Gay and Catholic
Description
Winner of a 2015 Catholic Press Award: Gender Issues Category (First Place).
In this first book from an openly lesbian and celibate Catholic, widely published writer and blogger Eve Tushnet recounts her spiritual and intellectual journey from atheism to faithful Catholicism and shows how gay Catholics can love and be loved while adhering to Church teaching.
Eve Tushnet was among the unlikeliest of converts. Raised in a secular family, Tushnet was a typical Yale undergraduate until the day she went out to poke fun at a gathering of philosophical debaters, many of whom also were Catholic. Instead of enjoying mocking what she termed the “zoo animals,” she found herself engaged in intellectual conversation with them and, in a move that surprised even her, she soon converted to Catholicism. Already self-identifying as a lesbian, Tushnet searched for a third way in the seeming two-option system available to gay Catholics: reject Church teaching on homosexuality or reject the truth of your sexuality. Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith is the fruit of Tushnet’s searching: what she learned in studying Christian history and theology and her articulation of how gay Catholics can pour their love and need for connection into friendships, community, service, and artistic creation.
Product Details
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“Honest, fresh, and tremendously helpful.”
“Honest, fresh, and tremendously helpful, Eve Tushnet's book offers a roadmap for Catholics experiencing same-sex attraction. Using her own experiences as a gay, celibate, Catholic convert, Eve shows how the celibate vocation offers both a cross and a crown. For a first-hand look at this challenging but grace-filled path, as well as practical tips for helping same-sex attracted friends and family, read this book.”
Brandon Vogt
Author of Why I Am Catholic (and You Should Be Too) -
“A real grace!”
“I know that some people somewhere may consider this a controversial book. But it is hard for me to think of anything so kind, honest, non-doctrinaire, commonsensical, and good-humored as controversial. As a Catholic I found material for self-reflection on virtually every page. This book was a real grace for me, as it will no doubt be for many others trying to live as disciples of Jesus.”
Peter Steinfels
Codirector of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture -
“Unassuming but total candor.”
“Eve Tushnet puts a human face on Church teaching. With unassuming but total candor, she describes her experience of the challenge and joy of living as an openly lesbian woman who is deeply attached to her Catholic faith. Her account will open a new window on human and Christian experience for many people inside and outside the Church.”
Rev. Louis Cameli
Author of Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality -
“A humane, brave, and groundbreaking book.”
“By turns hilarious, thoughtful, constructive, and searingly honest, Gay and Catholic is a must-read for anyone who believes the terms are mutually exclusive, for anyone who thinks seriously about Catholicism and the pastoral care of the homosexual person, for anyone who thinks they've already figured it all out. Eve Tushnet has written a humane, brave, and groundbreaking book that demolishes assumptions. If you think you know what she is going to say, you don't. So you need to read this.”
Elizabeth Scalia
Author of Strange Gods -
“The most important book of our age.”
“Eve Tushnet has written a book that's hard to read and that challenges every assumption you might have never known you had. Open your mind and bare your heart with her, because what you have in your hands might just be the most important book of our age. It's raw and honest and critical, with some laughter and tears on top. Truly, a book that's not just a keeper, but a sharer, too.”
Sarah Reinhard
SnoringScholar.com
Additional Resources
America Magazine Interview
Publishers Weekley Review 10-20-14
The New York Times Article
The Synod and the Single Catholic