Reading List
This is a basic reading list for Catholic parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons and for those who minister with them. Their being listed does not necessarily mean that Fortunate Families agrees with all the views presented in these materials.
Click the column header to sort by Author, Title, Topic or Description.
AUTHOR | TITLE | TOPIC | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alison, James | Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay. | Scripture | An English Catholic theologian looks at Catholic theology from a gay perspective, addressing both those who are not gay and those who are not Catholic. Offers an account of Christianity that is moving, liberating, and deeply personal. (New York: Crossroad, 2001) |
| Bayly, Michael J | Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective | Pastoral Ministry | Train the staff of your Catholic high school to meet the special needs of LGBT students (Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press, 2007) |
| Bernstein, Robert | Straight Parents, Gay Children | Experience | Through the collective experience of thousands of families [this book] reveals that parents can find liberation in the truth about homosexuality [that] restores and strengthens the bonds of love and understanding they have with their sons and daughters. - Robert MacNeill. Updated and Revised. (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003)". |
| Borhek, Mary | Coming Out to Parents: A Two-Way Survival Guide for Lesbian Women and Gay Men and Their Parents | Pastoral Ministry | Especially helpful for parents to understand what their children go through and children to understand what their parents go through. (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1993) |
| Brill, Stephanie A. and Rachel Pepper | The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals | Social Sciences / Trans | Covering developmental, legal, medical, and school issues, The Transgender Child (San Francisco: Cleis Press, 2008) is a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind guidebook for the unique challenges that thousands of families face raising children who step outside of the pink or blue box. |
| Coleman, Gerald D. | Homosexuality: Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice | Church teaching | Coleman says: "My primary method will be to present information as clearly as possible ; to raise questions and to do all of this within the context of the Church's teachings, presuppositions and viewpoints regarding love and the questions of human sexuality." (New York: Paulist Press, 1995) |
| Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith | On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons | Church teaching | Church teaching in the words of the Vatican. (Boston: St. Paul Books and Media.) 1986 |
| Curoe, Carol and Robert Curoe | Are There Closets in Heaven? A Catholic Father & Lesbian Daughter Share Their Story | Experience | " . . . a testimony to the power faith and love can play in bringing families together." (Syren Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, 2007) |
| Dew, Robb Forman | The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out | Experience | With generosity and perception, Robb Dew first takes us into her home and into the heart of her family and then leads us into experiencing how it feels to discover another part of being human. --Gail Goodwin. (NY: Addison-Wesley Press, 1994) |
| Ellison, Marvin M. | Same-Sex Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis | Church teaching | Written by a gay man and progressive Christian ethicist who places justice making at the heart of contemporary spirituality. In dialogue with both legal scholars and theologians, Ellison examines the strengths and weaknesses of how marriage traditionalists, advocates of same-sex marriage, and LGBT critics of marriage analyze the issues and frame their arguments. (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2004) |
| Empereur, James L | Spiritual Direction and the Gay Person | Pastoral Ministry | Resource and guidebook for spiritual directors but also counselors, teachers, religious leaders, parents, friends, and anyone seriously interested in gay spirituality, including gay and lesbian people themselves. (New York: Continuum, 1999) |
| Fairchild, Betty and Nancy Hayward | Now That You Know: What Every Parent Should Know About Homosexuality | Pastoral Ministry | If a book can help parents understand what a gay son or daughter is trying to share, this one will. (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1989) |
| Farley, Margaret | Just Love: A Framework for Christian Ethics | Church teaching | On of America's foremost Christian ethicists - a Catholic religious sister--proposes a framework for sexual ethics whereby justice is the criterion for all loving, including love that is related to sexual activity and relationships. (New York: Continuum, 2006) |
| Gramick, Jeannine, and Robert Nugent (Eds.) | Voices of Hope. A Collection of Positive Catholic Writings on Gay & Lesbian Issues | Church teaching | From the Preface: "It is our hope that this resource will arouse and sustain the consciousness of the Catholic community on gay and lesbian issues. May it provide encouragement and support for justice and reconciliation." (New York: Center for Homophobic Education, 1995) |
| Helminiak, Daniel A. | What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality: Millennium Edition Updated and Expanded | Scripture | "If people seek to know outright if gay or lesbian sex is good or evil...they will have to look somewhere else for an answer...the Bible seems deliberately unconcerned about it." (New Mexico: Alamo Square Press, 2000) |
| Jennings, Kevin, with Pat Shapiro | Always My Child: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter | Social sciences | GLSEN cofounder focuses on the day-to-day experiences of adolescents dealing with sexual identity issues. Provides the insights and practical strategies parents need to support their kids and cope themselves. (New York: Fireside of Simon and Schuster, 2003) |
| Jung, Patricia Beattie, and Ralph F. Smith | Heterosexism: An Ethical Challenge | Church teaching | Challenges the popular conclusion that a heterosexual orientation is better than other expressions of God's intention. (New York: SUNY Press, 1993) |
| Jung, Patricia Beattie, with Joseph Andrew Cory (Eds.) | Sexual Diversity and Catholicism | Church teaching | Essays exploring the relationship between contemporary biblical scholarship and Roman Catholic magisterial teachings about the morality of homosexuality. Wrestles with: Does the Bible "reveal" what Tradition has long taught in this regard - specifically that human sexuality is "naturally" structured around procreativity and male-female complementarity, and that homosexuality is immoral? (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001) |
| Kelly, Kevin T. | Directions in Sexual Ethics: Moral Theology and the Challenge of AIDS | Church teaching | Brings together his thinking and experience as a teacher, moral theologian and parish priest, and challenges the thinking of the churches...on sex and sexuality as moral issues for our times. (Washington, DC: Geoffrey Chapman, 1998) |
| Liuzzi, Peter J. | With Listening Hearts: Understanding the Voices of Lesbian and Gay Catholics | Experience | Stresses right of full church inclusiveness by virtue of baptism. Includes powerful stories in the chapter, "I Choose to Stay in the Church." (New York: Paulist, 2001) |
| Lopata, Casey | Parents Voice Project: Report on Survey of Catholic Parents of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Daughters and Sons | Experience | Results of 229 parent surveys collected in 2006. Includes conclusions and recommendations. Supplemental appendices include all parents comments. (Fortunate Families 2007) |
| Lopata, Casey, (Ed.) | Seeds of Hope: Compassionate Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Catholics and their Families: A Practical Resource Manual, and the supplement, More Seeds Out of Print | Pastoral Ministry | Designed for pastoral ministers who want to respond with knowledge and compassion to lesbian and gay Catholics and their families, and who want to educate the whole faith community. (Fortunate Families) |
| Lopata, Mary Ellen | Fortunate Families: Catholic Families with Lesbian Daughters and Gay Sons | Experience | Examines the lived experience of parents who love their gay children and their church. Through stories, readers will learn how these parents get beyond conflicting feelings and work to make their church more welcoming. (Fortunate Families) |
| Maher Jr., Michael | Being Gay and Lesbian in a Catholic High School | Social sciences | Compelling study proving that too often parochial schools encourage or allow stereotyping, homophobia, and violence. Enables educators to explore new ways to change anti-gay attitudes and prevent anti-gay violence. (Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press, 2001) |
| Marcus, Eric | Is It a Choice? Answers to 300 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Gays and Lesbians | Social sciences | An honest, compassionate and comprehensive resource. (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1993) |
| McNaught, Brian | On Being Gay: Thoughts on Family, Faith and Love | Experience | Intimate and personal reflection of what it means to be gay: whether or not to "come out," maintaining family ties, developing an honest relationship with God, building lasting love relationships, accepting oneself as decent and worthy of respect. (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1988) |
| McNeill, John | Taking a Chance on God | Church teaching | Liberating theology for gay and lesbian people and their lovers, families and friends. Shows a positive gay identity is compatible with Christian faith. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1988) |
| McNeill, John | The Church and the Homosexual | Church teaching | The fourth edition of this classic that includes a history of the publication of the book and the letter from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that removed the imprimi potest from the book and silenced him. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993) |
| Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey | Omnigender: a trans-religious approach | Social sciences | Argues that the "binary gender paradigm" is oppressive and inflicts grave suffering on many people. (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2001) |
| Moore, Gareth | A Question of Truth: Christianity and Homosexuality | Church teaching | A Dominican priest challenges the teaching of the Catholic Church on its own grounds. He scrutinizes the Church's arguments, which are based on both the Bible and natural law, and finds them wanting. (New York: Continuum, 2003) |
| Myers, David G., and Letha Dawson Scanzoni | What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage | Church teaching | "Myers and Scanzoni, active Christians and experts in the field of marriage and sexuality, make a convincing argument in support of gay marriage, for conservative as well as liberal reasons, this book will prove invaluable for everyone looking for a readable, concise, and authoritative summary of the gay marriage debate." Library Journal. (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005) |
| National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Statement of the Bishops Committee on Marriage and Family | Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers | Pastoral Ministry | Pastorally sensitive message to parents. (Washington: USCC, 1997.) Always Our Children |
| Nelson, Tom | An Ordinary Catholic | Experience | An Ordinary Catholic is the poignant tale of a life-long traditional Catholic and University of Notre Dame alumnus; a tale that relates how Tom Nelson nearly lost his gay son to suicide; how he was subsequently forced to face the contradictions between his love for his son and the Church’s lack of compassionate inclusion for all God’s children. His mind-opening journey led him to challenge other elements of Church teaching as well, but the ultimate conclusion and final assessment of his life-long spiritual growth is the theme of the book: love.(available at www.createspace.com/3725782 or www.amazon.com Search for: "An Ordinary Catholic") |
| Nugent, Robert, and Jeannine Gramick | Building Bridges: Gay and Lesbian Reality and the Catholic Church | Church teaching | Examines the situation of gay and lesbian people in the Catholic Church today and calls for compassion and reason from those in authority. (Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1992) |
| Olyan, Saul M., and Nussbaum, Martha C. (Eds.) | Sexual Orientation and Human Rights | Human rights | Promotes both academic and public understanding of the different positions that exist on sexual orientation and its public policy dimensions within the four major U.S. religious traditions. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) |
| Peddicord, Richard | Gay & Lesbian Rights | Human rights | "Peddicord looks at the personal and social sides of homosexuality, and fairly examines all sides of the Roman Catholic response." --Lisa Sowle Cahill. (Sheed & Ward, 1996) |
| Shinnick, Maurice | This Remarkable Gift - Being Gay and Catholic | Experience | Written by a priest, this book combines real-life stories and experience. Considered, prayerful, faithful analysis of Church teaching, especially in light of Vatican II. (St. Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 1997) |
| Siker, Jeffrey (Ed.) | Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate | Church teaching | Authorities on scripture, tradition, reason, biology, ethics and gendered experience discuss the place of homosexual people in the community of faith. Each perspective is explored by two writers: one more traditional, the other challenging the tradition. (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 1994) |
| Sullivan, Andrew (Ed.) | Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con | Church teaching | An anthology of 2000 years of argument on same-sex partnerships. (New York: Vintage Books, 1997) |
| Tigert, Leanne McCall, and Maren C. Tirabassi | Transgendering Faith: Identity, Sexuality & Spirituality | Pastoral Ministry | A resource to help churches respond with love and care to transgender people in our society, both those within the Christian community and those who find themselves outside its doors. (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2004) |
| Tigert, Leanne McCall, and Timothy Brown | Coming Out Young and Faithful | Pastoral Ministry | Stories and information, including ministry and advocacy resources, that will help individuals and faith communities open doors of affirmation, love and commitment to the needs of GLBT youth and young adults. (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2001) |
| United States Catholic Conference | Human Sexuality: A Catholic Perspective for Education and Lifelong Learning | Church teaching | Contains perhaps the most sensitive official summary of church teaching on homosexuality. (Washington, DC: USCC, 1991) Human Sexuality: A Catholic Perspective for Education and Lifelong Learning |
| United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care | Pastoral Ministry | Controversial guidelines developed without consulting those directly affected gay & lesbian Catholics and those who minister with them. 2006 Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination |
| Whitehead, Evelyn Eaton and Whitehead, James D. | Wisdom of the Body: Making Sense of Our Sexuality | Pastoral Ministry | A resource for Christians wanting to reclaim their sexuality as a good and graced reality. Includes a chapter on "Christian and Homosexual: The Paths of Love." New York: Crossroad, 2001) |
| Wink, Walter (Ed.). | Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches | Church teaching | Short essays from church leaders - Protestant and Catholic, mainline and evangelical - who address fundamental moral imperatives about homosexuality. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999) |
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