Outrage: Sister Molly Cleary vs. The Catholic Church (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781963844535)

Traditionally, the patriarchal Catholic Church has perceived the perfect woman as a God-fearing servant wife and baby machine. This is the religious culture Molly Cleary inherited when, during the Great Depression, she was born into a desperately poor, southside Chicago Irish Catholic family. Nine years later, her mother has died in childbirth and Molly is shouldering the entire responsibility for six younger siblings. Sexually exploited, she rejects marriage and motherhood, but with no money or education, her only other option is vowed religious life. She views this choice as an escape from dire poverty and predatory men rather than a heartfelt commitment to God. Despite her rebelliousness, Molly perseveres and eventually returns to her Chicago neighborhood as Sister Ellen Clare, intent on helping impoverished families no different from her own.