Dimensions
143 x 223 x 23mm
This is the powerful story of one woman's struggle to keep her integrity in a Church still using techniques reminiscent of the Inquisition. Why did Lavinia Byrne join her religious Order? Why did she stay so long? And why did she leave?
Lavinia Byrne lived a devout and pious Catholic childhood. She joined an order of nuns, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the age of seventeen. Over the next thirty years she flourished, excited by the discovery of theology as an academic discourse; and finding her own gift for broadcasting and writing, which have made her a popular and much-loved figure. But in January 2000 she left her order after five years of Vatican bullying and intimidation.
This book takes a fearless look at post-Vatican II religious life, at the Church's public and media profile and at its claim to bring good news to all, both to women and men.