Overview: A young Catholic woman, 22-year-old ex-Marine and unwed mother, begins to see cracks in the Church she grew up loving. Bad priests preying on children, harsh treatment of the divorced and LGBTQ, a deep-seated and toxic sexism, and archaic dogmas force Macrina McGrath to choose between leaving the Church or trying to make it better.

Verdict: Graduate school in theology at Georgetown and a trip to India help form McGrath’s resolve: She will stop at nothing to take the Church out of the Middle Ages and deliver women from their abject status.

She joins and soon heads the excommunicated Womanpriest movement and with help from the Archbishop of Boston becomes the leader of disaffected Catholics who want change.

The world notices the indomitable American willing to take on the Vatican, and she achieves a spiritual stardom the equal of the pope. Where will all this lead?

Meanwhile she contacts the daughter she gave up to adoption; and Ezra, the man she has long loved since their teaching days together at Amherst, reaches out to her one last time.

She must choose between family life with him and the new Catholicism she helped create, where women and men minister on an equal basis. Her choice will affect world history.

My goodness, what a read this book is! From start to finish, well, in truth, I simply couldn’t put it down until it had been completed! Although, sure, I did have to have a night’s sleep in between (albeit one filled with my own moral compass flying around all over the shop, my heart and soul following the story I had read before bed, whilst at the same time my subconscious was trying to address all the theological, political, cultural and even gender issues in ways that had to be resolved both thoughtfully, and, at times, perhaps even scholarly).

Here in The Womanpriest: A Novel, author Dr. Stafford Betty has brought to the fore a deceptively woven, and intriguely veined mystery that not only centers around something very powerful, but like a tree over years, branches out into showcasing the human condition; via the guises of the aforementioned flawed priests (and their preying on children), the harsh treatment of the divorced and LGBTQ, a deep-seated and toxic sexism, and archaic dogmas that just don’t seem to have a sell by date.

Set in the second half of the century, from the off, Southern American fisherwoman Macrina McGrath - destined to become the first female pope - is up for the fight, no matter who it is against, and will leap any hurdles (physical or mental) on her journey to self-discovery. But she also has to face her own demons, of course, such as some deeply-rooted personal issues, and both spiritual and secular conflicts, and more.

Complete with quite a few twists and turns, and strewn with deeply-woven insights about the human condition, along with a deep examination within the souls of those she comes up against, the book is a genuine page-turner, and one that even though I myself didn’t know much about going into, just couldn’t put down once opened (save for that night’s sleep, although I tried to stay awake and push through, honestly!).

About the Author - Stafford Betty is an author of fiction and non-fiction. Professor of religion at California State University, Stafford earned his PhD in theology from Fordham University, and is a world expert on afterlife and paranormal studies. He lives in Bakersfield, CA.

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