Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 489-531, v. 2). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-141). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71612.

This dissertation examines Catholic lay women's roles in the Church-State conflict in Mexico during the 1930s. After the Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929), clergy and laymen who publicly supported the Catholic Church were threatened with legal sanctions and government reprisal. Thus, Church leaders called upon Catholic women to assume public roles and to work creatively in defence of their faith, albeit following strictly delineated, gendered norms of behaviour. The Introduction discusses the lack of nuanced analysis of women's participation in the Catholic Church in Mexico. Chapter 1 traces the history of Catholic Social Action as envisioned in Europe and as adapted to Mexico from the end of the nineteenth century through the Cristero Rebellion, and includes a discussion of the roles envisaged for women in the Church hierarchy's strategy to concentrate and centralise lay people's efforts into the Acción Católica Mexicana (ACM). The first chapter also includes an overview of the Church-State conflict in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Mexico. Chapter 2 presents the reorganisation of various Catholic lay women's social and civic associations into the Union Femenina Católica Mexicana (UFCM). Chapters 3 and 4 form a case study of the UFCM in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara and the state of Jalisco. Chapter 3 concentrates on the Guadalajara Diocesan Chapter of the UFCM and on Catholic women's activism in the context of urban and regional issues. Chapter 4 compares the experiences of women in smaller towns and rural communities throughout the diocese and state, examining women's collective and independent responses to anticlerical legislation, the Mexican state's programs of socialist and sexual education and agrarian reform, the Church hierarchy's calls to action, and their own perceived need for religious and social organisation. The Conclusion evaluates Mexican Catholic women's responses to the social conflicts of the 1930s, their accomplishments, and the legacies of their mobilisation.

In this thesis I analyze the presence of difference in the nomadic feminist theologizing of a group of eight Catholic women from an Australian diocese. This small christian community named Sophia-of which I am a member-has been meeting since October 1993 to support one another and share stories of our experiences as marginalized Catholics. In attempting to name and understand the various levels of rejection we had encountered, group members reflected on the performances of Catholic Church leaders, and we theologized on church leadership as well as other ecclesial and doctrinal issues. Participants readily agreed to be involved in the research project I was proposing, and they became interactive partners with me during the period that produced the theological discourses analyzed in the thesis. This production stage involved four phases: firstly, open or non-directed theologizing on issues raised by participants; secondly, a guided study-with myself as facilitator-of five traditional Matthean leadership texts; thirdly, a guided study of five Matthean women's leadership texts-again facilitated by me; and fourthly, a return to open or non-directed theologizing. My analysis of the group's theologizing focuses on d~'erence. Using Rosi Braidotti's work on embodied sexual difference which identifies three coexistent levels of difference, I explore and account for difference as it occurs: between women (Sophia) and men (the male representative voice of the institutional church); among women (in the seemingly homogeneous Sophian group); and within individual women (in Sophia). The analysis identifies signifiers of difference that signal Sophia ~s nomadic feminist renegotiations of dominant canonical Catholic discourses. Moreover, I account for the resisting readings mobilized by various Sophian members by exploring ideologies and key elements of interest-specifically power, conflict, desire, agency-that underpin Sophia 's theologizing. In doing this, difference, as evidenced in the multiple voices/perspectives that constitute the Catholic tradition and that feature in Sophia ~ theologizing, is valorized. The designing and de-signing of Sophia ~s nomadic feminist theological discourses in this thesis demonstrates that Sophia 's theological 'acts of going' intensified difference and engendered for participants multiple, transformative pathways and kaleidoscopic rainbows of ever so beautiful theological possibilities.

Thesis (M.A.P.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97).

Thesis (M.A.P.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2008. / Vita. Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97).

Thesis advisor: Hosffman Ospino / The Catholic Church’s formal documents throughout the centuries have celebrated and affirmed the role of parents educating their children on faith matters in the context of the home. Nevertheless, the Church offers parents very little practical guidance as to how they can make their home a domestic church or what they can do to organically and consistently incorporate the faith into daily life. As the Church analyzes why presently 6 Catholics are disaffiliating for every new member that joins, it must reconsider the lack of attention the home has received as an authoritative space for religious transmission. The home, as a sacramental space, has the potential to call attention to the divinity that surrounds us and invites us to action and awakening. It is also the haven where we nurture our most important and loving relationships that initiate us into the faith. The home is also a space for negotiation, that is, where we learn to wrestle with mystery and ambiguity. Critical dialogues within the home are imperative to engaging the present world from a Catholic perspective. This dissertation conducted an ethnographic study of a group of Miami-based Cuban American Catholic women across two generations. The women were chosen based on their active involvement within the Catholic Church. The study found that 100% of the women were successful in transmitting their Catholic faith to their daughters due to four socialization practices. Faith modeling by extended kin, engagement in social justice vocations across the community, explicitly affirming the personalization of daily rituals such as prayer, and finally, ongoing intergenerational dialogues were found in the stories of all the women participants. Religious imagination is the glue that holds all of the moving pieces (home, women and socializing praxis) in this dissertation. I provide herein a midrash of Matthew 27:57-61 to illustrate how the physical and relational components of the Cuban-American home serve to negotiate a hermeneutic that is matriarchal, bottom-up, and interdisciplinary. The hermeneutic echoes the message of the women studied herein; namely, that a community working together in the midst of dislocation is already being liberated. Noting the psycho-social importance of a cohesive narrative identity and its impact on authentic faith transmission calls into question whether the pedestrian nature of the home has led to mistaken notions of this pedagogy being too simplistic. Nevertheless, in telling stories and (de/re)constructing life narratives, individuals are placed within the larger scheme of history, redemptive sequences are analyzed and building resilience, and the stories themselves become a safe space from which to discern larger questions. This dissertation proposes communal, home-based activities as an effective method for faith transmission as it fosters the necessary intimacy to share relevant and passionate stories that powerfully answer why being Catholic truly matters now and to our next generation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.

This dissertation presents Lithuanian Catholic Women’s Organization (LKMD) in its ideological context, discussing how this organization involved unsophisticated women in society, enriching their lives and that of their communities while expanding civic involvement in Lithuania. As the limitations of Civil Society are still felt in Lithuania, it is worth paying attention to interwar public organizations in search of civil society structures during modern Lithuania’s first independence. The work was motivated by the rarity of studies on Lithuanian women’s activities. The first chapter features the emergence of feminism and Catholic social thought in Europe and their influence on ideas of Lithuanian Catholics. The second chapter covers the establishment of LKMD, Catholic women’s engagement in political life of independent Lithuania and cooperation with other organizations. The third chapter contains an analysis of how women’s role in their families, profession and society were understood in the Catholic women’s press. The fourth chapter investigates activities of LKMD, the development of its branch network, festivals and provision of care institutions. Catholic women’s social engagement shows an understanding of the necessity of civic activity in support of civil society. Raising attention, however cautious, to discrimination and women’s susceptibility to poverty highlights an awareness of pressures in society. Looking for cooperation not only with Catholic but also with liberal... [to full text] / Disertacijoje analizuojama Lietuvių katalikių moterų draugija jos ideologiniame kontekste. Nagrinėjama, kaip ši konservatyvi katalikiška draugija įtraukė eilines moteris į visuomeninį gyvenimą, padarydama jų ir jų bendruomenės gyvenimą įvairesnį, kartu sutankinant pilietinės visuomenės tinklą Lietuvoje. Šiandieninėje Lietuvoje, kai pilietinės visuomenės silpnumas aiškiai jaučiamas, yra aktualūs tarpukario visuomeninių organizacijų tyrinėjimai. Retos studijos, skirtos moterų istorijai Lietuvoje, paskatino imtis LKMD analizės. Pirmoje dalyje pristatomas feminizmo bei socialinės katalikybės atsiradimo Europoje kontekstas bei įtaka katalikių moterų judėjimui Lietuvoje. Antrojoje dalyje atsekamas draugijos įkūrimas, katalikių moterų pastangos įsitraukti į politinį gyvenimą, bendradarbiavimas su kitomis moterų organizacijomis. Trečioje dalyje analizuojama katalikių moterų spauda, susikoncentruojant į to meto moters vietos supratimą šeimoje, profesijoje bei visuomenėje. Paskutinėje, ketvirtoje, dalyje aptariamas praktinis organizacijos veikimas, atkreipiant dėmesį į organizacijos plėtrą, skyrių veiklą ir pastangas pagerinti moterų bei vaikų sveikatos priežiūrą. Katalikių atsargūs priminimai viešoje spaudoje apie moterų teisių suvaržymus, skurdo problemą liudijo, kad jos buvo aktyvios visuomeninių reiškinių stebėtojos. Pagaliau sąjungininkų ieškojimas katalikiškajai idėjai įgyvendinti ne vien tarp katalikų, bet ir tarp liberalių moterų rodė, kad katalikės, susiorganizavę į LKMD... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijoje analizuojama Lietuvių katalikių moterų draugija jos ideologiniame kontekste. Nagrinėjama, kaip ši konservatyvi katalikiška draugija įtraukė eilines moteris į visuomeninį gyvenimą, padarydama jų ir jų bendruomenės gyvenimą įvairesnį, kartu sutankinant pilietinės visuomenės tinklą Lietuvoje. Šiandieninėje Lietuvoje, kai pilietinės visuomenės silpnumas aiškiai jaučiamas, yra aktualūs tarpukario visuomeninių organizacijų tyrinėjimai. Retos studijos, skirtos moterų istorijai Lietuvoje, paskatino imtis LKMD analizės. Pirmoje dalyje pristatomas feminizmo bei socialinės katalikybės atsiradimo Europoje kontekstas bei įtaka katalikių moterų judėjimui Lietuvoje. Antrojoje dalyje atsekamas draugijos įkūrimas, katalikių moterų pastangos įsitraukti į politinį gyvenimą, bendradarbiavimas su kitomis moterų organizacijomis. Trečioje dalyje analizuojama katalikių moterų spauda, susikoncentruojant į to meto moters vietos supratimą šeimoje, profesijoje bei visuomenėje. Paskutinėje, ketvirtoje, dalyje aptariamas praktinis organizacijos veikimas, atkreipiant dėmesį į organizacijos plėtr��, skyrių veiklą ir pastangas pagerinti moterų bei vaikų sveikatos priežiūrą. Katalikių atsargūs priminimai viešoje spaudoje apie moterų teisių suvaržymus, skurdo problemą liudijo, kad jos buvo aktyvios visuomeninių reiškinių stebėtojos. Pagaliau sąjungininkų ieškojimas katalikiškajai idėjai įgyvendinti ne vien tarp katalikų, bet ir tarp liberalių moterų rodė, kad katalikės, susiorganizavę į LKMD... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This dissertation presents Lithuanian Catholic Women’s Organization (LKMD) in its ideological context, discussing how this organization involved unsophisticated women in society, enriching their lives and that of their communities while expanding civic involvement in Lithuania. As the limitations of Civil Society are still felt in Lithuania, it is worth paying attention to interwar public organizations in search of civil society structures during modern Lithuania’s first independence. The work was motivated by the rarity of studies on Lithuanian women’s activities. The first chapter features the emergence of feminism and Catholic social thought in Europe and their influence on ideas of Lithuanian Catholics. The second chapter covers the establishment of LKMD, Catholic women’s engagement in political life of independent Lithuania and cooperation with other organizations. The third chapter contains an analysis of how women’s role in their families, profession and society were understood in the Catholic women’s press. The fourth chapter investigates activities of LKMD, the development of its branch network, festivals and provision of care institutions. Catholic women’s social engagement shows an understanding of the necessity of civic activity in support of civil society. Raising attention, however cautious, to discrimination and women’s susceptibility to poverty highlights an awareness of pressures in society. Looking for cooperation not only with Catholic but also with liberal... [to full text]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1995. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [478]-494).