Sexing the Church: Gender, Power, and Ethics in Contemporary Catholicism

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It was my good fortune as I was writing this book to have the unwavering support of friends, family, and colleagues. In fact, I still have to pinch myself sometimes at this abundance. I am grateful to them all. John Kelsay, my colleague, friend, and chairman in the Department of Religion at Florida State University has been my greatest champion over the past five years. In addition to allowing me the time and space to pursue my work, he has also read most of this manuscript and given me helpful input and advice at every step of the process. Margaret Morhmann, George Randels, and James Turner Johnson all read and commented on early drafts of this manuscript. I appreciate the time and effort they took to do so. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All of my colleagues in the Department of Religion, especially Shannon Burkes, John Corrigan, Bryan Cuevas, Kathleen Erndl, David Kangas, Martin Kavka, Amy Koehlinger, David Levenson, Amanda Porterfield, Leo Sandon, and Barney Twiss, have helped me in countless ways—walking to get coffee, advising me on the ins and outs of the publishing world, or just helping me keep things in perspective with their good humor. I will be forever grateful for the wonderful intellectual environment they provide. I also want to acknowledge my graduate students, whose insights and comments helped me shape many of the ideas in this book. Many friends supported me through the writing of this book. I want to mention especially Jeff Tatum, Cathy Levenson, Jim and Ellen Shelton, Lois Shepherd, Sheila Curran, Inese Radzins, Richard Brown, and Tracy Fessenden. As I worked on this project, two of my teachers from graduate school, Jim Childress and David Little, were never far from my mind. From both of them I learned about integrity and scholarly rigor. I am always thankful for all they taught me. They both continue to inspire me. I have also benefited throughout from the continual love and sup- A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S x port of my extended family, especially my sister Maral and my brother Haig. I want to thank Bob Sloan and the staff at Indiana University Press for their careful attention to this project, and also Kate Babbitt for her copyediting and indexing skills. Bob Cross, the center of my life for the past seventeen years, is the main reason that I was able to finish this book. He filled my life with love and humor; serenaded me with his guitar and mandolin; surrounded me with a garden filled with beautiful flowers, birds, and butterflies; and never stopped believing in me. My gratitude to him cannot be measured. Finally, I want to dedicate this book to my parents, Ada and Vicken Kalbian; I admire them more than they can imagine. They are remarkable people who left a war-torn Palestine to give their children a safer life. They taught me a valuable lesson; that “homeland” is the world you create when you surround yourself with what matters— books, ideas, and good friends. S E X I N G T H E C H U R C H ...