Creating Spaces for Women in the Catholic Church presents the struggle of theologically educated lay women with the Catholic Church. The author, a Catholic sister, shares the same struggle but enjoys an incredible network of communal, ministerial, financial, and spiritual support that helps her negotiate the painful experiences in the Church. Lay women lack this support. Yet, lay women valiantly carve out spaces for themselves within the church, though these spaces tend to be small-scale, localized, and temporary. If they move to a new place, they often lose the support they have built for themselves. The contributors study alongside male seminarians, serve as hospital chaplains when Catholics always want a priest, prepare queer liturgies to create space for all of God's people, and create a progressive, Chicana domestic church while raising children. They push beyond the spaces allotted to them. The final chapter, "Giving Voice and Creating Space," explores potential pathways forward for collaboration between sisters and lay women to create a stronger network support for lay women. This book inspires conversation between sisters and lay women so that the vast resources of women religious may be more intentionally shared with lay women. †

Written by a diverse group of younger women religious from North America, In Our Own Words offers a collection of essays on issues central to apostolic religious life today. The thirteen authors represent different congregations, charisms, ministries, and histories. The topics and concerns that shape these chapters emerged naturally through a collaborative process of prayer and conversation. Essays focus on the vows and community life, individual identity and congregational charisms, and leadership among younger members leading into the future. The authors hope these chapters may form a springboard for further conversation on religious life, inviting others to share their experiences of religious life in today's world.