Bookshelf.

A Defense of Abortion 

by David Boonin (Cambridge University Press, 2002, 350pp.)

This thorough and detailed case for the moral permissibility of abortion shows that the moral case against abortion is unsuccessful, even on the terms that critics of abortion can and do accept. Of interest to all in abortion-related fields, ethics, bioethics philosophy, law, medicine and advocacy.

A Love That Dares to Question: A Bishop Challenges His Church

by John Heaps (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002, 117pp.)

Retired Australian bishop John Heaps discusses some of the long-standing controversies facing the Catholic church, including celibacy, women's ordination and the role of the laity, and calls for a return to Scripture-based compassion in all workings of the church.

A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair

by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (Knopf, 2002, 362pp.)

A controversial and polemical investigation into the culpability of Catholics and the Catholic church for the Holocaust. While much of this book serves to justify the finding in his 1998 work, Hitler's Willing Executioners, it nonetheless pulls together a lot of information about the Vatican's role in the Holocaust, albeit from a very one-sided perspective.

Abortion: Whose Right?

by Ellie Lee (ed.) (Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, 83pp.)

A number of prominent participants in the UK, including Theodore Dalrymple, Ann Furedi and Mary Kenny, contributed essays on abortion to this stimulating publication, one in the Debating Matters series produced by the Institute of Ideas.

Betrayal, The Crisis in the Catholic Church

by Boston Globe Staff (Little, Brown, 2002, 274pp.)

A vivid and harrowing account, by the investigative team that the Boston Globe set up, of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the hierarchy's cover-ups and the struggle for justice and redemption that lies ahead.

By What Authority?: The Churches and Social Concern

by Anthony Harvey (SCM Press, 2001, 176pp.)

A thought-provoking examination of how official church commentary and intervention into political and social issues has expanded greatly over the last century, while its reliance on traditional sources of church authority (theology, the bible) for that intervention has declined.

Clerical Error: A True Story

by Robert Blair Kaiser (Continuum Publishing Group, 2002, 297pp.)

Kaiser, who covered Vatican II for Time magazine and spent 10 years training to be a Jesuit priest, recounts how his first marriage was destroyed by his wife's affair with a Jesuit priest, who then had Kaiser committed to a mental institution.

Divorce, Annulments, and the Catholic Church: Healing or Hurtful?

by Richard J. Jenks (Haworth Press, 2002, 252pp.)

A step-by-step guide to annulments, including an examination of the factors that lead to divorce and the Catholic hierarchy's influence on divorce and remarriage.

Educating About Abortion

by Peggy Brick and Bill Taverner (Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey, 2002, 76pp.)

A comprehensive teaching resource for family life educators, with nine student-centered lessons and sixteen interactive worksheets that teach about abortion in the US and internationally, discuss related issues such as contraception and review how and why women choose to have an abortion as well as the practical steps required to make such a decision.

Encyclopedia of Abortion in the United States 

by Louis J. Palmer (McFarland & Company, 2002, 420pp.)

A useful resource, tracing the history of abortion from the founding of the nation to the present day with entries that address the political, legal, social, religious and medical issues associated with abortion. Summaries of every opinion rendered by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion up to 2002, and summaries of state abortion laws are also included, as are profiles of many of the advocacy organizations that have developed since 1973. Recent debates are also treated, including embryonic cloning, embryo/fetal stem cell research, assisted reproductive technology, and surrogacy.

For a "Christian America": A History of the Religious Right

by Ruth Murray Brown (Prometheus Books, 2002, 309pp.)

Brown examines the rise of the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition from its roots as a woman's movement formed to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s through to the leadership of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson.

Our Choices, Our Lives: Unapologetic Writings About Abortion

by Krista Jacob (ed.) (iUniverse, 2002, 221pp.)

An anthology of essays, poems and prose on abortion, this collection seeks to reveal the liberating and poignant reality of the abortion experience. Written by women who sought abortions and those who provided them, the book concludes with a look at how the issue of choice has become a political football.

Out of the Depths: Women's Experience of Evil and Salvation

by None Gebara (Fortress Press, 2002, 211pp.)

One of Latin America's leading theologians, Gebara presents a feminist approach to evil and salvation, examining the evil women do, the evil they suffer and redemption. Using women's voices to articulate her arguments, she overturns standard definitions of evil to further the possibility of greater solidarity between men and women. Translated from French by Ann Patrick Ware.

The Catholic Church: A Short History

by Hans Kung (Modern Library, 2001, 221pp.)

An excellent short history of the church, written clearly enough to be understood by lay readers, regardless of their knowledge of Christian history. Kung's progressive views are well represented here, backed up and grounded in objective historical facts. The book also considers the future, and Kung reflects on how the church hierarchy will deal with scientific developments, advocates of women's rights in the church and issues of church reform, especially as they relate to teachings against abortion and contraception.

The Psychological Sequelae of Abortion: The Myths and Scientific Facts

by USPDA (2002, 86pp.)

A report from a symposium held in Berne, Switzerland, that discussed research about the psychological effects of abortion and considered the findings of studies about this issue. In German, English and French. The symposium was organized by Union suisse pour decriminaliser l'avortement/Swiss Union for Decriminalizing Abortion.

Transnational Catholicism in Postcommunist Europe

by Timothy A. Byrnes (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, 155pp.)

Byrnes' case studies of Poland, Croatia, and the Slovak Republic shows that the Catholic church remains deeply involved in the politics and policies of these three countries--as well as others in East Central Europe--and was implicated in the fragmentary ethnic divisions that emerged during the post-Stalinist era.