Written by an independent, non-Catholic, Pulitzer Prize shortlisted historian of international standing

Through a study of the church of Santa Prassede, Mary M. Schaefer offers a compelling examination of the ''golden ages'' for women active in ecclesial ministries, critically measuring feminist claims and providing evidence contrary to the official Roman position that women have never been ordained in the Catholic Church. The ninth-century church of Santa Prassede has been studied intensively in recent years, yet no scholar has yet recognized the significance of the balanced male and female imagery: both men and women disciples, Peter and Paul as family friends, Praxedes and her sister as house church leaders in the post-apostolic period assisted by bishop Pius I, and Pope Paschal's mother Theodora episcopa, for example. Praxedes' identification as ''presbytera'' by a Roman priest-historian in 1655 and by the Benedictine prior of the church in 1725 prompts analysis of women's ordination rites in churches of East and West. Santa Prassede preserves one of the largest intact programs of church decoration in Rome up to 1200. Schaefer investigates its scriptural and liturgical sources, and, in turn, reexamines its foundation myth. With the story of the church, Schaefer provides a detailed study of women in pastoral office (especially diaconas, presbyteras, and episcopal abbesses) from the first through twelfth centuries in the West. Women in Pastoral Office also shows how the liturgy as well as the vita of Praxedes and her sister Pudentiana (whose fourth century church is located down the hill) shaped this outstanding commission of the builder, Pope Paschal I (817-824).

Calixtus II (1119-1124) transformed the orientation of the papacy by signing the Concordat of Worms with the emperor, Henry V, in 1122, resolving the conflict over imperial investiture of bishops. As the tough-minded archbishop of Vienne, he had opposed the emperor and anyone else who stood in his way. As pope, he aggressively promoted the authority of the papacy, but suffered defeat in South Italy. To gain Henry V's support, he jettisoned his life-long opposition, and compromised over investitures. Students of the medieval papacy will find that this new interpretation of a pivotal pope challenges many of the conventional conceptions.

This volume in the American Religious Experience series chronicles the history and present situation of the Catholic Church and the American Catholic subculture in the United States. Catholics have had a long history in America, and they have often had conflicting demands - should they remain loyal to the authority of the pope in Rome, or should they become more accommodating to American culture and society? The Catholic Experience in America combines historical, sociological, philosophical, and theological and religious scholarship to provide the reader with an overview of the general trends of American Catholic history, without over-simplifying the complex nature of that history. The Catholic Experience in America examines many different aspects of what it's like to be a Catholic in United States today: Discusses the diversity of Catholicism within the Church, including the issues of race, ethnicity, and gender BLAddresses major turning points in American Catholic history, and how they have affected the everyday experience of American Catholics, such as immigration and nativism, the separation of church and state, and the election of John Kennedy as president. BLExamines how the Church has handled such contemporary issues as homosexuality, birth control and abortion, and religious education Provides a historical analysis of the rise and fall of a Catholic subculture capable of providing a Catholic religious identity in America The volume includes several appendices to further the readers understanding of the Catholic experience in America, including brief discussions of key documents and Church organizations, a glossary of terms, and basic demographic and statistical information.

"Christ. The Christian Experience in the Modern World "focuses on the question of salvation for all people. Using seven 'anthropological constants', Schillebeeckx innovatively shows the social and political relevance of faith. Inspired by liberation and feminist theologies, he puts strong emphasis on human experience and on the importance of examining church teaching in its historical context. This volume is a testimony of Schillebeeckx' ground breaking attempt to rethink doctrine in the light of the research on the historical Jesus. Instead of starting with Christianity's great creedal statements about Christ and the Trinity, he focuses on the subjective experience of the first generations of believers as expressed in the New Testament. This choice stirred considerable controversy and a Vatican investigation but inspired and still keeps to inspire readers in their personal approach to Christian faith.