{"product_id":"catholic-labyrinth-peter-mcdonough-9780199751181","title":"Catholic Labyrinth: Power, Apathy, and a Passion for Reform in the American Church","description":"Sexual abuse scandals, declining attendance, a meltdown in the number of priests and nuns, the closing of many parishes and parochial schools--all have shaken American Catholicism. Yet conservatives have increasingly dominated the church hierarchy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Catholic Labyrinth\u003c\/em\u003e, Peter McDonough tells a tale of multiple struggles that animate various groups--the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful, and the Leadership Roundtable chief among them--pushing to modernize the church. One contest pits reformers against those who back age-old standards of sexual behavior and gender roles. Another area of contention, involving efforts to maintain the church's far-flung operations in education, social services, and healthcare, raises constitutional issues about the separation of church and state. Once a sidebar to this debate, the bishops' campaign to control the terms of employment and access to contraceptives in church-sponsored ministries has fueled conflict further. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMcDonough draws on behind-the-scenes documentation and personal interviews with leading reformers and \"loyalists\" to explore how both retrenchment and resistance to clericalism have played out in American Catholicism. Despite growing support for optional celibacy among priests, the ordination of women, and similar changes, and in the midst of numerous departures from the church, immigration and a lingering reaction against the upheavals of the sixties have helped sustain a popular traditionalism among \"Catholics in the pews.\" So have the polemics of Catholic neoconservatives. These demographic and cultural factors--as well as the silent dissent of those who simply ignore rather than oppose the church's more regressive positions--have reinforced a culture of deference that impedes reform. At the same time, selective managerial improvements show promise of advancing incremental change. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTimely and incisive, \u003cem\u003eThe Catholic Labyrinth \u003c\/em\u003ecaptures the church at a historical crossroads, as advocates for change struggle to reconcile religious mores with the challenges of modernity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Peter McDonough\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0199751188\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199751181\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/15\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 408\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.31h x 6.44w x 1.27d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2013 pg. 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2014","brand":"Peter McDonough","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46906545799423,"sku":"9780199751181","price":44.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c9eaa5bb-c7c3-438d-908d-b5ad28cb9b7a.jpg?v=1748770747","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/catholic-labyrinth-peter-mcdonough-9780199751181","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}