Catholic Feminists and Traditions: Renewal, Reinvention, Replacement

The dominant figure in Western Roman Catholic ethics is Thomas Aquinas, and Catholic tradition references a centralized magisterium. Nevertheless, Catholicism is internally pluralistic. After Vatican II, three models of theology and tradition emerged, all addressing gender equality: the Augustinian, neo-Thomistic, and neo-Franciscan. Latina, womanist, African, and Asian ethics of gender present more radical approaches to tradition—suggesting a Junian stream (Rom 16:7). Catholic ethical-political tradition is not defined by a specific cultural mediation, figure, or model but by a constellation of commitments shared by Catholic feminists: difference in unity, moral realism, social meliorism, human equality, preferential option for the poor, and interreligious dialogue.