WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU IN CATHOLIC COLLEGE. Women in the priesthood and the mind of Christ
by John Wijngaards, Acadian House Publishing, Lafayette 2020
REVIEWS
Fr Tony Flannery, in his Blog, “A Marvelous Book on Women’s Ordination” , Ireland, 4 September 2020.
“John Wijngaards has given the greater part of his life studying and researching the whole area of women and priesthood in the Catholic Church. I think it is fair to say that at this stage he is probably the most knowledgeable person on this topic alive today. He is also the founder of the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, which has a website, www.womenpriests.org which contains the fruit of all his and others research, and is a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to understand the whole history of the Catholic Church’s relationship with women.”
Prof Hille Haker in the National Catholic Reporter, “Scripture Scholar John Wijngaards lays out reasons to ordain women”, USA, 3 October 2020. Haker’s review was also published in Church Citizen Voice (5 October 2020) and Malayalam Daily News (8 October 2020).
“In a small, very readable and well-argued book, John Wijngaards presents his decadeslong research on women’s ministry. The reader of What They Don’t Teach You in Catholic College: Women in the Priesthood and the Mind of Christ is invited to follow him on a journey that recalls his own awakening shortly after the Second Vatican Council to his present scholarship on the issue.”
Mada Jurado and Cameron Doody in Novena News, “The Church managed to backflip on its historical support for slavery. So why does it continue to fetter women by barring them from ordination?, Spain, 12 October 2020.
‘In his prayer intention for October, and again at the Sunday Angelus, Francis stressed that in the Church “we must promote the integration of women, especially where important decisions are made”, but “without falling into forms of clericalism that diminish the lay charism”. In other words: responsibility for women, yes, as long as that doesn’t involve the priesthood. Well-known Scripture scholar John Wijngaards expressed his disappointment with the Pope’s call in a note on the website of the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research…’
Jos Moons SJ in De Roerom, “Had Jezus vrouwelijke priesters voor ogen?”, the Netherlands, 23 October 2020.
“Dat vurige gedrevenheid met het klimmen van de jaren niet per se vermindert, bewijst dit boek. John Wijngaards schreef al eerder over de priesterwijding van vrouwen, meer dan 40 jaar geleden: Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests? Op zijn oude dag – Wijngaards was 84 op het moment van verschijnen – komt hij terug op de zaak. Dit boek is meer dan een update, zo stelt de auteur, want het “gooit het net wijder uit, graaft dieper, legt bloot wat er echt aan de hand is” (xii). ” == [in English]. “This book proves that ardent passion does not necessarily diminish with the increase of age. John Wijngaards wrote earlier about women’s ordination, more than 40 years ago: Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests? As an old man – Wijngaards was 84 years old at publication – he returns to the question. This book is more than an update, he states, for “it throws the net wider, digs deeper, reveals what is really at stake”.
Luis T. Gutiérrez in Mother Pelican, “Review of WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU IN CATHOLIC COLLEGE“, the USA, 1 November 2020.
“This latest book by John Wijngaards is a critique of religious patriarchy and an excellent presentation of the case for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate in the Catholic Church. It is written in scholarly but accessible language, and clearly emanates from sincere concern for the church in today’s world and an ardent desire to expand the mission of evangelization. There is no “radical” feminism in this book, no sense of resentment, no ideological extremism. It is not just about correcting an ancient error, nor about a purely religious issue, but about fostering the full potential, the integral human development of all brothers and sisters in Christ; for religious patriarchy is an obstacle to humans fully becoming what they are in harmony with the entire community of creation.”
Leila Pitchford in The Advocate, “Author argues that women should be allowed to become priests in new book, Baton Rouge, LA, USA, 14 November 2020.
“Author John Wijngaards tackles a controversial topic in his new book from Acadian House Publishing in Lafayette. In What They Don’t Teach You in Catholic College: Women in the Priesthood and the Mind of Christ, the theologian, former Roman Catholic priest and missionary shares how he came to recognize women have a right to ordination just as men, and the basics of his beliefs.”
Gloria Ulterino’s review of What They Don’t Teach you in Catholic College
“Have you ever pondered the question: should women be ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church? Or perhaps: why on earth can’t women be ordained today in this church? This book’s author has lived these questions for years, with a passion. Beginning in 1965, as a young priest, Wijngaards would experience first-hand the devastating results of a lack of church leadership in southern India, where he served for nearly twenty years.”
The Review RCWP-Canada, 15 February 2021
“I do not want to discourage anyone from reading the book because they think it’s too academic in nature. It’s not. Wijngaards blends together not only history and scripture, but his own lived experiences with anecdotes, correspondence, personal reflections and his lifelong passion for justice, on an international and an ecumenical level. There is nothing in this work that would intimidate general readers –in fact it would make a great study-group text. It’s an enjoyable read.”
Susan K. Roll’s review in the Seedkeepers, February 2021
“You will find the latest book by theologian and life-long activist for the ordination of women, John Wijngaards, very much worth reading. The friendly approachability of the title is enough to tell you that you’re in for an intriguing conversation, not a scholarly discourse. The style is engaging and easy to read, the content toggling back and forth between the author’s refutations of the dominant official arguments against ordination, and interesting anecdotes from Wijngaards’ own life that shaped his awareness and activism. You’ll meet a fascinating individual who first came to see the incongruity and injustice of the Vatican’s teaching while he served as a missioner in India in the 1960’s. ”
Review by Michael Kerrigan in RENEW, no 197, March 2021, p. 16.
“This short book with a very long title is most timely. The author began arguing the case for women ministerial priests nearly fifty years ago and has maintained his position consistently through the long years when the subject was explicitly declared ‘off-limits’. The book is an account of his campaign as well as a cogent presentation of the case… Though brief, this book presents a very well-researched, most readable and compelling case, based on a lifetime of serious study. Well worth the 3 hours and 36 minutes which Kindle says it will take to read.”
Review by Penelope Middleboe in ROOT AND BRANCH SYNOD, ‘Well of Wisdom’ section, March 2021.
“So why aren’t women allowed to be priests? Anyone daunted by the prospect of burrowing into the dark and dusty labyrinths of Catholic theology to find answers to this increasingly topical question, will welcome this book, which leads the reader through accessibly written theological research, with a commentary that is energetic and indignant.”
Here are some links to where the book can be ordered:
Acadian direct (direct from the publisher – US)
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Apple Books on your iPhone or iPad
