The Vatican and Homosexuality: Reactions to the "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons"

ea.vol.: Crossroad Pub. Co., dist. by Harper. 1988. pap. $14.95. rel Ever since 1968, when Paul VI surprised his Church by reaffirming Rome's prohibition of contraception, American Catholic response to papal instructions on sexual ethics has been increasingly vociferous. Indication of that response is found in these two offerings from Crossroads. In The Vatican and Homosexuality , 25 Catholics respond to the "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons," released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1986 and reprinted here. Abortion and Catholicism begins with the Catholic bishops' "Testimony in Support of the Hatch Amendment" and "A Traditional Catholic's View," by Thomas J. O'Donnell. These two contributions establish the context for the following 21 articles, collected from various published sources. The editors give women a "privileged voice," as those on whom reproductive responsibility falls most heavily. Eleven articles are written by women, although cardinals (Cooke, O'Connor, and Ratzinger) and kings (Mario Cuomo) are represented as well. Highly recommended for their thorough coverage of two timely issues and their intelligent, articulate, and compassionate presentations; libraries with even a peripheral interest in these subjects will want both. Myriel Crowley Eykamp, Suffolk Univ., BostonCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.