[.ca] Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism (ISBN 0898703484)

An eye-opener for faithful Catholics!!!:
Donna Steichen has done a tremendous service to faithful Catholics everywhere in writing this book...Her objective in writing this book isn't to do an in-depth study of feminism for its own sake. Instead, she focuses on one aspect of feminism - Catholic feminism - and the damage that this ideology has done to traditional Catholicism (especially in the United States) and how it has been allowed to fluorish unchecked by those who have been entrusted with the safe-keeping of the Church's Magisterial teachings. ...as I read, there were simply too many echoes of my own experiences with the parish I attended for those echoes to be merely coincidental. Steichen describes in chilling detail how the various dissenting groups are often connected with one another and the influence that Catholic feminism exerts on the ideologies and activities of these groups. Most appalling is the explanation of how so many Catholic nuns - long a symbol of piety and obedience to the Church - have been converted to feminist ideology and shunned their vows of obedience as a perceived "symbol of patriarchal oppression." And yet these nuns (who by their actions clearly show that they are not operating in good faith) not only remain in the Church, but have exploited the trust and the awe in which they are held by faithful Catholics - who still see them as pious and obedient to the Church - and used it to turn many of those faithful away from the Church's teachings without their ever realizing it. And for those who see this as some kind of conspiracy theory that Steichen has spun out of her imagination, it should be noted that she doesn't simply clump all the stereotypes together; instead, she goes to painstaking efforts to separate the nuns, clergy, and laity who have remained loyal to the Church from those who have been seduced by Catholic feminist ideology, and it is the latter group that she focuses on in her book. As Steichen's title suggests, their actions truly are born out of an ungodly rage!

This book is worth purchasing!:
I had a very bad experience with a nun who has gone silent without apology for something she did that I won't list here. In my search to try to understand the brazen lack of a need for her to apologize and to learn more about the decline of religious life as per modern trends, I bought Ms. Steichen's book. The order that contains the sister who did the unmentionable, is listed in Donna Steichen's book. It makes sense now. Thank you to Donna for her courage to publish this book, including NAMES of the sisters and their orders. It's very sad how things have pretty much gone downhill. This book is a MUST to purchase.

Half journalism, half inflammatory:
Though I daresay that Mrs Steichen and I would vary greatly in both approach and emphasis, there are certain points she sets forth which are valid and basically well reported - for example, the use of Wiccan rituals by women religious being detrimental to the spiritual life, and the distortion in values that can arise from exagerrated feminism. I would agree, as well, with some (emphasis on 'some') of her assessments of particular feminist 'voices' to which she refers. Yet the journalist, who I have no doubt accurately reported some of the rituals she observed, takes a back seat to one whose highly conservative agenda brands everyone with whom she agrees with the 'demonic' iron. For example, Steichen refers to various theologians (among them Raymond Brown and Joseph Fitzmyer, who were amongst the 20th century's best RC scripture scholars, and Karl Rahner) in the same breath as those with Wiccan emphases - and the result is so inaccurate as to be nearly laughable. Raymond Brown wrote an entire book affirming the virginal conception and bodily resurrection of Christ, with footnotes to Vatican documents on many a page, yet Steichen makes it appear that he is one of a crowd who denies these doctrines. One wonders if Steichen has actually read the works of these theologians - and, if so, if she has the sophistication to understand their analyses. I am acquainted with the writings of some of the women with whom Steichen takes issue, and, in many cases, find them equally exasperating. Yet there is no distinction here as well. I have little patience with the feminism of Joan Chittister, for example, yet have heard her speak of the importance of the Benedictine tradition of liturgical prayer - a far cry from pagan rituals. Steichen repeatedly refers to the collapse of the "North American" Church, and is quick to note when one who is a citizen of another land, or even foreign born, is propagating the errors she sees. It becomes highly annoying, with an effect of such a narrow view that the thesis seems to be 'the US Church would be fine were it not for these European influences' (John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger apparently being exceptions.) In my observation, a great many liturgical abuses and much of the deterioration in women's communities stemmed precisely from a distorted view of 'acculturation,' and an attitude that emphasis (for example) on nuns' professional achievement rather than the life of prayer was 'more American.' It is unfortunate that she does not treat of this, for it has had far more devastating effects than New Age gnosticism. For one so devout, Steichen seems to give undue credit to the powers of evil. The idea that a curse by women who worship some sort of wicked goddess caused the defeat of a proposal by Jesse Helms (who, I believe, holds some views which would not be in accord with RC positions...) was bizarre. Steichen goes far beyond pointing out errors, to a worldview where nuns seem to be descending into witchcraft and thereby summoning evil powers. Steichen's writing style is professional and engaging, which makes this book all the more dangerous. It seems such thorough reporting that, taken at face value, unsuspecting readers may view the works of notable theologians as heretical. There is no balance. One receives the erroneous impression that nuns would remain loyal daughters of the Church had they not obtained theological education.

As extreme as it gets, but not lacking in understanding:
"Ungodly Rage" was written by conservative Catholic Donna Steichen as an attempt to show that feminism within the Church results directly from loss of faith. She sees feminism as by its nature a revolt against authority, and the most thought-provoking quote from "Ungodly Rage" is something like "religious feminism is anarchy". The book, to say the least is exaggerated and I have no authority to state that it is altogether accurate it its assessments because of the fact that Steichen is so strong in her intent that she stops at nothing. It is hard to imagine a book so dedicated to stating what it wants as this one. It looks admittedly in a very one-sided manner, but there is really a very clear reason behind what she wants to say - a Church should not follow the fashions of any period. However, one must say that by no means can Steichen, at any point in the book, be called careful. In her effort to state her case, she moves wayward of what she intends to be discussing, so that one does not know what Steichen really is targetting - those within or outside the Church? She is all over the place with her analysis, as if there was no separation in her mind between everything unorthodox within the Church. Moreover, Steichen's data collecting, and even her facts, can be called into question. In addition, the book does not show at all how much the Vatican has, with from her perspective great success, dealt with most of these dissidents and will, post-John Paul II, easily finish off the remainder. It barely even looks at what was done by the Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith around the time the book was published. However, that fact gives a very important argument: The most fanatical of Catholic laity will stop at nothing when it comes to the supression of dissent, and if you have the courage to handle it "Ungodly Rage" is living proof of this. On the whole, a worthwhile read if and only if you want to see the thought of the Catholic hierarchy and even more conservative laity - and what future generations of Catholics will think of the progressive theologians from the Roncalli/Montini period.

let me explain why i rated this horrid book so highly:
basically, donna steichen wrote a book that serves the purposes of two kinds of belief systems: "traditional" catholic thought and mild-to-strong feminism. the first group, as represented by those who wrote glowing reviews, believe anything written by a catholic professing similar beliefs and prejudices and will easily find scholarly justification post-Christian Fathers for their erroneous notions of witchcraft and feminism. the second group will immediately see through steichen's propagandistic approach to her subject, and will come to better understand from where the seemingly ... um, unintelligent... fundamentalists are coming. ms steichen uses an impressive journalistic style that makes it an easy if alternately frustrating and laughably simple book. she has done serious research, putting effort into a venture that clearly means a lot to her. however, she seems to have chosen - in a singularly un-journalist-like move - at the outset to keep a tight grip on her "instinctual" biases. she focuses only on the aspects of paganism or witchcraft that will most anger and/or disgust those who agree with her main premise. the rituals, the anti-Catholic sentiment, the blaming of men and the solidarity (present in groups of women) that makes so many people feel uncomfortable. ms steichen devotes a great deal of space to portraying the women she observes as unfriendly and superficial in their reactions and responses to her. what steichen does not seem to consider - all the worse for her readers - is that these women may very well have been ridiculed consistently for their beliefs (kind of like early Christians...) and so are already on the defensive when they notice steichen's ominous and ambiguously disapproving presence. furthermore, they do not have centuries of established and widely-accepted ideological authority to back them up. they cannot use "because i am right" as a valid explanation of their practices and beliefs, as many Christians seems to do readliy and without thought. to agree with a previous review, ms steichen certainly has done her job. she has pinpointed the weaknesses of a social and intellectual movement, and presented them in the worst light possible - making great use of irony, sarcasm and holier-than-thou language. i see the job differently, however. instead of seeing this book as a much-needed warning to those who know the Truth, i see a monumental and extremely convincing patching-up of a small whole in an invisible ideology called heterosexist Catholicism. in other words, this book does nothing for the world - for our white Western society - but attempt to prevent its cultural growth and show forward-thinkers just what great obstacles stand in their way, blocking the view. Steichenists: if you want to know only one side of New Age spirituality's effect on Catholic women, if you want to be reminded that you are right and pagans are lesbians are immoral, if you secretly believe that the witch-hunting of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries should not have stopped and that witches worship Satan, if you want to avoid the colossal effort of opening your mind - read this book! it is for you! others: if you don't mind the constant urge to write ms steichen meaningful and angry letters explaining how wrong she is, or what she forgot to mention about the good aspects of Pagan spirituality, if you have grown tired of the effort or forgotten what there is to struggle against, i recommend this book.