In response to a call from Pope Francis for a "new theology of women," I invited people to nominate books to send to the Holy Father. Then, people were asked to vote for their top 10 of the more than 60 nominated. Here are the results (There are more than 10 books here because of a tie for 10th):
Johnson, Elizabeth. She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse. New York: Crossroad, 2002.
Farley, Margaret. Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006.
Schussler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1994.
Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Sex, Gender and Christian Ethics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Johnson, Elizabeth, Friends of God and Prophets: Feminist Theological Reading of the Communion of Saints. New York: Continuum International, 1998.
LaCugna, Catherine. Freeing Theology: The Essentials of Theology in Feminist Perspective. New York: HarperOne, 1993
Johnson, Elizabeth A. Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God. New York: Continuum, 2007.
Curran, Charles, Richard McCormick, and Margaret Farley. Feminist Ethics and Catholic Moral Tradition. New York: Paulist Press, 1996.
Aquino, Maria Pilar, Daisy L. Machado and Jeannette Rodriguez. A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology: Religion and Justice. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010
Julian of Norwich. Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality), trans. Edmind Colledge and James Walsh.New York: Paulist, 1977.
Schneiders, Sandra M. Women and the Word: The Gender of God in the New Testament and the Spirituality of Women (Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality). New York: Paulist Press, 1986.
Chittister, Joan. Faith and Ferment: A Study in Contemporary Christianity. Chautauqua, NY: Chautauqua Institution, 1986.
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Women and Redemption: A Theological History. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.
Many thanks to all who participated! The order is in. I did make one substitution: Chittister's "A Study in Contemporary Christianity" seems only to exist in audiotapes, and I can't find a place to buy it. So I substituted her Womanstrength: Modern Church, Modern Women. If anybody out there knows where to get the tapes for a reasonable cost, or has a better suggestion for a substitute that fits the purpose, please comment!) It'll take a couple weeks for the books to arrive from their various sellers, then I'll send 'em off. If I hear anything back, of course I'll let the dotCommonweal blogsphere know.
Might serve as a good starter booklist for a book club, too!
