Bookshelf.

Abortion: Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons by Mary E. Williams (ed.) (Greenhaven Press, 2002, 75pp.) Editor Mary Williams presents a representative and diverse collection of cartoons with commentary on a range of abortion-related themes in this engaging series aimed at students.

Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy by Jay P. Corrin (University of Notre Dame Press, 2002, 571pp.) Social scientist Jay Corrin presents a historical and informative perspective on the progressive drive within the Catholic church between the late 1800s and the mid-1950s--a time when anti-democratic forces appeared to hold sway.

The Courage to Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church by George Weigel (Basic Books, 2002, 246pp.) Theologian and papal biographer George Weigel sees the root of the current crisis in the Catholic church in the church's permissive attitude towards dissent and a lax hierarchy, both in the US and the Vatican, which he argues may lead to a potential schism in the church.

Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church by Richard A. Schoenherr et al (Oxford University Press, 2002, 275pp.) Sociologist Richard Schoenherr, who passed away in 1996, leaving the manuscript with his student David Yamane, proposes an end to mandatory celibacy, paving the way for the ordination of married clergy and women priests, and also overcoming priest shortages.

In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension by Jay P. Dolan (Oxford University Press, 2002, 312pp.) Historian and former president of the American Catholic Historical Association Jay Dolan examines how Catholics have attempted to reconcile their values as Americans with their values as Catholics. Dolan concludes that, despite outward appearances, Catholicism and American culture complement and enrich one another.

Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics by Leon R. Kass, M.D (Encounter Books, 2002, 312pp.) Chair of the President's Council of Bioethics, Leon Kass raises concerns about the ethics of recent biotechnological developments and presents an often-disquieting insight into the probable future of federal policy in this arena under the Bush administration.

Limits of Liberation: Feminist Theology and the Ethics of Poverty and Reproduction by Elina Vuola (Sheffield Academic Press, 2002, 268pp.) Researcher in development studies Elina Vuola traces the emergence of Latin American feminist liberation theology. Using an analysis of poor women's living conditions, the author decries traditional liberation theology's neglect of reproductive rights. Based on a 1997 doctoral dissertation.

Misguided Morality: Catholic Moral Teaching in the Contemporary Church by Michael M. Winter (Ashgate Publishing Company, 2002, 231pp.) Winter investigates how the hierarchy of the Catholic church appears to have lost its moral compass, failing too often to stand up unequivocally for social justice and opposing dissenting views from its flock.

Natural Rights and the Right to Choose by Hadley Arkes (Cambridge University Press, 2002, 302pp.) Conservative moral philosopher and constitutional lawyer Hadley Arkes argues that the American potitical class has reneged on the natural rights that underscored the beliefs and teachings of the American founders.

Separation of Church and State by Philip Hamburger (Harvard University Press, 2002, 514pp.) Professor of Law at Chicago University, Philip Hamburger argues that the separation of church and state has no foundation in the First Amendment, and in fact was introduced as a result of endemic anti-Catholicism within the political hierarchy well after the Constitution was amended.

Splitting the Baby: The Culture of Abortion in Literature and Law, Rhetoric and Cartoons by Linda S. Myrsiades (Peter Lang Publishing, 2002, 203pp.) English and Comparative Literature professor Linda Myrsiades considers abortion through the literary and visual arts--poetry, short fiction, cartoons, advertising and rhetoric. One in a series examining contemporary feminist thought.

A Time to Build: Creating Sexually Healthy Faith Communities by Debra Haffner (Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, 2003, 40pp.) An instructional guidebook for clergy and congregations dealing with sexuality issues, from youths through single adults and married couples, to gay, lesbian and bisexual members. The book includes sections relating to training, worship, pastoral care and social action programs as well as assessment tools and resources.

Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State by Daniel L. Dreisbach (New York University Press, 2002, 282pp.) Professor of Justice, Law and Society, Daniel Dreisbach offers an in-depth study into what Jefferson meant by the "wall of separation between church and state" and claims that the extent of the wall was to prohibit Congress from establishing a national state church. Includes extensive appendices and notes.

Unnatural Law of Celibacy: One Married Man's Struggle to Become a Roman Catholic Priest by Ronald N. Eberley (Continuum Publishing Group, 2002, 204pp.) Former Canadian Mountie Ron Eberley describes his fight to become a priest after the death of his first wife and his remarriage. Eberley makes a compelling case for reinterpreting the canon law that currently is used to ordain married Protestant converts to allow married Catholics to become priests.