey, John, O.S.F.S. "The Counselling of Those with Homosexual Inclination." Catholic 

Medical Quarterly 45 (February 1994): 23-28. 



. "Sexual Abstinence for the Homosexual Person." The Journal of Pastoral Counseling 28 

(1993): 40-43. 

. "Updating Issues Concerning Homosexuality." The Journal of Pastoral Counseling 28 

(1993): 1-39. 

Hays, Richard B. "Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies: The Witness of Scripture Concerning 

Homosexuality." In Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate, 3-17. Edited 

by Jeffrey S. Siker. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

. "Relations Natural and Unnatural: A Response to John Boswell's Exegesis of Romans 1." 

Journal of Religious Ethics 14 (1986): 184-215. 

Hempelmann, Heinz Peter. "Kirche und Homosexualität." Theologische Beiträge 25 (1994): 181- 

191. 

Herring, Basil F. "Homosexuality." Chapter 7 in Jewish Ethics and Halakhah for Our Time: 

Sources and Commentary, Vol. I, 175-196. The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics, 11. New 

York: KTAV, 1984. 

Hughes, Sheila Hassell. "Homosexuality and Group Boundaries in Contemporary Evangelical 

Feminism: A Historical Perspective," Quarterly Review 14, no. 2 (Summer 1994): 135-159. 

115

Hume, Basil Cardinal. "Note on Church Teaching Concerning Homosexual People." Origins 24 (27 

April 1995): 765; 767-769. 

Originally presented on 6 March 1995 and in this address he stresses that homophobia has 

no place among Catholics, and that the Church's teaching on homosexuality should never be 

used to "justify" homophobic attitudes. The article also discusses the 1986 CDF Letter on 

the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. 

Hume is Primate of England. 

Hultgren, Arland J. "Being Faithful to the Scriptures: Romans 1:26-27 as a Case in Point." Word & 

World 14 (Summer 1994): 315-25. 

Outlines in the Lutheran tradition a careful exegesis and hermeneutics of Paul's references 

to "homosexual" behaviors in Romans 1. Cautions against a simplistic reading of the biblical 

text, and considers the broader challenges which confront the development of any credible 

Christian contemporary sexual ethics. This article is part of several papers on related themes 

of human sexuality, originally presented at a Luther Seminary (St. Paul) forum in February, 

1994. 

Jantzen, Grace M. "Off the Straight and Narrow: Toward a Lesbian Theology," Theology and 

Sexuality 3 (September 1995): 58-76. 

Jung, Patricia Beattie. "A Case against Heterosexism." CTSA Proceedings 50 (1995): 105-114. 

Defends her book, Heterosexism: An Ethical Challenge. 

Kay, James F. “Homosexuality--What Then Shall We Preachers Say” In Homosexuality and 

Christian Community, 99-109. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: 


Examines both traditionalist and reformist preachers on the subject of homosexuality. One 

of a series of essays in Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. 

The other two sections are Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part III, “How Do We 

Live Faithfully”. All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Kay is Associate Profess or Homiletics and Liturgics at Princeton Theological Seminary and 

an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Kolakowski, Victoria S. “Toward a Christian Ethical Response to Transsexual Persons.” Theology 

and Sexuality 6 (March 1997): 10-31. 

116

The author is a post-operative transsexual who offers this well-written account of some of 

the ethical issues involved in reflecting on the meaning of transsexuality. 

Kotva, Joseph J. "Scripture, Ethics, and the Local Church: Homosexuality as a Test Case." Conrad 

Grebel Review 7 (1989): 41-61. 

As a rule the New Testament presents morality in terms of the Christians' new identity in 

God's eschatological act in Christ, and locates specific moral issues in the context of the local 

church community where moral discernment is to take place. 

Lance, H. Darell. "The Bible and Homosexuality." American Baptist Quarterly 8 (1989): 140-151. 

Reviews some of the major changes that have occurred in the understanding of some biblical 

texts traditionally used in reference to homosexuality, such as Gn 19; Jg 19; Lv 18-20; Dt 

23:17-18; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Rm 1:26-27; and Jde 6-7. Raises hermeneutical questions which 

these texts present, and includes bibliography for further study. 

Leckey, Dolores R., and McCord, Richard. “David: Always Our Child.” New Theology Review 11 

(May 1998): 76-80. 

A “case study” dealing with parents of a gay child who comes out to them, and detailing 

some emotions which might be experienced and some helpful pastoral strategies. 

Long, Thomas G. “Living with the Bible.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 64-73. 

Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Reflects on how the Bible might be read in ordinary congregations, and uses a story of an 

American family dealing with the death of their gay son. One of a series of essays in Part 

II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. The other two sections are 

Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. All the 


Long is the Francis Landey Patton Professor of Preaching and Worship at Princeton 

Theological Seminary and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Maguire, Daniel. "The Morality of Homosexual Marriage." In Challenge to Love: Gay and Lesbian 

Catholics in the Church, 124-133. Edited by Robert Nugent. New York: Crossroad, 1989. 

Mahoney, Roger Cardinal. "Homosexuals in the Military: Three Issues." Origins 22 (25 February 

1993): 621; 623. 

117

Response to President Clinton's announced plan to end the ban on homosexuals in the 

military. 

Malina, Bruce J. “The New Testament and Homosexuality” In Sexual Diversity and Catholicism: 

Toward the Development of Moral Theology, 150-174. Edited Patricia Beattie Jung with 

Joseph Andrew Coray. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001. 

Markey, John J. O.P. "The `Problem' of Homosexuality." New Blackfriars 75 (October 1994): 476- 

88. 

Outlines the need for the reformation of the process of Moral Discernment in relation to 

Homosexuality. 

Martin, Dale B. "Heterosexism and the Interpretation of Romans 1:18-32." Biblical Interpretation 

3 (1995): 332-55. 

This article, concentrating on two articles by Richard Hays, critiques recent interpretation of 

Rom. 1:18-32. Modern interpreters, influenced more by particularly modern forms of 

heterosexism and its construction of homosexuality, desire, and "nature" than by a 

straightforward historical-critical reading of Paul's letter, portray Paul as referring to the 

"Fall" of Genesis 1-3 in Romans 1. Paul, it is assumed, takes homosexuality to be a sign of 

"humanity's fallen state." These interpreters, therefore, inscribe homosexual desire into 

universal fallen humanity in a way that Paul does not do. For one thing, Paul is referring not 

to the Fall in Romans 1 but to the invention of idolatry and polytheism by the Gentiles; 

homosexual intercourse is therefore not a symptom of "the Fall" but of Gentile polytheism. 

For another, Paul is not giving an etiology of homosexual desire, which for him as for most 

ancients was not different from heterosexual desire, but an etiology of homosexual 

intercourse. Furthermore, modern scholars misconstrue Paul's references to "nature" and acts 

"contrary to nature" because they import int Paul's discourse particularly modern notions of 

"natural" and "unnatural" not available in the ancient world. Heterosexist scholars interpret 

Paul the way they do not because they are simply and objectively "reading the text," as they 

claim, but because of their implication in homophobia, a particularly modern ideological 

system that construes desire, "nature," and sexuality in particular ways. 

Martin, James, S.J. “The Church and the Homosexual Priest.” America (4 November 2000): 11-15. 

Balanced and compassionate view of the issues, possibilities and problems connected with 

gay priests serving the Church. 

Matzko, David McCarthy. “Homosexuality and the Practices of Marriage.” Modern Theology 13 

(1997): 370-397. 

Argues for the role of same-sex unions with the practices of marriage. 

118

Matzko teaches at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. 

Mauser, Ulrich W. “Creation, Sexuality, and Homosexuality in the New Testament.” In 

Homosexuality and Christian Community, 39-49. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: 


Argues that the issue of homosexuality cannot be separated from the larger understanding 

of sexuality, and asserts that the New Testament perspective on sexual ethics is significantly 

shaped by the sexual gender differentiation found in the book of Genesis. One of a series of 

essays in Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say”. The other two sections are Part II, “How 

Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection” and Part III, “How Do We Live 

Faithfully”. All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Mauser is the Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology and Culture at Princeton 

Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. 

McClain-Taylor, Mark. “But Isn’t ‘It’ a Sin” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 74-85. 

Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Questions whether homosexuality should be termed a sin, and suggests looking at the issue 

from a “theo-ethical hermeneutic of grace and sin” in order to ask if homosexual activity in 

fact contravenes God’s will and action in and through Jesus Christ. One of a series of essays 

in Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. The other two 

sections are Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part III, “How Do We Live 


McClain-Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Princeton Theological 

Seminary and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

McCormick, Richard A., S.J. "Homosexuality as a Moral and Pastoral Problem." Chapter 17 in Id. 

The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II, 289-314. 

Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1989. 

Reviews the positions of various representative Catholic moralists, the relevant recent 

Vatican documents, and offers a critique of various aspects of these positions. 

McDonough, William. "Acknowledging the Gift of Gay Priestly Celibacy." Review for Religious 

55 (1996): 283-296. 

Argues that both the nature of sexuality as well as the implications from some of the 

Church's own teaching on sexuality call for those who are homosexual to acknowledge this 

119

fact publicly. Also offers some helpful reflections on the nature of celibacy for priests, 

religious, and seminarians who find their sexual orientation to be essentially homosexual. 

McDonough is a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, and teaches moral 

theology at the University of St. Thomas School of Divinity. 

Meadowcroft, Tim. “Vive la différence! Reflections on Human Sexuality from the Old Testament 

Creation Tradition.” Anvil 14 (1997): 196-206. 

Argues that the creation accounts in Genesis hold that gender difference is key to humanity’s 

creation in the image of God and part of the human stewardship role in creation. 

Furthermore, despite issues raised by feminist hermeneutics and contemporary debates over 

sexuality Meadowcroft maintains that the Old Testament vision of the complementarity of 

the sexes remains normative for a Christian understanding of sexuality. 

Miller, James E. "The Practices of Romans 1:26: Homosexual or Heterosexual" Novum 

Testamentum 37 (1995): 1-11. 

Maintains that while Romans 1:27 clearly condemns male homosexual practice, 1:26 is best 

understood as not describing female homosexual activity, but unnatural heterosexual 

intercourse such as contraception. 

Miller, Patrick D. “What the Scriptures Principally Teach.” In Homosexuality and Christian 


Press, 1996. 

Argues that one must distinguish between the “core” of what the Bible teaches from the 

specifics which each generation of believers must work out for itself in resolving the tension 

between the “rule of faith” and the “rule of love.” One of a series of essays in Part II, “How 

Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”. The other two sections are Part I, 

“What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. All the 


Miller is Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary 

and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. 

Miller, William R. "Liberation Theology and Homophobia." American Baptist Quarterly 8 (1989): 

124-139. 

Searches for the biblical sources for liberation and justice concerns which have implications 

for how the church should deal with a range of issues such as homosexuality, abuse of 

women, and the use of power. Uses Thomas Kuhn's concept of a "paradigm shift" to argue 

120

that white males need to reevaluate their roles in contemporary social structures. Miller 

proposes that Liberation Theology provides a framework for such a paradigm shift. 

Moberly, Elizabeth. “Homosexuality and Truth.” First Things 71 (March 1997): 30-33. 

Review essay of several books dealing with homosexuality. Moberly is a psychotherapist 

well-known for her strong views that homosexuality is a (curable) psychological disease. 

Mugavero, Bishop Francis. "Pastoral Letter: The Gift of Sexuality." Origins 5 (1976): 581-586. 

Deals in a sensitive manner with the question of homosexuality. 

National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). “Always our Children. Pastoral Message to 

Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers.” Origins 27 (9 

October 1997): 285; 287-291. Revised version: Origins 28 (2 July 1998): 97;99-112. 

http://www.usccb.org/laity/always.shtml 

Pastoral letter of the U.S. Catholic Bishops calling for compassion and acceptance of 

homosexuals by their parents and others. A Revised Version was issued in the summer of 

1998 which responded to various concerns for “clarity” raised by some bishops and the 

Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The Revised Version has the 

CDF’s approval. 

Also available on the Internet at: http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/97-208.htm 

Nicoloci, Joseph. "Treatment of the Non-Gay Homosexual Man." 

Counseling 28 (1993): 76-82. 

The Journal of Pastoral 

Nugent, Robert. "The Civil Rights of Homosexual People: Vatican Perspectives." New Theology 

Review 7 (November 1994): 72-86. 

Presents a careful critique of some of the argumentation contained in the CDF's 1992 

statement on legislative proposals on the non-discrimination of homosexual persons. 

Nugent is co-founder of New Ways Ministry. 

. "Homosexual Rights and the Catholic Community." Doctrine and Life 44 (1994): 165-173 

. “Sister Gramick and Father Nugent Called to Rome.” Origins 30 (8 June 2000): 62-64. 

Related statements of both Nugent, Gramick and their respective religious superiors 

regarding the further restrictions on their ability to speak regarding their earlier removal from 

ministry to homosexuals by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 14 July 1999. 

121

The further action prohibits them from speaking or writing in the public forum about the July 

14, 1999 notification itself, the ecclesiastical processes that led up to it, or about the issue of 

homosexuality. 

Olyan, Saul M. “‘And with a Male You Shall Not Lie the Lying Down of a Woman’: On the 

Meaning of Significance of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 

5 (1994): 179-206. 

Pakaluk, Michael. "Why is Homosexual Activity Morally Wrong" The Journal of Pastoral 

Counseling 28 (1993): 53-57. 

Pope, Stephen J. “The Magisterium’s Arguments against ‘Same-Sex Marriage’: An Ethical Analysis 

and Critique.” Theological Studies 65 (September 2004): 530-565. 

. “Same-Sex Marriage: Threat or Aspiration” America (6 December 2004): 11-14. 

Counter to Sokolowski’s claim that procreation is the primary end of marriage Pope suggests 

that it is possible to think of procreation as neither the primary nor exclusive natural end of 

sex. Pope also notes the increasing number of children being raised outside of marriage, 

including gay couples who adopt. Pope acknowledges that critics of same-sex marriage have 

a number of valid concerns, but avers that this “discussion needs to be informed by a 

perspective that acknowledges that love and commitment are at the center of marriage.” (P. 

14.). 

Drafted as a response to Sokolowski’s article “The Threat of Same-Sex Marriage” America 

(7-14 June 2004): 12-16. See the further response by Sokolowski, “The Primacy of 

Procreation” on pp. 14-15. In this response Sokolowski acknowledges his use of the 

preconciliar ethic in maintaining the primacy of procreation in marriage, but says this is 

because “the preconciliar ethic is the one we have now; human nature does not change” (p. 

14) and he reaffirms that he believes the term “‘conjugal debt’ is not a bad term for the 

obligations spouses have to each other in justice as well as devotion.” (p. 15). 

Pope is professor of theological ethics at Boston College and Sokolowski is professor of 

philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 

. “Scientific and Natural Law Analyses of Homosexuality: A Methodological Study.” Journal 

of Religious Ethics 25 (1997): 89-126. 

. “The Vatican’s Blunt Instrument.” The Tablet (9 August 2003): 4-5. 

Article which critiques the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2003 document 

“Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between 

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Homosexual Persons,” against same-sex unions, especially for the CDF’s failure to recognize 

the constructive role which monogamy plays in the lives of gay and lesbian couples. 

Quinn, Archbishop John R. "Toward an Understanding of the Letter Òn the Pastoral Care of 

Homosexual Persons'." In The Vatican and Homosexuality: Reactions to the "Letter to the 

Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons", 13-19. 

Edited by Jeannine Gramick and Pat Furey. New York: Crossroad, 1988. 

Originally appeared in America. See response in the same volume by William H. Shannon, 

pp. 20-27. 

Quinn is former Archbishop of San Francisco. 

Ramsey Colloquium. "The Homosexual Movement: A Response by the Ramsey Colloquium." First 

Things (March 1994): 15-20. 

Critical response to so-called claims of the gay liberation movement by this group of largely 

conservative philosophers, theologians and clerics. For a critical response to the group's 

statement see "A Counter-Response" signed by a number of members of the National 

Association of College and University Chaplains, and published in the Letters to the Editors 

section of the August/September 1994 issue of First Things, pp. 2-3. 

Ringeling, Hermann. "Homosexualität als Frage kirchlichen Handelns." Zeitschrift für 

Evangelische Ethik 38 (1994): 163-167. 

Rogers, Eugene F., Jr. “Aquinas on Natural Law and the Virtues in Biblical Context: 

Homosexuality as a Test Case.” Journal of Religious Ethics 27 (Spring 1999): 29-56. 

Rudy, Kathy. “The Social Construction of Sexual Identity and the Ordination of Practicing 

Homosexuals.” Journal of Religious Ethics 25 (1997): 127-146. 

. "`Where Two or More are Gathered': Using Gay Communities as a Model for Christian 

Sexual Ethics," Theology and Sexuality 4 (March 1996): 81-99. 

Ruse, Michael. "Is Homosexuality Bad Sexuality" In Philosophical Perspectives on Sex and Love, 

ed. Robert M. Stewart, 113-24. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 

Schützeichel, Harald. "Homosexuality; A Discussion." Theology Digest 42 (Spring 1995): 47-51. 

English digest of "Homosexualität. Ein Diskussionsbeitrag." Stimmen der Zeit 119:7 (July 

1994): 489-497. 

123

Author holds that human beings, including homosexuals, have an innate sexual inclination 

which should not be repressed. Human sexuality is essentially a form of communication 

based on mutual love and respect, and therefore this approach to sexual ethics will require 

the Church to rethink her pastoral and moral approach to homosexuals. 

Seifert, Josef. "Kirche und Homosexualität." Forum Katholische Theologie 8 (1992): 278-289. 

Selling, Joseph A. “Homosexuality and Chastity: An Alternative Moral Criterion.” New Theology 

Review 11 (May 1998): 63-75. 

Uses the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexuality, chastity, and 

homosexuality to critique an overly physicalist view of sexual expression and to point up 

some of the inconsistencies and/or problematic areas of the current magisterial teaching. The 

author also makes some tentative remarks about developing what he believes would be a 

more credible and consistent Catholic sexual ethics. 

Selling is Professor of Moral Theology at Leuven (Louvain). 

Seow, Choon-Leong. “A Heterosexual Perspective.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 

14-27. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Looks primarily at the Old Testament texts used most frequently in the debate, but suggests 

the inclusion of other texts as well, such as texts from the Wisdom literature. One of a series 

of essays in Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say”. The other two sections are Part II, “How 



Seow is the Henry Snyder Gehman Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature and 


Shannon, William H. "A Response to Archbishop Quinn." In The Vatican and Homosexuality: 

Reactions to the "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of 

Homosexual Persons", 20-27. Edited by Jeannine Gramick and Pat Furey. New York: 


Response to San Francisco Archbishop John Quinn's America article on the CDF Pastoral 

Letter on Homosexuality. Quinn's original article is published in the same volume, pp. 13- 

19. 

Shannon is Professor Emeritus at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. 

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Shekleton, John. “Homosexuality & the Priesthood: Vocations off the straight and narrow.” 

Commonweal 123 (22 November 1996): 15-18. 

Shekleton reflects on his coming out as a gay man and the concomitant departure from the 

Society of Jesuits in which he had lived for ten years as a seminarian. 

Siker, Jeffrey S. "Homosexual Christians, the Bible, and Gentile Inclusion: Confessions of a 

Repenting Heterosexist." In Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate, 179- 

194. Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

Siker is an ordained Presbyterian minister and Associate Professor of Theology at Loyola 

Marymount University in Los Angeles. 

. "How to Decide Homosexual Christians, the Bible, and Gentile Inclusion." Theology Today 

51 (1995): 219-234. 

Essentially the same article as the one listed immediately above. 

Smith, Mark D. “Ancient Bisexuality and the Interpretation of Romans 1:26-27. Journal of the 

American Academy of Religion 64 (1996): 223-256. 

Smith is Associate Professor of History at Albertson College in Caldwell, Idaho. 

Sokolowski, Msgr. Robert. “The Threat of Same-Sex Marriage.” America (7-14 June 2004): 12-16. 

Argues for the primacy of procreation as the chief teleological end of marriage and argues 

that anyone who separates procreation from marriage lives in illusion and lies about the 

matter. 

See the response essay by Stephen J. Pope, “Same-Sex Marriage: Threat or Aspiration” 

America (6 December 2004): 11-14, and a further response by Sokolowski, “The Primacy 

of Procreation” on pp. 14-15. In this response Sokolowski acknowledges his use of the 





Sokolowski is professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Washington, 

D.C. and Pope is professor of theology at Boston College. 

Solitano, Nora. "The Alternative Mainstream: Gay Catholics Practicing the Faith." Critic 49 

(1994): 2-12. 

125

Stackhouse, Max L. “The Heterosexual Norm.” In Homosexuality and Christian Community, 133- 

143. Edited by Choon-Leong Seow. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1996. 

Defends the “heterosexual norm” as found in the classical Christian tradition. One of a series 

of essays in Part III, “How Do We Live Faithfully”. The other two sections are Part I, 

“What Do the Scriptures Say” and Part II, “How Do the Scriptures Inform Our Theological 

Reflection”. All the contributors are members of the Princeton Theological Faculty. 

Stackhouse is the Stephen Colwell Professor of Christian Ethics at Princeton Theological 

Seminary and an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church. 

Stone, Ken. “The Hermeneutics of Abomination: On Gay Me, Canaanites, and Biblical 

Interpretation.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 27 (Summer 1997): 36-41. 

Stone argues that the biblical condemnation of same sex activity is based on attempts to 

define a non-acceptable “other” in terms of deviant sexual practice. Thus, sexual practice 

is used as a basis for insult, stereotyping and condemnation. Efforts by gay-affirmative 

scholars at trying to detoxify the biblical passages on the condemnation of homosexuality by 

linking these condemnations to abhorrence of cultic prostitution and the like thus fall into 

the same trap of using a “hermeneutics of abomination” in which the other is condemned in 

terms of sexuality. What is required instead is replacing this whole hermeneutic with one 

which is positive towards affirmation of gay sexuality. 

Stowasser, Martin. “Homosexualität und Bible. Exegetische und hermeneutische Überlegungen zu 

einem schwierigen Thema.” New Testament Studies 43 (1997): 503-526. 

Stowasser is at the Institut für Netuestamentliche Bibelwissenschaft of the Catholic 

Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna. 

Sweetin, Ellen M. "Called Out of Our Closets: A Lesbian/gay Biblical Ethic of Liberation." M.A. 

Thesis. Pacific School of Religion. Berkeley, 1986. 

Toolan, David S., S.J. "In Defense of Gay Politics: Confessions of a Pastoralist." America 173 (23 

September 1995): 18-21. 

Written as a response to David R. Carlin's "The Gay Movement and Aggressive 

Secularism," in the same issue at pages 12-16. 

Tuohey, Rev. John F. "The C.D.F. and Homosexuals: Rewriting the Moral Tradition." America 167 

(12 September 1992): 136-138. 

126

Highly critical of the 1992 CDF document on the "Non-Discrimination of Homosexual 

Persons." Tuohey points out that the casuistry of the CDF document seems to make use of 

intending an end by evil means, without use of proportionate reason. 

. "The Principle of Toleration and the Civil Rights of Gay and Lesbian Persons." New 

Theology Review 7 (1994): 35-46. 

Uy, Alberto S. “The Homosexual Orientation as an ‘Objective Disorder’ and its Limited Meaning.” 

” Landas 17 (2, 2003): 151-180. 

Seeks to clarify what is, and what is not, meant by the term “objective disorder” in the 

Church’s teaching on homosexuality. The author argues that properly understood only 

homosexual acts, rather than the homosexual orientation itself, constitute the “objective 

disorder.” 

Vacek, Edward, S.J. S.J. “‘Acting More Humanely’: Accepting Gays Into the Priesthood.” 

America 187 (16 December 2002): 10-12; 14. 

Argues that the fact that good, celibate gay men have been and are priests gives prima facie 

evidence that the movement to exclude gay seminarians in the future is fundamentally 

flawed. 

Vacek is professor of Christian ethics at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, 

Massachusetts. 

. “A Christian Homosexuality In Light of Scripture, Authority, and Reason.” Commonweal 

(5 December 1980): 681-684. 

rd 

Reprinted in The Philosophy of Sex. Contemporary Readings, 129-135. 3 ed. Edited by 

Alan Soble. Lanham: Rowman &Littlefield Publishers, 1997. 

Wannenwetsch, Bernd. "Das »Natürliche« und die »Moral«." Zeitschrift für Evangelische Ethik 

38 (1994): 168-189. 

Washington State Catholic Conference. “The Prejudice Against Homosexuals and the Ministry of 

the Church.” In Moral Dilemmas, 226-233. Edited by Richard L. Purtill. Belmont CA: 

Wadsworth, 1985. 

Originally appeared in 1983 in Catholic Northwest Progress. 

Statement outlining the Church’s position against prejudice and discrimination against 

homosexual individuals, as well as an outline of the Church’s teaching on the homosexual 

127

orientation. Sensitively done pastoral statement, adopted by the bishops of Washington 

State. 

Werner, Roland. "Homosexualität und die Vollmacht der christlichen Gemeinde." Theologische 

Beiträge 25 (1994): 223-240. 

Whitaker, Richard E. “Creation and Human Sexuality.” In Homosexuality and Christian 


Press, 1996. 

Examines the creation narratives in the first three chapters of Genesis. One of a series of 

essays in Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say”. The other two sections are Part II, “How 



Whitaker is Information Research Specialist and Lecturer in Old Testament at Princeton 

Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. 

White, Leland J. "Biblical Texts and Contemporary Gay People: A Response to Boswell and 

Boughton." Irish Theological Quarterly 59 (1993): 286-301. 

Argues that neither Boughton nor Boswell uses "sufficiently elaborated models of culture and 

cultural variation to address the issue of whether the actions proscribed in the Bible are 

equivalent in meaning." (p. 286. 

See Lynne C. Boughton's "Biblical Texts and Homosexuality: A Response to John Boswell." 

Irish Theological Quarterly 58 (1992): 141-153. 

. "Does the Bible Speak about Gays or Same-Sex Orientation A Test Case in Biblical Ethics: 

Part I." Biblical Theological Bulletin (1995): 14-23. 

Examines the biblical texts of Genesis 19, Leviticus 18-20, Romans 1:1, 1 Corinthians 6, and 

1 Timothy 1 in light of three traditional core values of Mediterranean culture: honor, 

reproductivity, and holiness. White's thesis is that these texts frame the ethical issue of 

"homosexuality" in terms of fulfilling traditional cultural roles, and therefore these texts do 

not address the contemporary issues of same-sex orientation. 

. “Romans 1:26-27: The Claim that Homosexuality is Unnatural.” In Sexual Diversity and 

Catholicism: Toward the Development of Moral Theology, 133-149. Edited Patricia Beattie 

Jung with Joseph Andrew Coray. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001. 

Williams, Bruce, O.P. "Homosexuality and Christianity." The Thomist 46 (1982): 609-625. 

128

Williams taught moral theology at the Angelicum in Rome. 

. "Homosexuality: The New Vatican Statement." Theological Studies 48 (1987): 259-277. 

Balanced analysis of the Vatican Letter, and gives other perspectives from Protestant 

approaches to this issue. See Coleman article above. 

Wintemute, Robert. Sexual Orientation and Human Rights: The United States Constitution, the 

European Convention, and the Canadian Charter. New York: Oxford University Press, 

1996. 

In this book, the author attempts to answer whether national constitutions or international 

human rights treaties be interpreted as prohibiting discrimination against gays, lesbians, and 

bisexuals. The author examines three of the most commonly used arguments in favor of such 

an interpretation: sexual orientation is an "immutable status", sexual orientation is a 

"fundamental choice" (or part of "privacy"), and sexual orientation discrimination is sex 

discrimination. 

Wood, Constance. "Same-sex unions or semantic illusions" Communio 22 (1995): 316-342. 

Critique of John Boswell's Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, (New York: Villard 

Books, 1994), in which he claims to have found evidence that up to the Middle Ages there 

was a much greater tolerance in the Christian Church for homosexuality, to the point that 

liturgies existed for the celebration of same-sex unions. 

Wright, David F. "Homosexuality: The Relevance of the Bible." Evangelical Quarterly 61 (1989): 

291-300. 

Challenges the supposed contemporary consensus that biblical passages on homosexuality 

are irrelevant. Reexamines the early church's use of the both the Old and New Testament 

relevant passages. 

Books on Homosexuality 

-------- 

Alexander, Marilyn Bennett, and James Preston. We Were Baptized Too: Claiming God's Grace for 

Lesbians and Gays. With a Foreword by Desmond M. Tutu. Louisville, KY: Westminster 

John Knox Press, 1996. 

Alison, James. Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay. Girardian Studies. New 


129

Arntz, E. O. and P.-P. Koenig, eds. Kirche und die Frage der Homosexualität. Hildesheim: 

Bernward, 1995. 

Bahnsen, Greg L. Homosexuality: A Biblical View. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978. 

Bahnsen sees the homosexual orientation as intrinsically sinful, but holds that homosexuals 

themselves are not beyond the power of God's transforming love. 

Bahnsen teaches apologetics and ethics at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, 

Mississippi. 

Bailey, Derrick Sherwin. Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition. London: Longmans, 

Green and Co., 1955. 

Baird, Robert M., and Baird, M. Katherine, eds. Homosexuality: Debating the Issues. Amherst NY: 

Prometheus, 1995. 

Good anthology of a cross-section of articles and documents covering philosophical, 

etiological, legal, military, and religious perspectives. 

Balch, David L. Homosexuality, Science, and the “Plain Sense” of Scripture. Grand Rapids: 

Eerdmans, 2000. 

Reviewed by Richard P. Hardy in Heythrop Journal 43 (April 2002): 345-347 

Bamforth, Nicolas. Sexuality, Morals and Justice: A Theory of Lesbian and Gay Rights and the 

Law. London: Dassell, 1996. 

Bariler, Roger. L'homosexualité. Approbation ou pardon. Synapse éthique, 3. Aix-en-Provence: 

Kerygma, 1989. 

Bamforth, Nicholas. Sexuality, Morals and Justice. A Theory of Lesbian and Gay Rights and the 

Law. London: Dassell, 1996. 

Batchelor, Edward, Jr., ed. Homosexuality and Ethics. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1980. 

Large selections of articles from both Catholics and Protestants. 

Bawer, Bruce. A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society. New York: Poseidon 

Press, 1993. 

130

Bech, Henning. When Men Meet: Homosexuality and Modernity. Translated by Teresa Mesquit and 

Tim Davies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. 

Boswell, John, et. al. Homosexuality in the Priesthood and Religious Life. New York: Crossroad, 

1990. 

Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe 

from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. Chicago: University of 


Chapter 4, "The Scriptures," is a treatment of homosexuality in the Bible. 

. Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe. New York: Villard Books, 1994. 

Based on rather questionable evidence and interpretation Boswell claims that up to the 

Middle Ages there was a much greater tolerance in the Christian Church for homosexuality, 

to the point that liturgies existed for the celebration of same-sex unions. Boswell's book has 

been widely criticized by academics, and for one example see Constance Wood's "Same-sex 

unions or semantic illusions" Communio 22 (1995): 316-342. 

Bsasius, Mark. Gay and Lesbian Politics: Sexuality and the Emergence of a New Ethic. 


Brawley, Robert L., ed. Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality: Listening to Scripture. Louisville, KY: 

Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. 

Card, Claudia. Lesbian Choices. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995. 

Childs, James M., Jr., ed. Faithful Conversation: Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality. 

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. 

Volume initiated by the ELCA seminary presidents in response to a Church-wide mandate 

for the study of issues related to how Christians should respond to various aspects of 

homosexuality as they interact with the Church. The book contains five essays, a 

bibliography of selected readings, plus a table talk on how specific issues in the Church are 

affected by various perspectives on these issues. 

Childs is the Sittler Professor of Christian Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, 

Ohio. 

Chilstrom, Herbert W., and Erdahl, Lowell O. Sexual Fulfillment: For Single and Married, Straight 

and Gay, Young and Old. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 

131

Both authors are retired Lutheran pastors in the ELCA. 

Clark, Michael J. A Defiant Celebration: Theological Ethics and Gay Sexuality. Garland TX: 

Tangelwuld, 1990. 

. Defying the Darkness: Gay Theology in the Shadows. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1997. 

Investigates the question of suffering of gay and lesbians in the age of HIV/AIDS and points 

to inadequacies of traditional Christian answers to such suffering. 

Reviewed by Laurel C. Schneider in Religious Studies Review 24 (July 1998): 276. 

Cleaver, Richard. Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox 

Press, 1995. 

Coleman, Gerald D., S.S. Homosexuality: Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice. Mahwah, NJ: 


Subjects include "What does it mean to be a homosexual"; the origin of homosexuality, 

biblical documentation; homosexuality in Church teaching; spirituality and other pastoral 

concerns; discrimination and homophobia; HIV/AIDS; and pastoral, personal and 

professional reflections. 


Coleman, Peter. Gay Christians: A Moral Dilemma. London: SCM Press, 1989. 

A guide to the debate on the moral problem of homosexuality within the Church, also 

discussed in light of historical attitudes to homosexuality in the Church. 

Comstock, Gary David, and Henking, Susan E., eds. Que(e)rying Religion: A Critical Anthology. 

New York: Continuum, 1997. 

Comstock, Gary David. Gay Theology Without Apology. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1993. 

.. Unrepentant, Self-Affirming, Practicing: Lesbian/Bisexual/Gay People Within Organized 

Religion. New York: Continuum, 1996. 

Based on twenty-two recent empirical studies of gay people in organized religion and another 

ten "religion-related" studies. This book provides a comprehensive examination to date of 

the place of homosexuals within religious communities, including Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, 

and Native American traditions. 

132

Connor, Randy P., et. al. Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual 

and Transgender Lore. New York: Continuum. 

Cooper, Dennis, ed. Discontents: New Queer Writers. New York: Amethyst Press, 1992. 

Corvino, John, ed. Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality. Lanham 

MD: Rowman and Littlefied, 1997. 

Anthology on a variety of issues connected with homosexuality. 

Demur, C. and Mueller, D. L'homo-sexualité: Un dialogue théologique. Genève: Labor et Fides, 

1992. 

Douma, Jochem. Homofilie. Ethisch kommentaar, 1. Amsterdam: Ton Bolland, 1973. 

Discusses homosexuality in the Bible. 

Dudley, William, ed. Homosexuality: Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoint Series. San 

Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1993. 

Ch. 1 - What Causes Homosexuality Ch. 2 - Should Society Encourage Increased 

Acceptance of Homosexuality Ch. 3 - Can Homosexuals Change Their Sexual Orientation 

Ch. 4 - Should Society Legally Sanction Gay Relationships 



House, 1988. 

Friedmann, Richard C., M.D. Male Homosexuality: A Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspective. 

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. 

. Männliche Homosexualität. Berlin: Springer, 1993. 

Translation () of Male Homosexuality. 

Geis, Sally B., and Donald E. Messer, eds. Caught in the Crossfire: Helping Christians Debate 

Homosexuality. Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 1991. 

Gilson, Anne Bathurst. Eros Breaking Free: Interpreting Sexual Theo-Ethics Cleveland: Pilgrim 

Press, 1995. 

A lesbian sexual ethics. Reviewed by James Hanigan in Theological Studies 57 (1996): 576. 

133

Glaser, Chris. Reformation of the Heart: Seasonal Meditations by a Gay Christian. Louisville, KY: 

Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. 

. Uncommon Calling: A Gay Christian's struggle to Serve the Church. Expanded ed. 

Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. 

Gramick, Jeannine, and Furey, Pat, eds. The Vatican and Homosexuality: Reactions to the "Letter 

to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons". New 


25 contributions, plus the CDF Letter itself, divided into three parts. Part I gives analyses 

and critiques of the CDF Letter; Part II discusses various pastoral and personal responses to 

the issue of homosexuality and Roman Catholic sexual ethics; Part III considers possible 

future debates and developments. 

Gramick, Jeanine, ed. Homosexuality in the Priesthood and Religious Life. New York: Crossroad, 

1989. 

Sections on Ecclesial perspectives, Personal perspectives, and Ministerial perspectives. 

Green, Ronald M., ed. Religion and Sexual Health: Ethical, Theological and Clinical Perspectives. 

Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992. 

This collection focuses primarily upon Western Christianity and is divided into three 

sections. In the first section, there are essays on Christianity and sexuality, with attention to 

the theological traditions of the West, particularly Roman Catholicism, as well as the 

practices of ordinary Christians. In addition, there are essays on homosexuality and the 

patriarchal family. The last two sections of the book are more oriented towards either the 

experience of some contemporary Christians or the response of clinicians to those 

experience. Not surprisingly, the focus of attention is upon the way(s) in which the religious 

background of the clients interfere with their healthy sexual functioning. 

Grenz, Stanley. Welcoming But Not Affirming: An Evangelical Response to Homosexuality. 

Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. 

Reviewed by D.E. Wright in Themelios 25 (February 2000): 115-116. 

Hagmaier, George, C.S.P., and Gleason, Robert W., S.J. Moral Problems Now: Modern Techniques 

and Emotional Conflicts. London: Sheed and Ward, 1960. 

The book addresses psychological and moral perspectives on counseling, including chapters 

on masturbation, homosexuality, alcoholism, mental illness, etc. Is of interest as an example 

of pre-Vatican II pastoral moral counseling. 

134

Hanigan, James P. Homosexuality, The Test for Christian Sexual Ethics. New York: Paulist Press, 

1988. 

In many ways this book is an amplification of Hanigan's 1982 work, What Are They Saying 

About Sexual Morality. Hanigan's central approach to sexuality is that of vocation, and he 

concludes that it is impossible to understand homosexual relationships in this way. 

Hardy, Richard P. Loving Men: Gay Partners, Spirituality, and AIDS. New York: Continuum, 

1998. 

Harvey, John, O.S.F.S. The Homosexual Person: New Thinking in Pastoral Care. San Francisco: 

Ignatius Press, 1987. 



. The Truth about Homosexuality: The Cry of the Faithful. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 

1996. 

Reviewed by Gerald Coleman, S.S. in Theological Studies 58 (1997): 398-399. 

Subsequently this review was challenged by William E. May, with a further response by 

Coleman: “Quaestio Disputata: Harvey’s The Truth about Homosexuality.” Theological 

Studies 58 (1997): 718-722. 

Hasbany, Richard, ed. Homosexuality and Religion. Binghamton NY: The Haworth Pastoral Press, 

1990. 

A monograph published simultaneously as the Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 18, Nos. 3/4. 

Horner, Tom. Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times. Philadelphia: Westminster 

Press, 1978. 

Isay, Richard A., M.D. Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development. New York: Avon 

Books, 1989. 

Jordan, Mark D. The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology. Chicago Series on Sexuality, 

History, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. 

Argues that Thomas Aquinas’ analysis of luxuria and “unnatural vice” is inadequate for a 

contemporary Christian evaluation of gay and lesbian relationships. 

Reviewed by James F. Keenan, S.J. in Theological Studies 59 (June 1998): 355-357. 

135

. The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism. Chicago: University of 


Reviewed by James F. Keenan, S.J. in Theological Studies 62 (March 2001): 184-186. 

Jung, Patricia Beattie, and Smith, Ralph F. Heterosexism: An Ethical Challenge. Albany: SUNY 

Press, 1993. 

Challenges sexual morality based on a heterosexual ethic which the authors claim is 

improperly and prejudicially imposed in an unjustifiable manner on gays and lesbians. 

Karlen, Arno. Sexuality and Homosexuality: A New View. New York: W.W. Norton, 1971. 

Keenan, James F., S.J. “The Open Debate: Moral Theology and the Lives of Gay and Lesbian 

Persons.” Theological Studies 64 (March 2003): 127-150. 


sexual ethics. 

Kimbell-Auth, Shannon and Judith Faye, eds. Resource Guide for Christian Churches (Disciples 

of Christ) Exploring Responses to Sexuality and Homosexuality From and Within the 

Church. Oakland, CA: Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada, n.d. 

Kittelberger, Barbara; Schürger, Wolfgang; and Heiligachneck, Wolfgang. Was auf dem Spiel steht: 

Diskussionsbeiträge zu Homosexualität und Kirche. München: Claudius Verlag, 1993. 

Kroker, Arthur and Kroker, Marilouise, eds. The Last Sex: Feminism and Outlaw Bodies. New 

York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. 

The Last Sex is a theoretical examination of the "new" feminism. Written from the inside 

of a new sexual horizon, The Last Sex broadens the traditional feminist debate to include 

contributions from transsexuals writing about their transsexuality, as well as gay and lesbian 

reflections on the major shifts taking place in feminist theory. 

Lewes, Kenneth. The Psychoanalytic Theory of Male Homosexuality. New York: New American 

Library (Penguin Books), 1988. 

Malloy, Edward A. Homosexuality and the Christian Way of Life. Lanham MD: University Press 

of America, 1981. 

McDonald, Helen B. & Steinhorn, Audrey I. Understanding Homosexuality: A Guide for Those 

Who Know, Love, or Counsel Gay and Lesbian Individuals. New York: Crossroad 

Publishing, 1993. 

136

McNaught, Brian. A Disturbed Peace: Selected Writings of an Irish Catholic Homosexual. 

Washington, D.C.: Dignity, Inc., 1981. 

McNeill, John J. The Church and the Homosexual. 4th ed. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and 

McMeel, Inc., 1976; New York: Next Year Publications, 1985; Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. 

McNeill, a former Jesuit priest, discusses approaches to homosexuality in Scripture, Church 

Tradition, the human sciences, before moving on to outline a more positive moral and 

pastoral theological consideration of homosexuality and the homosexual community. 

. Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians, 

and Everybody Else. Beacon Press, 1995. 

Part 1 deals with freedom of conscience and how ancient church teachings have an urgency 

for all lesbian and gay persons to deal with God on a direct and personal basis. Part 2 looks 

at the liberating process of "coming out" as spirit-filled effort to become fully alive in God. 

Part 3 considers twelve-step spirituality specific to the needs of lesbians and gay men. Part 

4 deals in part with problems as well as unique qualities of gay persons' love for God. 

Essential reading. Includes appendixes and notes. 

. Taking a Change on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Lovers, 

Families, and Friends. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988. 

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Churches Speak On: Homosexuality. The Churches Speak Series. 


Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York: 

Random House, Inc., 1995. 

Moberly, Elizabeth R. Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 

1983. 

Moberly presents a psychological interpretation that focuses on root causes, rather than 

symptoms. Moberly argues that "the homosexual condition involves legitimate 

developmental needs, the fulfillment of which has been blocked by an underlying 

ambivalence to members of the same sex." Moberly then argues that such a position will 

require both reassessment and restatement of the traditional Christian distinction between the 

homosexual condition and its expression in homosexual activity. 

Moberly works as a research psychologist, specializing in psychoanalytic developmental 

psychology. 

137

Mohr, Richard D. Gays/Justice: A Study of Ethics, Society and Law. New York: Columbia 

University Press, 1991 

Morrison, David. Beyond Gay. Huntington ID: Our Sunday Visitor, 1999. 

Morrison, who acknowledges struggling with homosexual attraction, argues for the 

correctness of the Catholic Church’s magisterial teachings on homosexuality. 

Müller, Wunibald. Homosexualität: Eine Herausforderung für Theologie und Seelsorge. Mainz: 

Matthias-Grünewald, 1986. 

Murphy, Timothy F., ed. Gay Ethics: Controversies in Outing, Civil Rights, and Sexual Science. 

New York: The Haworth Press, 1994. 

An anthology that addresses ethical questions involving key moral issues of today-sexual 

morality, outing, gay and lesbian marriages, military service, anti-discrimination laws, 

affirmative action policies, the moral significance of sexual orientation research, and the 

legacy of homophobia in health care. It focuses on these issues within the social context of 

the lives of gay men and lesbians and makes evident the ways in which ethics can and should 

be reclaimed to pursue the moral good for gay men and lesbians. 

Nugent, Robert, ed. Challenge to Love: Gay and Lesbian Catholics in the Church. New York: 


Oliveto, Karen P., Turney, Kelly D., and West, Traci C. Talking about Homosexuality. Cleveland: 

The Pilgrim Press, 2005. 

Peddicord, Richard, O.P. Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Question: Sexual Ethics or Social Justice 

Kansas City MO: Sheed & Ward, 1996. 

Pronk, Pim. Against Nature Types of Moral Argumentation Regarding Homosexuality. Grand 

Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1993. 

The author has doctorates in both biology and theology. 

Rauchfleisch, Udo and Schützeichel, Harald, eds. Homosexuelle Männer in Kirche und 

Gesellschaft. Düsseldorf: Patmos-Verlag, 1993. 

Richard, Cleaver. Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology. Nashville TN: Cokesbury, 1995. 

Rudy, Kathy. Sex and the Church: Gender, Homosexuality, and the Transformation of Christian 

Ethics. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. 

138

Uses queer theory to revision Christian ethics. 

Rudy is assistant professor of ethics and women’s studies at Duke University. 

Sample, Ted, and Delong, Amy. The Loyal Opposition: Struggling with the Church on 

Homosexuality. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. 

Calls for the formation of a “loyal opposition” that is committed to the process of forgiveness 

and reconciliation in this polarizing issue. 

Satinover, Jeffrey. Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996. 

Challenges the hypothesis of constitutional homosexuality and the discovery of the so-called 

“gay gene.” Argues against accepting “alternative sexual lifestyles.” 

Say, Elizabeth A., and Kowalewski, Mark R. Gays, Lesbians, and Family Values. Cleveland: 

Pilgrim Press, 19 

Scanzoni, Letha Dawson, and Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey. Is the Homosexual My Neighbor. Rev. 

ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978, 1994. 

Schmidt, Thomas E. Straight and Narrow Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate. 

Downers Grove IL: Intervarsity Press, 1995. 

Scharen, Christian Batalden. Married in the Sight of God: Theology, Ethics, and Church Debates 

Over Homosexuality. Foreword by Martha Ellen Stortz. Lanham MD: University Press of 

America, 2000. 

Focuses on debate with the Evangelical Luther Church in America. Looks at the Orders of 

Creation theology used to exclude homosexuals in the Lutheran tradition. 

Scroggs, Robin. The New Testament and Homosexuality. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983. 

Scroggs describes the prevalent model of homosexuality, namely pederasty, as well as 

various attitudes toward it, in the Judeo-Greco-Roman world. Against this background a 

new examination of the pertinent biblical texts on the issue is undertaken. 

Seow, Choon-Leong, ed. Homosexuality and Christian Community. Louisville: Westminister/John 

Knox Press, 1996. 

Essays address the various exegetical, interpretive, and practical issues pertaining to the issue 

of homosexuality in the church. These include the ordination of homosexuals and the 

blessing of homosexual unions, as well as broader issues dealing with liturgical and 

139

theological language about God and the role of the church in a pluralistic society. The essays 

are divided into three sections: Part I, “What Do the Scriptures Say”; Part II, “How Do the 

Scriptures Inform Our Theological Reflection”; and Part III, “How Do We Live 


Seow is the Henry Snyder Gehman Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature and 


Siker, Jeffrey, ed. Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate. Louisville: 


Perspectives from Scripture, Tradition, philosophy, biology, etc. are examined by two 

authors each, one more conservative and one more liberal. 

Smith, Richard L. AIDS, Gays, and the American Catholic Church Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1994. 

Soards, Marion L. Scripture and Homosexuality: Biblical Authority and The Church Today. 

Nashville, TN: Cokesbury, 1995. 

Spencer, Daniel T. Gay and Gaia: Ethics, Ecology, and the Erotic. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 

1996. 

Argues that ecological ethics should ground all of ethics, and thus authentic justice seeks 

right relations among all creation. An appropriate response to creation should be rooted in 

an appreciation of the erotic. 

Starr, Richard D. Speaking the Unspeakable: Homosexuality--A Biblical and Modern Perspective. 

Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1987. 

Starr is a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod pastor. Succinctly stated, his position is 

that "The Christian sees only one cause for homosexuality--sin. It is a sin against nature, 

society, and most of all, God." (p. 58). 

Stemmeler, M. L. and Clark, J. M., eds. Homophobia and the Judaeo-Christian Tradition. Dallas: 

Monument, 1990. 

Stott, John. Same-Sex Partnerships A Christian Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. 

Stuart, Elizabeth, et. al. Religion Is a Queer Thing: A Guide to the Christian Faith for Lesbian, 

Bisexual and Transgendered Persons. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 19 

140

Stuart, Elizabeth. Just Good Friends: Towards a Lesbian and Gay Theology of Relationships. New 

York: Mowbray, 1995. 

Swidler, Arlene, ed. Homosexuality and World Religions. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 

1993. 

Eight articles, each with accompanying bibliography, treat homosexuality in the light of the 

traditional religions of the Americas, Africa, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Roman 

Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and the Chinese and Japanese religions. 

Switzer, David K., and Shirley Switzer. Parents of the Homosexual. Christian Care Books. 

Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1980. 

Deals with counseling parents on how to accept their homosexual children, and includes 

discussion of the relevant biblical texts on homosexuality. 

Both authors are professional employed in pastoral care and counselling. 

Thévenot, Xavier, S.D.B. Homosexualités masculines et morale chrétienne. Recherches morales, 

9. Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1985. 

Reviewed by André Guindon in Eglise et Théologie 17 (1986): 57-84. 

Thomas, Laurence, and Levin, Michael. Sexual Orientation and Human Rights. Lanham MD: 

Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. 

Thompson, Chad W. Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would: A Fresh Christian Approach. Grand 

Rapids: Brazos Press, 2004. 

Thompson, a formerly gay man, calls Christians to disarm the gay community by “loving 

first.” 

Thurston, Thomas. Homosexuality and Roman Catholic Ethics. Bethesda, MD: International 

Scholars Publications, 1996. 

Thurston identifies three basic approaches to the issue, traditional, mediating and revisionist, 

and provides a thorough discussion of the biblical, historical, philosophical and scientific 

foundations underlying these three currents of thought. Using Liberation Theology as a 

starting point, he proposes a new approach to sexual ethics based on the three virtues: 

aphrodisia, agape and philia. Thurston argues for an ethic informed by faith, acceptance and 

love. 

Twiss, H.L., ed. Homosexuality and the Christian Faith. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1978. 

141

Webster, Alison. Found Wanting: Women, Christianity, and Sexuality. Herdon VA: Cassell 

Academic, 1995. 

This book is a lesbian and feminist critique of Christian teachings and sexuality. 

Williams, Bruce, O.P. American Protestantism and Homosexuality: Recent Neo-Traditional 

Approaches. Dissertatio ad lauream in Facultate S. Theologiae apud Pontificiam 

Universitatem S. Thomae de Urbe. Romae, 1981. 

Williams taught moral theology at the Angelicum in Rome. 

Wink, Walter, ed. Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches. 


Selections from Protestant and Catholic authors. 

Wold, Donald J. Out of Order: Homosexuality in the Bible and the Ancient Near East. Grand 

Rapids: Baker Books, 1997. 

Analyzes the biblical passages relating to homosexuality in light of their Near Eastern 

background, contesting the work of “revisionist interpretation” such as that of John 

Boswell’s Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Wold has a doctorate in 

biblical and Judaic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and has served as 

an pastor in the evangelical tradition. 

Wolf, James G., ed. Gay Priests. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. 

Wood, James Rutland. Where the Spirit Leads: The Evolving Views of United Methodists on 

Homosexuality. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. 

Yost, Merle James, ed. When Love Lasts Forever: Male Couples Celebrate Commitment. 

Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1999. 

******** 

142

MARRIAGE AND/OR FAMILY 

General and/or Miscellaneous 

Arjonillo, Roland B., Jr. Conjugal Love and the Ends of Marriage: A Study of Dietrich von 

Hildebrand and Herbert Doms in the Light of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes. 

European University Studies, Series 13 Theology, vol. 619. New York: Peter Lang, 1998. 

Barton, Stephen C. "New Occasions Teach New Duties: 12. Marriage and Family Life as 

Christian Concerns." The Expository Times 106 (1994): 69-74. 

Böckle, Franz. "Il matrimonio cristiano. Orientamenti e problemi." Parte Terza, Capitolo 7 in 

Problemi e prospettive di teologia morale, 405-436. A cura di Tullo Goffi. Brescia: 

Queriniana, 1976. 

Brooke, Christopher N.L. Marriage in Christian History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 

1978. 

. The Medieval Idea of Marriage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. 

Buckley, Timothy. What Binds Marriage Roman Catholic Theology in Practice. London: 

Geoffrey Chapman and Cassell, 1997. 

Argues that the Roman Catholic theology about the indissolubility of marriage creates not 

only an official impasse in regards to granting of annulments, but is in itself not sustainable 

theologically. Originally presented as the author’s doctoral dissertation. 

Burke, C. Marriage: Love and Commitment. Four Courts Press, 1990. 

Busche, Bernd. Sexualethik kontroverse: Analyse des evangelischen Schrifttums zu Sexualität, 

Partnerschaft und Ehe. Essen: Die Blaue Eule, 1989. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. “Marriage: Developments in Catholic Theology and Ethics.” Theological 

Studies 64 (March 2003): 78-105. 


sexual ethics. See also Michael Lawler’s response, . “Cohabitation: Past and Present 

Reality: A Response to Lisa Sowle Cahill.” Theological Studies 65 (September 2004): 623- 

629. 




143

Marriage & Family: General 

. "Marriage: Institution, Relationship, Sacrament." In One Hundred Years of Catholic Social 

Thought: Celebration and Challenge, 103-119. Edited by John Coleman, S.J. Maryknoll: 

Orbis Books, 1990. 

. “Thomas Aquinas: Marriage, Procreation, and the Law of Nature.” Ch. 6 in id. Between the 

Sexes: Foundations for a Christian Ethics of Sexuality, 105-122. New York: Paulist Press; 

and Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985. 

Cavanaugh, Michael E. Before The Wedding: Look Before you Leap. Westminster/ John Knox 

Press, 1994. 

Along with standard marriage preparation topics such as motivations for getting married, 

individual and couple growth, communications, parents and friends, sexuality and 

parenthood, the author includes areas of caution and potential problems which are realistic 

and practical. 

Chryssavgis, John. "The Sacrament of Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective." Studia Liturgica 19 

(1989): 17-27. 

Clark, Elizabeth, ed. St. Augustine on Marriage and Sexuality. Washington DC: Catholic University 

of America Press, 1996. 

The passages in this collection are divided into four chapters which documents the 

chronological development of Augustine's sexual ethic. The first chapter includes passages 

that pertain to Augustine's own life and illustrate some of his positive and negative models 

of marital relation. The second chapter recounts Augustine's responses to the Manichean 

teachings on the body, reproduction, and marriage. The third chapter contains passages 

marking Augustine's reaction to the ascetic debates within late fourth-century Latin 

Christianity. The fourth chapter illustrates Augustine's mature sexual and marital ethic, 

which he elaborated in the midst of arguments with Pelagian writers. 

Coleman, Peter. Christian Attitudes to Marriage. Norwich: SCM Press, 2004. 

Coleman brings together the separate disciplines of the Old Testament, the New Testament 

and social history, creating a unique resource for students with an interest in Christianity and 

sociology, as well as historical Christianity. 

Colligan, John J. & Colligan, Kathleen A. Day-By-Day: A Program of Preparation for Christian 

Marriage. Paulist Press, 1994. 

144


An ecumenical program of marriage preparation which includes a comprehensive guidebook 

and a workbook for engaged couples, both focusing on basic Christian teachings about 

married love. 

Constantelos, Demetrios J. Marriage, Sexuality & Celibacy: A Greek Orthodox Perspective. 

Minneapolis: Light and Life Pub. Co., 1975. 

Coombs, Marie Theresa. & Nemeck, Francis Kelly. Discerning Vocations to Marriage, Celibacy 

and Singlehood. Liturgical Press-Michael Glazier, 1994. 

Dacanáy, Adolfo N., S.J. Canon Law on Marriage: Introductory Notes and Comments. Manila: 

Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2000. 

An excellent (though dense and compact) comprehensive treatment of the entire treatment 

of marriage in the 1983 Code of Canon Law. 

Descamps, Albert L. "Les textes évangéliques sur le mariage." Revue Theologique de Louvain 9 

(1978): 159-286; e 11 (1980): 5-50. 

Demmer, Klaus, and Brenninkmeijer-Werhahn, A., eds. Christian Marriage Today. Washington, 

D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1998. 

Result of a 1994 Symposium held in Brussels, organized by the International Academy for 

Marital Spirituality (INTAMS). Contributions from Demmer, Ladislas Örsy, Carlo 

Rocchetta, Michel Rouche, and Jorg Splett. 

Demmer, Klaus, M.S.C. "La decisione irrevocabile. Riflessioni sulla teologia della scelta di vita." 

Communio 16 (1974): 9-17. 

. "Die Ehe als Berufung leben." Theologie der Gegenwart 35 (1992): 45-52. 

Suggests that an appropriate model for understanding Christian marriage would be that of 

a lived vocation in communication. Seems to use Habermas' theology of communication. 

Rather abstract presentation. 

Doherty, Dennis. "Consummation and the Indissolubility of Marriage." In Absolutes in Moral 

Theology, 211-231. Edited by Charles E. Curran. Washington, D.C.: Corpus Books, 1968. 

En español: ¿Principios Absolutos en Teología Moral «Teologia y Mundo Actual», 24. 

Traducción de José Maria Ruiz, S.J. Santander: Editorial Sal Terrae, 1970. 

145


Dominian, Jack [i.e., Jacob]. Christian Marriage: The Challenge of Change. London: Darton, 

Longman & Todd, 1967. 


. Cycles of Affirmation. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1975. 

Discusses Christian marriage, as well as the other states of life, plus prayer, grief, maturity, 

etc. 

. Make or Break: An Introduction to Marriage Couselling. New Library of Pastoral Care. 

London: SPCK, 1984. 

. Marital Breakdown. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968. 

. Marriage: An Anatomy of Contemporary Love. Heinemann, 1995 

Reviewed by Christopher Clulow in The Tablet 249 (13 May 1995): 604-605. 

. Marriage, Faith, and Love. New York: Crossroad, 1981. 

. "Sexuality and the Family." Studies in Christian Ethics 4 (2/1991): 42-49. 


See response by Richard Franklin in the same issue, pp. 50-52. 

Doms, H. "Sessualità e matrimonio." Mysterium Salutis 4, 409-464. 

Doyle, Thomas P., ed. Marriage Studies: Reflections in Canon Law and Theology. 3 volumes. 

Canon Law Society of America, 1985. 

Reviewed by William Dalton in Irish Theological Quarterly 56 (1990): 80. 

Elliot, Peter J. What God Has Joined...: The Sacramentality of Marriage. Alba House, 1990. 

A systematic theology of marriage by an Australian convert, who did his doctoral research 

at the John Paul II Institute on the Family in Rome, and who, since 1987, has worked in the 

Pontifical Council for the Family. 

Elliott, Dyan. Spiritual Marriage: Sexual Abstinence in Medieval Wedlock. Princeton: Princeton 


146


Reviewed by Margaret R. Miles in Theological Studies 55 (1994): 148-150. 

Erdhal, Lowell and Carol. Be Good to Each Other: An Open Letter on Marriage. Minneapolis: 

Augsburg Press, 1991. 

Evdokimov, Paul. The Sacrament of Love: The Nuptial Mystery in the Light of the Orthodox 

Tradition. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995. 

Ford, Jeffrey E. Love, Marriage, and Sex in the Christian Tradition from Antiquity to Today. 

Lanham MD: University Press of America, 1998. 

Forliti, John E. Reverence for Life and Family: Catechesis in Sexuality. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown 

Co., 1981. 

Fuchs, Eric. Le désir et la tendresse: Sources et histoire d'une éthique chrétienne de la sexualité et 

du mariage. Le champs éthique, 1. 4 ed. Genève, 1982. 

In English: Sexual Desire and Love: Origins and History of the Christian Ethics of Sexuality 

and Marriage. Translated by Marsha Daigle. Cambridge: James Clark & Co.; New York: 

Seabury Press, 1983. 

Traduzione italiana: Desiderio e tenerezza: Fonti e storia di un'etica cristiana della 

sessualità e del matrimonio. Traduzione di Oriana Bert. Torino: Claudiana, 1984. 


Gallagher, Charles A.; George A. Maloney, Mary F. Rousseau, and Paul F. Wilczak. Embodied in 

Love: Sacramental Spirituality and Sexual Intimacy. New York: Crossroad, 1983, 1985. 

Gallagher, Charles, and Rousseau, Mary. Sex is Holy. New York: Continuum, 1994. 

Develops a theology and spirituality of marriage which stresses the positive role of sex and 

sexuality in the sacrament of relationship. 

Gallagher, Charles, and Rousseau, Mary. Sexual Healing in Marriage. New York: Continuum, 

1991. 

Gilbert, Henri, M.D. Love in Marriage: The Meaning and Practice of Sexual Love in Christian 

Marriage. Translated by André Humbert. With an Introduction by Msgr. George A. Kelly. 

New York and London: Hawthorn Books, 1964. 

147


Greeley, Andrew M. Faithful Attraction: Discovering Intimacy, Love, and Fidelity in American 

Marriage. TOR Books, 1991. 


1952. 





Griffiths, Anne M.O. In the Shadow of Marriage: Gender and Justice in an African Community. 

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. 

Study of gender and power among the Bakwena people in Africa. 

Guindon, André, O.M.I. et. al. "Pre-ceremonial Christian couples." Eglise et Théologie 8: (1977): 

9-195. 

Contents: La permissivité hétéro-sexuelle chez les jeunes adultes: documents du magistère: 

présentation, réflexions, suggestions, by A.Luneau; Couple et sexualité selon le Nouveau 

Testament, by M. Dumais; Marriage among early Christians: a consideration for the future, 

by J.K. Coyle; Is a marriage "in the church" a marriage "in the Lord" by W. Marrevee; 

Couple et ritualisation d'après le type de société, by J.Rémy; A propos d'un type de discours 

moral, by R.Bellemare; Case for a "consummated" sexual bond before a "ratified" marriage, 

by A.Guindon; The pre-ceremonial couple: reflections for a spirituality, by R.P.Hardy. 

Guindon, André, O.M.I. "Fécondité sexuelle dans les relations familiales." Eglise et Théologie 12 

(1981): 141-165. 

Abstract: The author claims that sexual fecundity is a more important concept for sexual 

ethics than procreation. This article applies, therefore, a renewed notion of human sexual 

fecundity to different types of family relationships in an effort to redirect the current debate 

in an ethically and theologically acceptable direction. When fecundity is dissociated from 

a mere biological notion of fertility and viewed as the fruitfulness of a well-spoken sexual 

language, it becomes possible to speak of conjugal, parental and juvenile fecundities and to 

suggest some ways in which different family members are sexually fecund towards one 

another. 

. "Patterns of sexual fidelity and ethical paradigms." Eglise et Théologie 11 (1980): 111-153. 

148


Abstract: This analysis to determine the main concepts of sexual fidelity found in current 

Christian literature and to uncover ethical paradigms conditioning the diverse theological 

discourses on sexual fidelity identified three patterns: institutional fidelity, a conformity to 

past conventions because of fatalistic, biosociological constraints; personal fidelity, a 

conscious disposition to keep the ultimate good effectively present in one's life and to 

implement this virtuous resolution of time within the duration of one's specific commitments; 

and relational fidelity, a conscious disposition to maintain through time the quality and 

intensity of a loving presence between persons. 

Hardley, Gary Kaye. A Scriptural Guide to a Fulfilling Marriage. State College PA: Ideals Inc., 

1987. 

Harvey, A.E. "Marriage, Sex and the Bible." Theology 96 (1993): 364-372; 461-467. 

Harvey is Sub-Dean of Westminster, a former theology lecturer at the University of Oxford, 

and a New Testament scholar. 

. Promise or Pretence: A Christian's Guide to Sexual Morals. London: SCM Press, 1995. 

Discusses the Christian vision of marriage, especially in light of the Biblical injunctions 

against divorce. Harvey concludes the Jesus did not intend to issue an absolute prohibition 

against divorce, but rather was challenging people to look at marriage in a new way. 

Reviewed by Julie Clague in The Tablet 249 (20 May 1995): 639. 

Harvey, John F. “Expressing Marital Love during the Fertile Phase.” Journal of Natural Family 

Planning 5 (1981): 203-220. 

Fr. Harvey is well-known as the founder of “Courage”–a Catholic organization for 

homosexual men and women which is grounded on the traditional magisterial teachings and 

demands sexual continence for its members. 

Heaney, Robert P., M.D. "Sex, Natural Law and Bread Crumbs." America (26 February 1994): 12- 

16. 

Argues from a scientific stand-point that the Church's traditional teaching on marriage as 

derived from its interpretation of natural law is flawed, being based on both bad biology and 

poor reductionistic analysis. 

See response by Janet Smith, "Barnyard Morality." America (13 August 1994): 12-14. 

149


Henslin, James M., ed. Marriage and Family in a Changing Society. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan 

Free Press, 1980, 1985. 

Hillman, Eugene, C.S.Sp. Polygamy Reconsidered: African Plural Marriage and the Christian 

Churches. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1975. 

Hogan, Margaret Monahan. Finality and Marriage. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 

1993. Revised edition: Marriage As A Relationship: Real and Rational. Afterword by 

Sidney Callahan. Marquette Studies in Philosophy 34. Milwaukee: Marquette University 

Press, 2002. 

Chapter One deals with the past recovery of the tradition in Pius XI and Pius XII. Chapter 

Two deals with the present recovery of the tradition by looking at Gaudium et spes, 

Humanae vitae, and Donum vitae. Chapter Three outlines an emerging position on marriage 

as a human relationship, and Chapter Four is an epilogue which gives responses to questions 

raised in the earlier edition. These treat the departure from the earlier Catholic tradition on 

marriage and includes a discussion of the possibility of homosexual marriage. 

Revised edition reviewed by James T. Bretzke, S.J. in Catholic Studies: An Online Journal 

(http://www.adelphi.edu/cst) 

Hugenberger, Gordon P. Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of Biblical Law and Ethics Governing 

Marriage Developed from the Perspective of Malachi. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, 

52. Leiden and New York: Brill, 1994. 

Also published in paperback as Marriage as a Covenant: Biblical Law and Ethics as 

Developed from Malachi. Baker’s Biblical Studies Library. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 

1998. 

Hugenberger is senior minister of Park Street Church in Boston and teaches Old Testament 

at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. 

John Paul II, Pope. Familaris consortio "The Christian Family in the Modern World." 22 

November 1981. 

Apostolic Exhortation given after the 1980 Synod of Bishops which considered the same 

theme. 



150


Koury, Joseph J. “The Rediscovery of a Tradition: The ‘Ends’ of Marriage according to Vatican II.” 

In Vatican II: The Unfinished Agenda, A Look to the Future, 129-145. Edited by Lucien 

Richard, with Daniel Harrington and John W. O’Malley. New York: Paulist Press, 1987. 

Laiou, Angeliki E., ed. Consent and Coercion to Sex and Marriage in Ancient and Medieval 

Societies. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993. 

Lardner Carmody, Denise. Caring for Marriage: Feminist and Biblical Reflections. New York: 


Lawler, Michael G. “Cohabitation: Past and Present Reality: A Response to Lisa Sowle Cahill.” 

Theological Studies 65 (September 2004): 623-629. 

Responds to one aspect of Cahill’s article, “Marriage: Developments in Catholic Theology 

and Ethics.” Theological Studies 64 (March 2003): 78-105. 

. Marriage and the Catholic Church: Disputed Questions. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2002. 

Reviewed by Lisa Sowle Cahill in America (18 November 2002): 24-25. 

Leclercq, Jean. Monks on Marriage: A Twelfth-Century View. New York: Seabury Press, 1982. 

Liebard, Odile M., ed. Official Catholic Teachings: Love and Sexuality. Wilmington NC: McGrath, 

1978. 

Mackin, Theodore. What is Marriage Marriage in the Catholic Church. New York: Paulist Press, 

1982. 

Mackin was a Jesuit teaching at Santa Clara University at the time he wrote this book. He 

later left the priesthood and married. 

Malone, Msgr. Richard, and Connery, John R., S.J. Contemporary Perspectives on Christian 

Marriage: Propositions and Papers from the International Theological Commission. 

Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1984. 

Marra, Bruno, S.J. Etica della vita coniugale. Napoli: Dehoniane, 1988. 

Martin, Thomas M. The Challenge of Christian Marriage: Marriage in Scripture, History and 

Contemporary Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 

Historical study which moves from Scripture through the early Church, the Church Fathers, 

and the medieval and reformation periods. Modern challenges to Christian marriage are 

151


addressed, as well as an attempt to spell out a contemporary theology of marriage. Designed 

as an undergraduate text, includes study questions and recommendations for further reading 

after each chapter. 

Martinez, German, O.S.B. "An Anthropological Vision of Christian Marriage." Thomist 56 (1992): 

451-472. 

McDonagh, Enda. "The Moral Theology of Marriage: Recent Literature in English." Concilium 5 

(1/1965): 70-82. 

McGann, Bishop John. "The Good News of Christian Marriage." Origins 25 (February 8, 1996): 

567-68. 

Mehl, Roger. Society and Love: Ethical Problems of Family Life. Translated by James H. Farley. 



1987. 





Mellor, Philip. "Objective Form and Subjective Content: Marriage and the Transcendence of Self 

in Roman Catholic Theology." Irish Theological Quarterly 56 (1990): 136-149. 

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Churches Speak On: Sex and Family Life. The Churches Speak Series. 


Molloy, Cathy. "Sacrament, Sex and Conflict in Marriage." The Furrow 45 (1994): 633-639. 

Moore, James F. Sexuality & Marriage: A Christian Foundation for Making Responsible Choices. 

Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1987. 

Noonan, John T., Jr. Power to Dissolve; Lawyers and Marriages in the Courts of the Roman Curia. 

Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1972. 

Oliver, Mary Anne McPherson. Conjugal Spirituality: The Primacy of Mutual Love in Christian 

Tradition. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1995. 

152


Oppenheimer, Helen. Marriage. Ethics, Our Choices. London: Mowbray, 1990. 

Orsy, Ladislas, S.J. Marriage in Canon Law: Texts and Comments, Reflections and Questions. 

Collegeville: Liturgical Press/Michael Glazer, 1986. 

Commentary on the 1983 Code, and contains the Latin text, the author's own translation, and 

then his commentary. A general historical perspective is also provided. 




Planque, Daniel. The Theology of Sex in Marriage. Translated by Albert J. LaMothe, Jr. Themes 

of Theology. Notre Dame: Fides, 1962. 

Original published in French as La Chastete Conjugale--Vertu Positive. Brussels: Centre 

D’Etudes et de Consultations Familiales, 1957. 

Ponder Soto, Jean. “Conjugal Spirituality: ‘God Created Co-Being’.” Explore 1 (Winter 1998): 14- 

18. 

Written for a popular audience this brief article presents the outlines of a conjugal 

spirituality, with reference largely to resources drawn from traditional Christian spirituality 

and Vatican II, in which the married couple together respond to God’s call to holiness for 

them. 

Pontifical Council for the Family. “Vade Mecum for Confessors Concerning Some Aspects of the 

Morality of Conjugal Life.” Origins 26 (13 March 1997): 617; 619-235. (Also available on 

the Internet). 

Popenoe, David, Jean Bethke Elshtain and David Blankenhorn, eds. Promises to Keep: Decline and 

Renewal of Marriage in America. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1996. 

This collection of essays by prominent lawyers, theologians, social scientists, policy 

makers and activists examines the reasons why the once treasured institution of 

marriage has been steadily displaced by a culture of divorce and unwed parenthood 

resulting in tragic hardships for children, poverty within families, and insupportable 

social costs. The book includes the full text of The Council on Families in America’s 

1995 investigation, Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation, and is sponsored 

by the Institute for American Values. 

153


Post, Stephen G. “Marriage and Family.” In Christian Ethics: Problems and Prospects, 265-283. 

Edited by Lisa Sowle Cahill and James F. Childress. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1996. 

Article done for the Festschrift for James M. Gustafson made up of contributions from his 

former students. 

Perini, Giuseppe. "Principi dottrinali e indicazioni pratiche nella morale matrimoniale." Divinitas 

38 (1994): 223-243. 

Pope, Stephen J. “Same-Sex Marriage: Threat or Aspiration” America (6 December 2004): 11-14. 

Counter to Sokolowski’s claim that procreation is the primary end of marriage Pope suggests 

that it is possible to think of procreation as neither the primary nor exclusive natural end of 

sex. Pope also notes the increasing number of children being raised outside of marriage, 

including gay couples who adopt. Pope acknowledges that critics of same-sex marriage have 

a number of valid concerns, but avers that this “discussion needs to be informed by a 

perspective that acknowledges that love and commitment are at the center of marriage.” (P. 

14.). 

Drafted as a response to Sokolowski’s article “The Threat of Same-Sex Marriage” America 

(7-14 June 2004): 12-16. See the further response by Sokolowski, “The Primacy of 

Procreation” on pp. 14-15. In this response Sokolowski acknowledges his use of the 





Pope is professor of theological ethics at Boston College and Sokolowski is professor of 

philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 

Post, Stephen G. "The Moral Meaning of Relinquishing an Infant: Reflections on Adoption." 

Thought 67 (1992): 207-220. 

Rabior, William, and Leipert, Jack. Marriage Makers Marriage Breakers: Counseling for a Stronger 

Relationship. Ligouri Publications, 1992. 

Ramsey, Paul. One Flesh: A Christian View of Sex within, outside, and before Marriage. 

Nottingham: Grove, 1975. 



154





Roberts, William P. Marriage: Sacrament of Hope and Challenge. Cincinnati: St. Anthony 

Messenger Press, 1983, 1988. 

Designed for marriage preparation and/or senior high school or college marriage courses. 

Roberts is married and teaches theology at the University of Dayton. 

Salzman, Todd A, Kelly, Thomas M., and O’Keefe, John, eds. Marriage and the Catholic Tradition. 

NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2004. 

Saxton, Stanley L; Voydanoff, Patricia; Zukowski, Angela A, eds. The Changing Family: Views 

from Theology and the Social Sciences in the Light of the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris 

Consortio. Chicago Loyola University Press, 1984. 

Papers from a symposium organized by the Center for the Study of Family Development of 

the University of Dayton. 

Contents: Preface, S. Saxton, et al. Introduction, D. Thomas. Family as sacrament, M. 

Gallagher. Home fires: theological reflections on the Christian family, D. Thomas. 

Familiaris consortio: a review of its theology, M. Place. Love and intimacy: revealing God 

in family relationships, M. Durkin. The economy, the family, and social justice, C. Wilber 

and M. Wilber. Rich relationships: a social-psychological essay, S. Saxton and M. Katovich. 

The impact of recent economic change on families and the role of women, L. Majka. Sex 

equality, women's employment, and the family, D. Hiller. Changing roles of men and 

women: the emergence of symmetrical families, P. Voydanoff. Actualizing family rights: 

Christian participation in the development of national and international society, T. Harblin. 

Public policy for building family strengths, J. Regier. The family in social-historical 

perspective, T. Majka. Familiaris consortio: a pastoral view, L. Urban. 

Scicluna, Charles J. The Essential Definition of Marriage According to the 1917 and 1983 Codes 

of Canon Law. Lanham MD: University Press of America, 1997. 

Scott, Kieran, and Warren, Michael, eds. Perspectives on Marriage: A Reader. 2 ed. New York: 

nd 

Oxford University Press, 1993, 2000. 

155


Designed as an anthology of 37 readings for an undergraduate course in marriage taught at 

Roman Catholic institutions. An appendix contains church documents on marriage 

preparation, Jewish--Christian relations, and annulment procedures. 

Selling, Joseph A. "Magisterial Teaching on Marriage, 1880-1968. Historical Constancy or Radical 

Development Studia Moralia 28 (1990): 439-490. 

Also found in Historia: Memoria Futuri. Mélanges Louis Vereecke (70 anniversaire de 

naissance), 351-402. Edited by Réal Tremblay, C.Ss.R. and Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. Roma: 

Editiones Academiae Alphonsianae, 1991. 

By analyzing the teachings of Popes Leo XIII to Paul VI Humane Vitae's claim of the 

existence of a clearly definable body of teaching with respect to marriage which has been 

"constantly" taught by the Magisterium is evaluated. Selling concludes that a new norm, 

"openness to procreation" emerged which went "considerably beyond what Pius XII had 

explicitly taught." Humanae vitae itself "can be better characterized either as a radical 

development in the line of teaching of Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII, or a departure from 

the developing teaching of [these same popes] and the Second Vatican Council." 

Selling teaches moral theology on the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of 

Louvain. 

Shivanandan, Mary. Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage in the Light of John 

Paul II’s Anthropology. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press, 1999. 

Negatively reviewed by Anne Borrowdale in Expository Times (May 2000): 282. 

Borrowdale critiques the author for presenting a one-sided approach, with gross 

oversimplifications and caricatures of opinions and practices which differ from those of John 

Paul II. She concludes her review by observing that “[w]hile this is a useful book for those 

wishing to understand the basis of the Pope’s thinking, for a new vision of marriage, it seems 

remarkably like the old.” 

Shivanandan teaches at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. 

Smith, Msgr. William B. The Role of the Christian Family, Articles 28-35 [of Familiaris Consortio; 

Gaudium et Spes; Humanae Vitae]." In Pope John Paul II and the Family, 73-107. Edited 

by M. Wrenn. 1983. 

Msgr. William B. Smith is an Opus Dei theologian who teaches moral theology at 

Dunwoodie, NY, and currently writes the Question/Answer column on moral matters for 

Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 

156


Sokolowski, Msgr. Robert. “The Threat of Same-Sex Marriage.” America (7-14 June 2004): 12-16. 

Argues for the primacy of procreation as the chief teleological end of marriage and argues 

that anyone who separates procreation from marriage lives in illusion and lies about the 

matter. 

See the response essay by Stephen J. Pope, “Same-Sex Marriage: Threat or Aspiration” 

America (6 December 2004): 11-14, and a further response by Sokolowski, “The Primacy 

of Procreation” on pp. 14-15. In this response Sokolowski acknowledges his use of the 





Sokolowski is professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Washington, 

D.C. and Pope is professor of theology at Boston College. 

Stehura, Eugene. Love Talk: A Communication Guide for Married Couples. Kansas City: Sheed 

& Ward, 1991. 

Teichtweier, Georg. "Eheliche Gemeinschaft in Christus und eheliche Spiritualität." In Praesentia 

Christi, 334-344. Edited by L. Lies. 1984. 

Treats Eph 5:32 and Familiaris consortio 

Vatican II. "The Dignity of Marriage and the Family." Chapter 1 [#47-52] of Gaudium et spes, 

Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. 7 December 1965. In The 

Documents of Vatican Council II, 949-957. Edited by Austin P. Flannery, O.P. Collegeville: 

The Liturgical Press, 1975. 

Webber, Christopher L. Re-Inventing Marriage: A Re-View and Re-Vision. Morehouse Publishing, 

1994. 

Welch, Don. Macho Isn't Enough!: Family Man in a Liberated World. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 

1985. 

Westley, Richard. "Marriage, Sexuality and Spirituality." Chicago Studies 32 (1993): 214-221. 


Whitehead, Evelyn and James. Sense of Sexuality: Christian Love and Intimacy. Garden City: 

Doubleday, 1989: New York: Crossroad Pub. Co., 1995. 

157

Authored by a well-known Catholic husband and wife team who present psychological 

workshops on marriage and relationships. 

Whitehead, Kenneth D., ed. Marriage and the Common Good. South Bend IN: St. Augustine’s 

Press, 2001. 

nd 

Essays from the 22 Annual Convention of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars held in 

Chicago in September 1999. Speakers included Alice von Hildebrand, Robert George, 

William E. May, and Jean Bethke Elshtain. 

Wilkins, Ronald J., and Gryczka, Mary E. Christian Marriage: A Sacrament of Love: A Christian 

Perspective on Marriage, Love, and Human Sexuality. Dubuque: Religious Education 

Division, W.C. Brown Co. Publishers, 1986. 

Witte, John, Jr. From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western 

Tradition. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1997. 

Considers five conflicting models of marriage: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, 

Calvinist, and Enlightenment, and the impact of these on domestic legislation and 

organization in the last millennium. 

Witte is Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Director of the Law and Religion Program 

at the School of Law at Emory University. 

Zion, W. Eros and Transformation: Sexuality and Marriage. Lanham MD: University Press of 

America, 1992. 

Divorce and Annulment 

******** 

Barilier, R. "Le divorce. Etude biblique et pastorale." Revue Réformée 42 (5/1991): 1-45. 

Bleske, Elisabeth. "Failure in the Lifelong Project of Fidelity." Concilium (5/1990): 105-116. 

Buckley, Timothy. What Binds Marriage Roman Catholic Theology in Practice. London: 

Geoffrey Chapman and Cassell, 1997. 

Argues that the Roman Catholic theology about the indissolubility of marriage creates not 

only an official impasse in regards to granting of annulments, but is in itself not sustainable 

theologically. Originally presented as the author’s doctoral dissertation. 

158

Catoir, John T. “The Internal Forum.” Canon Law Society of America, Proceedings of the Fifty- 

Ninth Annual Convention 59 (1997): 123-129. 

Gives a good thumbnail sketch of the theological grounding of the difference between the 

internal and external forum, and suggests that current Church practice might make desirable 

pastorally sensitive solutions to some marriage cases rather too difficult to achieve. 

. Where Do You Stand with the Church The Dilemma of Divorced Catholics. Staten Island: 

Alba House, 19. 

The author has a doctorate in canon law, and the book includes chapters on annulments, 

conscience, and the internal forum. 

Collins, Raymond F. Divorce in the New Testament. Good News Studies 38. Collegeville: 

Liturgical Press/Michael Glazer, 1992. 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Concerning the Reception of Communion by Divorcedand-Remarried 

Members of the Faithful: Letter to Bishops." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 

337-340. 

See also the "Response" by the three German Bishops whose pastoral letter occasioned the 

CDF Letter, "Response to Doctrinal Congregation's Letter: Message to Their People," 

Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 341-344. See also Msgr. J. Francis Stafford's "The Ecclesial 

Dimension of Conscience: Statement on the Doctrinal Congregation's Letter," Origins 24 

(October 27, 1994): 345. See also "In Truth and Love," Pastoral Letter of the Pennsylvania 

Catholic Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Divorced Catholics Who Remarry (29 July 1994), 

Origins 24 (18 August 1994): 205-208. 

Crossan, John Dominic. "Divorce and Remarriage in the New Testament." In The Bond of 

Marriage, 1-33. Edited by William W. Bassett. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame 

Press, 1968. 

Curran, Charles E. "The Gospel and Culture: Christian Marriage and Divorce Today." In 

Ministering to the Divorced Catholic, 15-36. New York: Paulist Press, 1979. 

One of a series of articles on canonical, theological, pastoral, and sociological issues 

connected with the issues concerning the divorced in the Church. 

Dominian, Jack [i.e., Jacob]. Marital Breakdown. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968. 


159

Donahue, John R., S.J. "Divorce: New Testament Perspectives." The Month 14 (April, 1981): 113- 

120. 

Doogan, Hugh F. ed. Catholic Tribunals: Marriage Annulment and Dissolution. E.J. Dwyer 

(Australia), 1990. 

A collection of some thirty lectures delivered at Australia's Institute of Tribunal Practice on 

various fundamental aspects of the tribunal process. 

Ellis, Gordon F. New Beginnings: Preparing Families for Remarriage in the Church. Pilgrim 

Press, 1991. 

Farley, Margaret A. "Divorce, Remarriage, and Pastoral Practice." In Moral Theology: Challenges 

for the Future. Essays in Honor of Richard A. McCormick, S.J., 213-239. Edited by Charles 

E. Curran. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 

Foster, Michael S. Annulment: The Wedding That Was. How the Church Can Declare a Marriage 

Null. New York: Paulist Press, 1998. 

Format of 101 questions and answers, illustrated by concrete examples, which cover the 

various aspects of marriage and annulments. 

Foster is the Associate Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Boston. 

Glendon, Mary Ann. Abortion and Divorce in Western Law. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 

1987. 

Häring, Bernard, C.Ss.R. Ausweglos Zur Pastoral bei Scheidung und Wiederverhieratung: Ein 

Plädoyer. Freiburg: Herder, 1989. 

In English: No Way Out: Pastoral Care of the Divorced and Remarried. Translated by 

Robert Nowell. Middlegreen, Slough: St. Paul Publications, 1990. 

Traduzione italiana: Pastorale dei divorziati. Una strada senza uscita. Bologna: EDB, 

1990. 

En español: ¿Hay una salida: Pastoral para divorciados. Barcelona: Herder, 1990. 

. "A Theological Appraisal of Marriage Tribunals." In Divorce and Remarriage in the 

Catholic Church, 16-28. Edited by Lawrence G. Wrenn. New York: Newman Press, 1973. 

Harvey, A.E. Promise or Pretence: A Christian's Guide to Sexual Morals. London: SCM Press, 

1995. 

160

Discusses the Christian vision of marriage, especially in light of the Biblical injunctions 

against divorce. Harvey concludes the Jesus did not intend to issue an absolute prohibition 

against divorce, but rather was challenging people to look at marriage in a new way. 

Reviewed by Jule Clague in The Tablet 249 (20 May 1995): 639. 

Harvey is Sub-Dean of Westminster, a former theology lecturer at the University of Oxford, 

and a New Testament scholar. 

Himes, Kenneth R., O.F.M., and Coriden, James A. “The Indissolubility of Marriage: Reasons to 

Reconsider.” Theological Studies 65 (September 2004): 453-499. 

The authors note that the present teaching of the Catholic Church on indissolubility has had 

a complex history and propose that the teaching may be open to revision, and furthermore, 

that current arguments against the revision of the teaching are insufficient. 

. "Pastoral Care of the Divorced and Remarried." Theological Studies 57 (1996): 97-123. 

Discusses the theological and canonical issues raised by the 1994 pastoral letter of several 

German bishops on the care of the divorced and remarried, as well as the negative Vatican 

reaction to that letter. Part of the annual "Notes on Moral Theology" in Theological Studies. 

Kaider, Matthäus. "Why should the divorced and remarried (not) be admitted to the sacraments" 

Theology Digest 41 (1994): 8-14. 

English digest of "Warum dürfen wiederverheiratete Geschiedene (nicht) zu den 

Sakramenten zugelassen werden Stimmen der Zeit 118 (1993): 741-751. 

The traditional church teaching and praxis concerning the non-admission of the divorced and 

remarried to the sacraments was based on Roman contractual law. However, Vatican II's 

marriage teaching is based not on contract law, but covenant. Nevertheless, the Vatican II 

teaching has not been well-received by the church. 

Kaiser is professor emeritus of canon law at the University of Regensburg. 

Kelly, Kevin T. Divorce and Second Marriage: Facing the Challenge. Expanded edition. London, 

1982, Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1997. 

Kelly is a moral theologian who lectures at Heythrop College in London, and is pastor of a 

poor parish in Liverpool. 

Kloppenborg, John S. “Alms, Debt and Divorce: Jesus’ Ethics in their Mediterranean Context.” 

Toronto Journal of Theology 6 (2/1990): 178-185. 

161

Laun, Andreas. "Stellungnahme zum Dokument einiger deutscher Bischöfe über die Seelsorge an 

Geschiedenen." Forum Katholische Theologie 10 (1994): 60-74. 

LaVerdière, Eugene. "Marriage and Divorce in the Gospel According to Mark." The Way 34 

(1994): 54-63. 

Lawler, Michael G. "Indissolubility, Divorce and Holy Communion: An Open Response to Germain 

Grisez, John Finnis and William E. May." New Blackfriars 76 (May 1995): 229-36. 

Responds to criticism in the June 1994 issue of the three German Bishops' controversial 

letter on divorced and remarried Catholics. 

Mackin, Theodore. Divorce & Remarriage: Marriage in the Catholic Church. New York: Paulist 

Press, 1984. 

Written before Mackin, a former Jesuit, left the priesthood at age 70 to marry. 

MacRae, George W., S.J. "New Testament Perspectives on Marriage and Divorce." In Divorce and 

Remarriage in the Catholic Church, 1-15. Edited by Lawrence G. Wrenn. New York: 

Newman Press, 1973. Also found in Ministering to the Divorced Catholic, 37-50. New 

York: Paulist Press, 1979. 



May, William E.; Grisez, Germain; and Finnis, John. "Indissolubility, Divorce and Holy 

Communion." New Blackfriars 75 (1994): 321-330. 

McCormick, Richard A., S.J. "Indissolubility and the Right to the Eucharist: Separate Issues or 

One" In Ministering to the Divorced Catholic, 65-84. New York: Paulist Press, 1979. 



McKenry, Patrick C., and Sharon J. Price. "Divorce: A Comparative Perspective." In Families in 

Multicultural Perspective, ed. Bron B. Ingoldsby and Suzanna Smith, 187-212. New York: 

The Guilford Press, 1995. 

Murphy, Séamus, S.J. "The Myths of Divorce: A Survey of Some Recent Literature." Milltown 

Studies 35 (Spring 1995): 69-88. 

Neuner, Jacob, S.J. "Second marriage: separation from community" The Month (May 1995): 182- 

186. 

162

Nichols, J. Randall. Ending Marriage, Keeping Faith: A New Guide through the Spiritual Journey 

of Divorce. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1991. 

Patsavos, Lewis J. "The Orthodox Position on Divorce." In Ministering to the Divorced Catholic, 

51-61. New York: Paulist Press, 1979. 



Pennsylvania Bishops. "In Truth and Love." Pastoral Letter of the Pennsylvania Catholic Bishops 

on the Pastoral Care of Divorced Catholics Who Remarry. 29 July 1994. Origins 24 (18 

August 1994): 205-208. 

Pontifical Council for the Family. “Care of the Divorced and Remarried.” Origins 26 (13 March 

1997): 625-627. 

Roberts, William P., ed. Divorce and Remarriage: Religious and Psychological Perspectives. 

Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1990. 

Eights articles which treat the pastoral situation in the United States, a critique of the ITC 

statement on indissolubility of marriage, New Testament passages on divorce, Eastern 

Orthodox tradition, effects of divorce on culture, and canon law and sacramental aspects of 

divorce and second marriages. 

Saier, Msgr. Oskar, Msgr. Karl Lehmann and Msgr. Walter Kasper. "Response to Doctrinal 

Congregation's Letter: Message to Their People." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 341-344. 

Response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Concerning the Reception of 

Communion by Divorced-and-Remarried Members of the Faithful: Letter to Bishops." 

Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 337-340. 

These three men are German Bishops. 

Smith, Rev. Ronald T. Annulment: A Step-by-Step Guide for Divorced Catholics. Chicago: ACTA 

Publications, 1995. 

Stafford, Msgr. J. Francis. "The Ecclesial Dimension of Conscience: Statement on the Doctrinal 

Congregation's Letter." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 345. 

Occasioned by the discussion raised by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

"Concerning the Reception of Communion by Divorced-and-Remarried Members of the 

Faithful: Letter to Bishops." Origins 24 (October 27, 1994): 337-340. 

163

Stafford is former Archbishop of Denver, Colorado and now is a cardinal who works in the 

Vatican. 

Tesoriero, Mary-Louise, and Gleeson, Brian. “Marital Failure: Theological and Pastoral 

Perspectives.” The Australasian Catholic Record 75 (January 1998): 75-87. 

Thurston, Anne. "Living with Ambiguity: A Response to `Divorce, Remarriage and the Eucharist'." 

Doctrine and Life 44 (1994): 537-542. 

Tierney, Terence E. Annulment: Do You Have a Case. New York: Alba House, 1978. 

Vacek, Edward C., S.J. "Divorce: Making a Moral Decision." Anglican Theological Review 70 

(1988): 310-322. 

Uses divorce as a test case for making a moral decision, following four principle guidelines: 

1) "Get away" from the decision by returning to centeredness in the Ultimate; 2) Try to 

become aware of all possible influences (psychological, social, religious, etc.) which may 

hinder a free decision; 3) Consider the decision in light of its components, various 

alternatives, consequences, etc.; and 4) Evaluate all data and make the final decision under 

the overall principle of "choosing life," which is what each moral decision should lead to. 

Vasoli, Robert. “Annulments in America: Rebutting a Rebuttal.” Homiletic and Pastoral Review 

98 (April 1998): 16-28. 

. What God Has Joined Together: The Annulment Crisis in American Catholicism. New 

York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 

Written out of deep anger at his own unrequested annulment, the author, who is a retired 

sociologist, launches a severe attack against the whole annulment process in the United 

States. 

Wrenn, Lawrence G. Annulments. 2nd ed. Hartford: Canon Law Society of America, 1972. 

Wrenn, Lawrence G., ed. Divorce and Remarriage in the Catholic Church. New York: Newman 

Press, 1973. 

Young, James J., C.S.P., ed. Ministering to the Divorced Catholic. New York: Paulist Press, 1979. 

Series of articles on canonical, theological, pastoral, and sociological issues connected with 

the issues concerning the divorced in the Church. 

Vawter, Bruce. "The Biblical Theology of Divorce." Catholic Theological Society of America 

Proceedings 22 (1967): 223-243. 

164

Whitehead, Barbara Dafoe. The Divorce Culture. New York: Knopf, 1997. 

Analyzes the history and social significance of divorce in American society. 

Yang, Seung Ai. “The Bible and World Cultures: Jesus’ Sayings on Divorce: A Korean 

Perspective.” Bible Today 35 (January 1997): 49-54. 

Discusses the sayings of Jesus in the gospels in light of traditional and contemporary Korean 

society. 

Yang teaches New Testament at the Jesuit School of Theology-at-Berkeley, California. 

Zwack, Joseph P. Annulment: Your Chance to Remarry within the Catholic Church. Cambridge, 

Hagerstown, New York, etc.: Harper and Row, 1983. 

Zyskowski, Bob. “Annulments. Coming to Understand What Never Was.” U.S. Catholic (April 

1997): 6-13. 

Written for a popular audience to explain the Church’s thinking about what an annulment 

means, using brief illustrative examples. Appropriate for adult education groups. 

Zyskowski is editor of The Catholic Spirit Newspaper, a diocesan newspaper in Minneapolis 

/St. Paul. 

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PRE-VATICAN II AND/OR HISTORICAL WORKS ON SEXUAL ETHICS 

Bailey, Derrick Sherwin. Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition. London: Longmans, 

Green and Co., 1955. 

Baum, Gregory. "Can the Church Change Her Position on Birth Control" In Contraception and 

Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 311-344. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, 

S.J., ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Boyle, Patrick J., S.J. Parvitas Materiae in Sexto in Contemporary Catholic Thought. Lanham: 


Presents an historical overview of the traditional teaching, followed by a consideration of 

contemporary objections to the teaching as well as a critical evaluation of both traditional and 

contemporary teachings on the parvity of matter in sexual sins. 

165

Brooke, Christopher N.L. Marriage in Christian History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 

1978. 

. The Medieval Idea of Marriage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. 

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Between the Sexes: Foundations for a Christian Ethics of Sexuality. New York: 


Historical, Biblical and Ecumenical discussions. 

Cahill, a married Roman Catholic mother, 1993 President of the CTSA, and Professor of 


Chicago. 

Coleman, P. Gay Christians: A Moral Dilemma. London: SCM Press, 1989. 

A guide to the debate on the moral problem of homosexuality within the Church, also 

discussed in light of historical attitudes to homosexuality in the Church. 

Conley, Kieran, O.S.B. "Procreation and the Person." In Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic 

Predicament, 61-71. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: Herder 

and Herder, 1964. 

D'Antonio, William V. "Responsible Parenthood and the Population Dilemma." In Contraception 

and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 131-153. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. 

Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Dewart, Leslie. "Casti Connubii and the Development of Dogma." In Contraception and Holiness: 

The Catholic Predicament, 202-310. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. 


Egner, G. Contraception vs. Tradition: A Catholic Critique. New York: Herder and Herder, 1967. 

Farley, Margaret, R.S.M. "Sources of Sexual Inequality in the History of Christian Thought." 

Journal of Religion 56 (1976): 162-176. 

Farley is Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale University. 

Firth, Francis, C.S.B. "Catholic Sexual Morality in the Patristic and Medieval Periods." In Human 

Sexuality and Personhood: Proceedings of the Workshop for the Hierarchies of the United 

States and Canada Sponsored by the Pope John Center through a Grant from the Knights 

of Columbus, 36-52. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Pope John Center, 1981, 1990. 

166

Flandrin, Jean-Louis. Sex in the Western World: The Development of Attitudes and Behaviour. 

Chur: Harwood Academic, 1991. 

Ford, Jeffrey E. Love, Marriage, and Sex in the Christian Tradition from Antiquity to Today. 

Lanham MD: University Press of America, 1998. 

Ford, John C., S.J., and Kelly, Gerald, S.J. "Periodic Continence." Theological Studies 23 (1962): 

590-624. 

Status questionis presented by two well-known pre-Vatican II American moral theologians. 

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New 

York: Random House, 1978. 

Foucault holds that the very notion of "sexuality" is a historical construct, generally 

employed by the interests of the bourgeoisie. 

Fuchs, Eric. Le désir et la tendresse: Sources et histoire d'une éthique chrétienne de la sexualité et 

du mariage. Le champs éthique, 1. 4 ed. Genève, 1982. 

In English: Sexual Desire and Love: Origins and History of the Christian Ethics of Sexuality 

and Marriage. Translated by Marsha Daigle. Cambridge: James Clark & Co.; New York: 

Seabury Press, 1983. 

Traduzione italiana: Desiderio e tenerezza: Fonti e storia di un'etica cristiana della 

sessualità e del matrimonio. Traduzione di Oriana Bert. Torino: Claudiana, 1984. 


Gallagher, John, C.S.B. "Magisterial Teaching from 1918 to the Present." In Human Sexuality and 

Personhood: Proceedings of the Workshop for the Hierarchies of the United States and 

Canada Sponsored by the Pope John Center through a Grant from the Knights of Columbus, 

191-210. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Pope John Center, 1981, 1990. 

Gilbert, Henri, M.D. Love in Marriage: The Meaning and Practice of Sexual Love in Christian 

Marriage. Translated by André Humbert. With an Introduction by Msgr. George A. Kelly. 

New York and London: Hawthorn Books, 1964. 

Gorres, Ida Friederike Coudenhove. Is Celibacy Outdated Westminster MD: Newman Press, 1965. 

German original: Laiengedanken zum Zölibat. 

167


1952. 





Grisez, Germain G. Contraception and the Natural Law. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 

1964. 

Grisez's thesis is that "For one who engages in sexual intercourse directly to will any positive 

deed by which conception is thought to be prevented, or even rendered less probable, is 

intrinsically and seriously immoral" (p. 12). 

Gustafson, James M. "A Protestant Ethical Approach [to Abortion]." In The Morality of Abortion: 

Legal and Historical Perspectives, 101-122. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: 


Gustafson is a well-known Protestant ethician who studied under H. Richard Niebuhr, and 

has taught at Yale, The University of Chicago, and Emory. 

Hagmaier, George, C.S.P., and Gleason, Robert W., S.J. Moral Problems Now: Modern Techniques 

and Emotional Conflicts. London: Sheed and Ward, 1960. 

The book addresses psychological and moral perspectives on counseling, including chapters 

on masturbation, homosexuality, alcoholism, mental illness, etc. Is of interest as an example 

of pre-Vatican II pastoral moral counseling. 

Hitchcock, James F. "The Development of Catholic Doctrine Concerning Sexual Morality 1300- 

1918." In Human Sexuality and Personhood: Proceedings of the Workshop for the 

Hierarchies of the United States and Canada Sponsored by the Pope John Center through 

a Grant from the Knights of Columbus, 53-66. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Pope John Center, 1981, 

1990. 

Huser, Roger John. The Crime of Abortion in Canon Law: An Historical Synopsis and 

Commentary. Canon law studies (Catholic University of America), 162. Washington, D.C., 


Jordan, Mark D. The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology. Chicago Series on Sexuality, 

History, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. 

168

Reviewed by James F. Keenan, S.J. in Theological Studies 59 (June 1998): 355-357. 

Kaiser, Robert Blair. The Encyclical That Never Was: The Story of the Pontifical Commission on 

Population, Family and Birth, 1964-1966. London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, 1987. 

Initially published in the U.S.A. in 1985 under the title The Politics of Sex and Religion. 

Journalistic style account of the origin and history of the work of the Pontifical Commission 

on Birth, first established by John XXIII and then augmented by Paul VI. Includes the socalled 

"majority report" which was presented to Paul VI, and discusses some of the reasons 

for the rejection of this report, and the drafting of the encyclical Humane vitae which took 

an opposite tack. 

Kutz, Stanley, C.S.B. "Conscience and Contraception." In Contraception and Holiness: The 

Catholic Predicament, 23-60. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., ed. New York: 

Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Laiou, Angeliki E., ed. Consent and Coercion to Sex and Marriage in Ancient and Medieval 

Societies. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993. 

Laqueur, Thomas. Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud. Cambridge: Harvard 


Leclercq, Jean. Monks on Marriage: A Twelfth-Century View. New York: Seabury Press, 1982. 

Leies, John A., S.M. "Magisterial Teaching on Human Sexuality and Marriage: 1980-1990." In 

Human Sexuality and Personhood: Proceedings of the Workshop for the Hierarchies of the 

United States and Canada Sponsored by the Pope John Center through a Grant from the 

Knights of Columbus, 253-265. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Pope John Center, 1981, 1990. 

Leites, Edmund. The Puritan Conscience and Modern Sexuality. New Haven, CT: Yale University 

Press, 1986. 

An examination of the sexual attitudes of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Puritan 

England and their impact on modern ideas, historically detailed and philosophically 

reflective. Drawing upon the insights of psychoanalysis and a wide array of historical and 

literary sources, Leites shows that the Puritans called for a lifelong integration of sensuality, 

purity, and constancy within marriage. 

Mahoney, John, S.J. "The Legacy of Augustine." Chapter 2 in Id. The Making of Moral Theology: 

A Study of the Roman Catholic Tradition, 37-71. The Martin D'Arcy Memorial Lectures, 

1981-2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. 

169

Discusses the effect of Augustine's theology, especially his understanding of sin and 

sexuality, on the development of moral theology. 

Martin, Thomas M. The Challenge of Christian Marriage: Marriage in Scripture, History and 

Contemporary Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 

Historical study which moves from Scripture through the early Church, the Church Fathers, 

and the medieval and reformation periods. Modern challenges to Christian marriage are 

addressed, as well as an attempt to spell out a contemporary theology of marriage. Designed 

as an undergraduate text, includes study questions and recommendations for further reading 

after each chapter. 

Mehl, Roger. Society and Love: Ethical Problems of Family Life. Translated by James H. Farley. 


Mensch, Elizabeth, and Freeman, Alan. The Politics of Virtue: Is Abortion Debatable. Durham 

NC: Duke University Press, 1993. 

The natural law tradition, Protestant ethical traditions, and American religious pluralism, 

fundamentalism, and secularism in the 1950's and 1960's are all examined for their 

implications on the abortion issue. 

The authors are law professors at SUNY, Buffalo. 

Noonan, John T., Jr., ed. The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical Perspectives. Cambridge: 


Includes essays by Noonan, Paul Ramsey, James Gustafson, Bernard Häring, George 

Hunston Williams, John Finnis, and David Louisell. 

Noonan, John T., Jr. "An Almost Absolute Value in History." In The Morality of Abortion: Legal 

and Historical Perspectives, 1-59. Edited by John T. Noonan, Jr. Cambridge: Harvard 


. Contraception: A History of Its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and Canonists. 

Enlarged edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965, 1986. 


. Power to Dissolve; Lawyers and Marriages in the Courts of the Roman Curia. Cambridge, 

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1972. 

170

Orsy, Ladislas, S.J. Marriage in Canon Law: Texts and Comments, Reflections and Questions. 

Collegeville: Liturgical Press/Michael Glazer, 1986. 

Commentary on the 1983 Code, and contains the Latin text, the author's own translation, and 

then his commentary. A general historical perspective is also provided. 

Planque, Daniel. The Theology of Sex in Marriage. Translated by Albert J. LaMothe, Jr. Themes 

of Theology. Notre Dame: Fides, 1962. 

Original published in French as La Chastete Conjugale--Vertu Positive. Brussels: Centre 

D’Etudes et de Consultations Familiales, 1957. 

Quay, Paul M., S.J. Contraception and Conjugal Love." Theological Studies 22 (1961): 18-40. 

Quay holds that "each single act of coition is a natural sign of the full, mutual procreative 

love of two partners," and that contraception substitutes a sign of "monstrous selfishness." 

Therefore, a husband who uses a condom "worships" his wife "with his body--but not enough 

to share with her his substance." Likewise, "The woman who uses a diaphragm has closed 

herself to her husband. She has accepted his affection but not his substance. She permits 

him entrance but does not suffer him to be master." In Quay's view such a sexual union 

would be the "sign and symbol of wifely submission, of patriarchal authority, [which] is 

made over covertly to serve the purposes of a weakly uxorious male and a domineeringly 

feminist wife" (p. 35). 






Roberts, Archbishop Thomas D., S.J., ed. Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament. 


Ruether, Rosemary R. "Birth Control and the Ideals of Marital Sexuality." In Contraception and 

Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, 72-91. Edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, S.J., 

ed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1964. 

Selling, Joseph A. "Magisterial Teaching on Marriage, 1880-1968. Historical Constancy or Radical 

Development Studia Moralia 28 (1990): 439-490. 

171

Also found in Historia: Memoria Futuri. Mélanges Louis Vereecke (70 anniversaire de 

naissance), 351-402. Edited by Réal Tremblay, C.Ss.R. and Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. Roma: 

Editiones Academiae Alphonsianae, 1991. 

By analyzing the teachings of Popes Leo XIII to Paul VI Humane Vitae's claim of the 

existence of a clearly definable body of teaching with respect to marriage which has been 

"constantly" taught by the Magisterium is evaluated. Selling concludes that a new norm, 

"openness to procreation" emerged which went "considerably beyond what Pius XII had 

explicitly taught." Humanae vitae itself "can be better characterized either as a radical 

development in the line of teaching of Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII, or a departure from 

the developing teaching of [these same popes] and the Second Vatican Council." 

Selling teaches moral theology on the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of 

Louvain. 

Smith, Harmon L. "Contraception and Natural Law: A Half-Century of Anglican Moral Reflection." 

In The Anglican Moral Choice, 180-200. Edited by Paul Elmen. Wilton CT: Morehouse- 

Barlow Co., Inc. 1983. 

Begins with a brief historical overview of traditional Anglican moral theology with reference 

to the Thomistic natural law tradition. Smith then summarizes statements from the Lambeth 

Conferences of 1930, 1958, and 1968 to show the development of Anglican thinking on 

contraception. Finally the positions of 5 representative theologians are summarized: R.C. 

Mortimer, Kenneth Kirk, Joseph Fletcher, John Macquarrie, and Herbert Waddams. 

Smith is professor of moral theology and community health science at Duke University. 

Valsecchi, Ambrogio. Controversy: The Birth Control Debate 1958-1968. Introduction by Gregory 

Baum. Translated by Dorothy White. Washington, D.C.: Corpus Books, 1968. 

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SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, PORNOGRAPHY, VIOLENCE, ETC. 

Angelica, Jade C. A Moral Emergency: Breaking the Cycle of Child Sexual Abuse. Kansas City, 


Berry, Jason. Lead Us Not into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children. 

New York: Doubleday, 1992. 

Burkett, Elinor, and Bruni, Frank. A Gospel of Shame: Children, Sexual Abuse and the Catholic 

Church. New York: Viking Press, 1993. 

172

Carnes, Patrick. Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: 

CompCare Publishers, 1992; Center City MN: Hazelden, 1994.. 

Gives a good overview of sexual addiction and the process of recovery, following the 12- 

Step program. 

Cooper-White, Pamela. The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church's Response. 


Duckro, Paul N., Chibnall, John T., and Wolf, M. Ann. “Women Religious and Sexual Trauma.” 

Review for Religious 57 (May-June 1998): 304-313. 

Francis, Leslie Pickering. Sexual Harassment in Academe: The Ethical Issues. Lanham MD: 

Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1997. 

Fucek, Ivan, S.J. "Pornografia nei Mass-Media: In margine a un recente documento del Magistero 

cattolico." Medicina e Morale (1990): 265-300. 

Deals with the 1989 Vatican document on pornography and violence in the mass media. 

Fucek is Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. 

Guider, Margaret Eletta. Daughters of Rahab: Prostitution and the Church of Liberation in Brazil. 


Employing the biblical narrative of Rahab the Harlot as a framework, Guider recounts the 

500-year history and social meaning of prostitution in Brazil. She then tracks the Brazilian 

church's increasing consciousness of the issues and its determination to address the plight of 

prostitutes as marginalized women, as victims not sinners. 

Guider is a professor of theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, 

Massachusetts. 

Highbaugh, Claudia. "Treatment and Care for Survivors: Reflections on Charges of Sexual Assault, 

Rape and Sexual Abuse--A Pastoral Response From the Perspective of a University 

Chaplain." Listening 29 (1994): 127-136. 

Hunter, Mic. Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse. New York: Fawcett 

Columbine, 1990. 

Jenkins, Philip. Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis. New York: Oxford 


173

Reviewed by Gerald D. Coleman, S.S. in Horizons 24 (1997): 156-157. 

Linnane, Brian, S.J. “Celibacy and Sexual Malpractice: Dimensions of Power and Powerlessness 

in Patriarchal Society.” In Theology and the New Histories, 227-244. College Theology 

Society Annual Vol. 44. Edited by Gary Macy. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1999. 

Loftus, John Allan, S.J. Understanding Sexual Misconduct By Clergy: A Handbook for Ministers. 

Washington, D.C.: The Pastoral Press, 1994. 

Loftus is former executive director of Southdown, and is a professor of psychology at St. 

Jerome’s College of the University of Waterloo. 

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. The Churches Speak On: Pornography. The Churches Speak Series. 




Mercer, Joyce Ann. “Red Light Means Stop! Teaching Theology through Exposure Learning in 

Manila Red Light District.” Teaching Theology and Religion 5 (April 2002): 90-100. 

Discusses the author’s class on ministry in a Protestant seminary in Manila and how 

students’ stereotypes and judgments changed (or did not change) about women caught up in 

the sex industry. 

Mercer currently is Associate Professor of Christian Education at San Francisco Theological 

Seminary in San Anselmo, part of the Graduate Theological Union of Berkeley, California. 

National Council of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Marriage and Family Life, and Committee on 

Women in Society and in the Church. "When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to 

Domestic Violence against Women." Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 

1992. 

Pellauer, Mary D. "Pornography: An Agenda for the Churches." In Sexuality and the Sacred: 

Sources for Theological Reflection, 345-353. Edited by James B. Nelson and Sandra P. 

Longfellow. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. 

Rigali, Norbert J., S.J. "Church Responses to Pedophilia." Theological Studies 55 (1994): 124-139. 

Part of the annual "Notes on Moral Theology" review of moral issues published in the March 

issue of Theological Studies. Contains many helpful bibliographical resources for an 

overview of this problem. 

174

Rigali is Emeritus Professor of Theology at the University of San Diego. 

Schiltz, Patrick J. “Not All the News Is Fit to Print: What the Media Missed in the Sexual-Abuse 

Scandal.” Commonweal (25 August 2003): 14-17. 

Schiltz is an attorney who has been involved in hundreds of clerical sexual abuse cases 

involving virtually every major religious denomination. Without in any condoning the 

abusive behavior and hierarchical coverup that occurred, he nevertheless argues that the 

media by and large fastened attention on cases a decade old or longer, cases which already 

had appeared in the press before. 

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. Boston: The Augustine Fellowship, Sex and Love Addicts 

Anonymous, Fellowship-Wide Services, Inc., 1986. 

The U.S. Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse." Origins 24 (8 December 1994): 443. 

Williams, J. Kendrick. "Homily for Mass of Understanding and Healing From Sex Abuse." Origins 

24 (December 8, 1994): 441-442. 

Walsh, Frank. Sin and Censorship: The Catholic Church and the Motion Picture Industry. New 

Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. 

Frank Walsh tells how the church's influence in Hollywood grew through the 1920s and 

reached its peak in the 1930s, when the film industry allowed Catholics to dictate the 

Production Code, which became the industry's self-censorship system, and the Legion of 

Decency was established by the church to blacklist any films it considered offensive. 

Wolf, Ann. "Sexual Abuse Issue: An Annotated Bibliography." Theology Digest 41 (1994): 203- 

248. 

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