Doris M. Kieser: Catholic Sexual Theology and Adolescent Girls: Embodied Flourishing

Doris M. Kieser’s intersecting roles as a feminist, counselor, and Roman Catholic led her to write about a group of people that she feels is chronically underrepresented in Christianity: adolescent girls. Her goal is to see adolescent girls flourishing, growing in their sexuality, and making healthy choices for themselves. At the heart of her work is a strong and unquestioned belief in God and the Holy Spirit. Although many people may agree with Kieser that female adolescents should be encouraged to flourish sexually and to learn to make healthy decisions, many readers may have trouble connecting to the premise that the Roman Catholic Church, or the God of Roman Catholic Church, is a necessary or appropriate framework to view healthy female flourishing. However, maintaining that this is an appropriate framework to counsel adolescent girls, Kieser admits her own biases, but stands by them as part of her own personal point of view that incorporates her work as a theologian to explain a view of female adolescent sexuality. Considering that the Roman Catholic Church is run exclusively by celibate men, it seems oxymoronic that a feminist theologian might exist at all, let alone offer this dogmatic framework for counseling teenage girls and helping them to become self-aware. Some may question whether Catholic history and teachings should be used at all to help female adolescents grow in their sexuality. However, millions of people in North America identify as Roman Catholic and thousands of children are educated through Catholic teachings every year. Even for people who do not identify with the tenets of the Catholic faith, it seems worthwhile to explore the ways that the Catholic Church can become a better ally in helping young girls grow up to be healthy women. By using Catholicism to counsel adolescent girls, Kieser says that a feminist natural law framework allows teenage girls to develop a healthy integration of sexuality into their own lives. The first chapter, ‘‘What’s a Girl to Do?: An Introduction’’ starts by providing the context for the current discussion on Catholic sexual theology and feminist theory. In particular, Kieser describes the current shift in the Catholic Church away from Pope Benedict’s focus on absolute moral truths and towards Pope Francis’s focus on social injustice and inclusion. Whether Pope Francis’s pastoral approach to theology will take a lasting hold on the academic Church is undetermined. However, it is clear that these two Popes’ divergent views represent an internal conflict in the Catholic Church. Despite great diversity that exists in the world, the Roman Catholic Church assumes a ‘‘sameness’’ among all humans: that we are all born in the image and likeness of God. This sameness binds all humans in solidarity and compels Catholics to care for the least among the human race. However, valuing sameness, while positive in many ways, can also be very problematic for anyone who deviates from norms that have been created by the Church, an organization exclusively run by men. To be both a feminist and a Roman Catholic means finding a balance between appreciating sameness and difference. For Kieser, adolescent girls are stuck in this tension as they learn to integrate their sexuality into their lives. Kieser says that the Roman Catholic Church calls its followers to be chaste. Although the Church allows sexuality to be a part of followers’ lives, they should not act purely in pursuit of sexual desire. For Catholics, there is a strict set of & Lauren Harrell harrelll@indiana.edu