Bookshelf.

The Bingo Report: Celibacy and Clergy Sexual Abuse Louise Hoggett (Center for the Study of Religious Issues, 2005, 262pp)

While many have been quick to point out the hierarchy's willingness to misdirect the finger of blame and deny any culpability in the sexual abuse scandals plaguing the church, The Bingo Report, the product of 10 years of comprehensive, quantitative social research, provides thorough and compelling evidence that mandatory celibacy is directly connected to the incidence of clerical sexual abuse.

The Catholic Challenge: A Question of Conscience Thomas W. Rezanka (Better World Together Publishing Co., 2004, 206pp)

Written from the perspective of a devout, practicing Catholic, The Catholic Challenge asks and answers some tough questions about the church's traditions, organization and theology with a view towards offering challenges that might mend the growing fissure between church teachings and the realities of daily life.

The Dream of the Perfect Child Joan Rothschild (Indiana University Press, 2005, 343pp)

Rothschild discusses the issue of eugenics throughout history and the discourses of both the "perfect" and "imperfect" child that it has fostered. This feminist critique of bioethics in reproductive practices insists that we must reframe the discourse and reform approaches to the evaluation and use of prenatal testing, genetic intervention an d other reproductive technologies.

Gay Catholic Priests and Clerical Sexual Misconduct: Breaking the Silence Donald L. Boisvert, PhD and Robert T. Goss, ThD, eds. (Harrington Press, Inc., 2005, 272pp)

In this collection of articles inspired by The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism by Mark Jordan, 15 scholars and clerics, including Jordan himself, contribute to the timely discussion of the convergence of sexual abuse scandals, a history of misogyny and the resulting renewed homophobia that threatens the place of devout, gay Catholics in the church.

The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore (W.W. Norton & Company, 2005, 208pp)

As we watch the growing influence of the ultra-conservative, religious right wing and are more often than ever before audience to the argument that this is a "Christian nation founded on Christian principles," this book reminds us that religious freedom and the separation of church and state are principles intricately woven into the very roots of our nation that leaders throughout history have fought to preserve.

Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the 21st Century Ivana Bacik (The O'Brien Press, 2004, 256pp)

Bacik traces relatively recent trends of liberalization and secularization in Irish society on issues ranging from the family and re productive rights to racism. She takes a critical look through an activist's eye at the legal system and discusses what needs to happen in Ireland to accommodate and facilitate changes in social values.

Opening Up: Speaking Out in the Church Julian Filochowski and Peter Stanford, eds. (Darton, Longmon and Todd Ltd, 2005, 284pp)

Opening Up is a collection of articles that explores the issues where theology, diversity and compassion meet. Topics such as sexuality, HIV/AIDS and poverty are discussed as well as the current condition of the world, the Catholic church and possibilities for the papacy of Benedict the XVI.

Prayed Out: God in Dark Places John Michael Hanvey (Columbia Press, 2005, 119pp)

This memoir follows the author through his very darkest times as a closeted gay priest battling loneliness, depression, alcoholism and the challenges of celibacy until he finds and forges a new relationship with God that does not isolate him but realistically embraces his piety and ali aspects of human nature.

Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post-9/11 Powers and American Empire Mark Lewis Taylor (Fortress Press, 2005, 194pp)

Taylor, a professor of theology and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, offers a incisive look at how the religious right has used the events of September 11, 2001, to gain power and garner support for American imperialism which undermines the very principles of democracy and Christian civility that have been the source of patriotism for so many.

The Right to Be Wrong: Ending the Culture War over Religion in America Kevin Seamus Hasson (Encounter Books, 2005, 158pp)

Hasson examines the combating sides in the running debate on religious expression in the public sphere: those who are compelled by their religious convictions to spread their beliefs and those who believe their religious freedom requires that religion be kept private. He argues that the First Amendment has not been adequate in reconciling this problem but suggests ways we might move towards a solution.

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart (Cambridge University Press, 2004, 328pp)

These leading professors in politics provide comparative historical analysis, case studies on different regions of the world and a discussion of the im pact of religion on pluralism, moral values, public opinion and politics in demonstrating the nature and consequences of secularization.

What if Your Mother Judith Arcana (Chicory Blue Press, 2005, 90pp)

This inspired collection of poems by a mother and long-time advocate for women's reproductive freedom both artfully and politically covers the gamut of reproductive issues from mothering to miscarriages and women's bodies to babies with a certain honesty that can only be delivered by a true poet.