Summary
Editor Noah Berlatsky has carefully curated a collection of several essays that fall on either side of controversies relating to the Catholic church. Is celibacy a necessary requirement of the priesthood? Should women be priests? Should gays be barred from the priesthood? Does homophobia lead to church sex abuse scandals? Should the church oppose embryonic stem cell research? Does the opposition to condoms endanger African women? These debates, plus several others, will activate each reader's critical thinking skills, and create an understanding about the importance of learning several viewpoints, not just one.
Contents
Celibacy is an important part of the priesthood / Cale ClarkCelibacy should not be a requirement for Catholic priests / Marc Pascal
Women should not be priests / Jennifer Ferrara
Women should not be barred from the priesthood / John Wijngaards
Gays should be barred from the priesthood / John Thavis
Gays should not be barred from the priesthood / Michael Sean Winters
The Catholic Church rejects homosexual acts, but condemns prejudice against homosexual persons / Vincent Foy
The National Organization for Marriage encourages Catholic anti-gay bigotry / Walter Barton
The Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage is not based on prejudice / Doug Williams
Gay Catholics should leave the Church / Rod Dreher
Gay Catholics can remain in the Church / Andrew Sullivan
Homophobia and repression led to the Church sex abuse scandal / David France
Gay priests should not be the focus of the Church sex abuse scandal / Daniel Burke
The Catholic Church promotes natural birth control and sexuality within marriage / Angela Townsend
The Catholic Church is uncomfortable with sexuality in marriage / Frances Kissling
The Catholic Church must oppose embryonic stem cell research / Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Embryonic stem-cell research can be reconciled with Catholicism / Anthony Stevens-Arroyo
The Catholic Church's opposition to condoms endangers African women / Marcella Alsan
The Catholic Church is not responsible for the spread of AIDs in Africa / Rich Deem
The Catholic Church must prevent abortion being funded through health care reform / Keith Fournier
The Catholic Church should not make abortion central to health care reform / James Carroll
The Catholic Church may gain many converts by absorbing disaffected Anglicans / Ruth Gledhill ... [et al.]
Absorbing Anglicans into the Catholic Church may have unintended consequences / Gerald Floyd
The Catholic Church needs to be stricter to grow / Christopher Chantrill
The Catholic Church and other religious groups will experience demographic changes / Sean Scallon
The Catholic Church will grow worldwide by becoming less centered in Europe / John L. Allen, Jr.
Additional Information
| Series | Opposing viewpoints series (Unnumbered) |
| Subjects |
Catholic Church
-- Doctrines.
Catholic Church -- Membership. Sex -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church. Church growth -- Catholic Church. |
| Publisher | Detroit :Greenhaven Press,2011 |
| Contributors |
Berlatsky, Noah.
|
| Language |
English |
| Description |
231 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. |
| Bibliography Notes |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-219) and index. |
| ISBN | 9780737751048 (hbk.) 0737751045 (hbk.) 9780737751055 (pbk.) 0737751053 (pbk.) |
| Other | Classic View |