Generous Lives: American Catholic Women Today

American Catholic women, in the diverse sample tapped here, defy categorization except in this one major commonality. Whatever their individual circumstances or differences with the institutional Church, they are motivated by altruism, committed to social justice and deeply desirous of a spiritual life. The women--teenagers to nonagenarians, from all social, ethnic and cultural levels--also express anger and disillusionment. Some have joined Lutheran and Episcopal communities; others adapt their behavior privately, accommodating personal choice regarding divorce and abortion. Redmont, the Northeast regional director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, has woven the views of these 110 women into an informative and readable document that illuminates the as-yet underutilized force of women in the Church. (Sept.)