Examining one of the most divisive issues today, The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church details the role of women in the covenant of salvation. Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller defines authentic feminine authority with the support of Scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers, contemporary theological insights, and historical witnesses to the role of women in the Catholic Church.

Exploring the meanings of both authority and sexuality, Miller’s presentation highlights the significance of women and explains how women exemplify the reality of the Church in relation to Christ and the ministerial priesthood. The author engages modern feminist theologies with clarity and precision, articulating a response to the claims of gender irrelevance and more.

The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church affirms the dignity of all women, indicates their place within the Church, and explores possibilities for the future.

About the Author
Monica Migliorino Miller holds a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Marquette University and has written extensively on the subject of women in the Church. Her books include Sexuality and Authority in the Catholic Church and Abandoned: The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars. Her writing has appeared in Crisis Magazine, CatholicVote.org, First Things, The National Catholic Register, New Oxford Review, and The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Dr. Miller is a professor at Madonna College in Livonia, Michigan.

Endorsements
“Miller’s book does not just advocate a ‘role’ for women in the Church. As the title indicates, she explains what authority women already have. This is not a polemical or apologetic work but one that engages feminist theology with a wonderfully creative, deeply theological and biblically-based explanation of what authority means and how fe­male authority differs from, yet is in relation to, male authority.”
—Janet E. Smith, Professor of moral theology and the Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Issues at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit

“This book is not what you expect. It is not what you’ve read before. It is an eye-opener for the importance of the question; for defin­ing a clear alternative to androcentrism (male chauvinism), feminist fundamentalism, and a lukewarm compromise between them; and for a profoundly scriptural view of authority—one of the most disas­trously misunderstood concepts in our culture.”
—Peter Kreeft, Author and Professor of philosophy at Boston College

“A full-throated ‘thank you’ to Monica Miller for this sublime re­sponse to Pope Francis’ call for further development of our theology of woman. It would be a mistake to pigeonhole this work as a mere rejoinder to the demand for women priests. No, Miller has done her homework, gathering from Scripture, Tradition, Liturgy, the saints, Church Fathers, while at the same time showing she knows the ar­guments of radical feminist thought. Miller provides the fullest and clearest explanation—and redemption—of authority that I have ever read. Once Miller rescues authority from the banal distortion of the wielding of power and returns it to its true context of covenant and nuptial communion, it is not only the ministerial priesthood that is better understood but the entire Christian faith.”
—Damon Owens, Executive Director of Theology of the Body Institute

“Miller cuts through the angry façade of the women’s rights movement to define true femininity, designed by God, as revealed through the Catholic Church. After four decades in the often-brutal pro-life trenches and as a college professor, Miller can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any activ­ist. She is perfectly suited to write about the authentic empowerment of women and provides a theology here that can heal a generation that has lost its way.”
—Patti Armstrong, Catholic author and speaker

“Perhaps at no other time in the history of the Church has there been a greater need for a clear, cogent understanding of the authority of the female person and from whence it derives. In her work, Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller cuts through the chimera put forth by the culture of the day and re­veals the source of woman’s influence, effect, and power, and why woman can ‘aid humanity in not falling’ and ‘save the peace of the world.’ A challenging, hard-hitting, and completely liberating study of the authority of woman!”
—Johnnette S. Benkovic, Founder of Women of Grace and EWTN host