Books about Celibate from Amazon.com

In the last half-century, the number of Catholic priests has plummeted by 40% while the number of Catholics has skyrocketed, up 65%. The specter of a faith defined by full pews and empty altars hangs heavy over the church.
The root cause of this priest shortage is the church's insistence on mandatory celibacy. Given the potential recruitment advantages of abandoning the celibacy requirement, why, Richard A. Schoenherr asks, is the conservative Catholic coalition--headed by the pope--so adamantly opposed to a married clergy? The answer, he argues, is that accepting married priests would be but the first step toward ordaining women and thus forever altering the demographics of a resolutely male religious order.
Yet Schoenherr believes that such change is not only necessary but unavoidable if the church is to thrive. The church's current stop-gap approach of enlisting laypeople to perform all but the central element of the mass only further serves to undermine the power of the celibate priesthood. Perhaps most importantly, doctrinal changes, a growing pluralism in the church, and the feminist movement among nuns and laywomen are exerting a growing influence on Catholicism.
Concluding that the collapse of celibate exclusivity is all but inevitable, Goodbye Father presents an urgent and compelling portrait of the future of organized Catholicism..
Price: $2.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

It is 1945, and in a rural Irish village called Creevagh, a young man waits eagerly for the mail, convinced that one letter will bring his salvation Since the age of reason, Phelim O'Brien has been obsessed by a morbid fear of hell; and from the age of puberty, tormented by the certainty he'll wind up there. But his friend, Philpot Emmett, refuses to accept that the slightest tittle of carnal pleasure is a mortal sin, and where Phelim struggles, Philpot happily yields. Father Coyne admonishes, Catherine Ryan tempts, and the formidable Maura Higgins rebels against them all, vanguard of the encroaching modern values that are slowly changing the face of village life. This is an this endearing and sweetly funny first novel, by an engaging and talented new writer..
Price: $1.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you are divorced, widowed, or coming to know the Lord after your thirtieth birthday; if you have a couple of kids; if you carry your share of wounds from love's many battles; or if you are simply struggling with the question of how anyone with normal thoughts or urges manages to remain celibate (and content), you will want to keep reading. If you are a Real Woman who honestly desires to live holy, but who is struggling to find a way to do so while maintaining her identity as a beautiful, vibrant, mature, fun, and yes, sensual woman, I have a recipe for you! The ten lessons shared within the work represent foundational principles for healthy loving. They are essential platforms upon which a Real Woman can build a healthy relationship, or even strengthen an existing one. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back, settle into your favorite chair, and take a real look inside your heart. Single, Saved & Celibate is not just a theory. Real Women just like you are Getting It All Without Giving It Up every single day-you can too..
Price: $9.22 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Nobody Owns Me is the story of a nun who, through therapy, discovers and integrates her sexuality Based on the author's more than 20 years experience counseling women, this provocative, empowering story is for all women struggling with the issue of sexuality and for those who have felt oppressed and silenced by the church..
Price: $10.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]