Monday, March 30, 2009

My Essay on the Queer Gender Dynamics of the Rosary Now Published in The Australian eJournal of Theology

My essay on the queer gender dynamics of the Rosary is now out in the first issue for 2009 of the Australian eJournal of Theology. The title is a bit of a mouthful - "The Gendered Dynamics of Kenosis and Theosis in the Traditional Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Surprising
Theological Possibilities for Inclusive Theologies of Gender and Sexuality." Below is the abstract:

In 2002, Pope John Paul 2 added five new Luminous mysteries to the traditional Rosary of the Virgin Mary, a popular Catholic devotional and meditation exercise, grounded largely in the New Testament narratives. The Pope’s intent was to give a stronger Christological focus to the rosary. The essay explores the spiritual dynamics of the traditional rosary from an emic but marginalised (gay) perspective drawing on gender and queer/sexuality theory. It argues that the Mariological focus is grounded in ancient Christian mystical theologies of kenosis and divinization which would be obscured by a new Christological focus. This Mariocentrism of the rosary is itself Christocentric but in a subtle and finely balanced way that can be thrown out of kilter by attempts to impose an explicit Christological focus. Together kenosis and divinization give the Mariocentric Rosary a very queer gender dynamic that might, surprisingly, provide internal resources for a gender inclusive and queer affirming transformation of Catholicism.


If that whets your appetite, the essay is fully available in pdf format here as are all the essays published there. It's rather long I'm afraid but even though I wrote it back in 2006, which seems such a long time ago, I still really like it and think it represents a way doing a very radical Catholic theology from within the heart of the tradition. Also check out the rest of this issue of the eJournal. Below is the table of contents and you can click directly through to each item:


Editorial Editor's Notes Feature Articles..

  • Christopher Dawson's Concept of History: World Religions bring a New Order of Civilizations (Chapter Three) (PDF File, 75.4 kb)
    - John Thornhill SM
  • Mary: Icon of Trinitarian Love (PDF File, 394.1 kb)
    - Anthony J Kelly CSsR]
  • On Faith: Relation to an Infinite Passing (PDF File, 141.0 kb)
    - Robyn Horner
  • Deus Economicus (PDF File, 127.3 kb)
    - Paul Oslington
  • Teaching Theology Online (PDF File, 86.7 kb)
    - Matthew C. Ogilvie
  • The Natural Mysticism of Indigenous Australian Traditions (PDF File, 61.0 kb)
    - Joan Hendriks & Gerard Hall SM
  • Levinas and Responsibility for the Other: A practical theological analysis of the cases of Nancy Crick and Terri Schiavo (PDF File, 83.7 kb)
    - Patrick McArdle
  • Adjustment and Complications of Catholic and Inter-faith Intermarriages (PDF File, 87.0 kb)
    - Abe W. Ata
  • The Transubstantiated Word (PDF File, 60.9 kb)
    - Joel Hodge
  • Practical & Political Theologies...

  • Conversation on Paul Oslington's Deus Economicus (PDF File, 51.8 kb)
    - Paul Oslington, Anthony Kelly CSsR & Neil Ormerod
  • The Significance of the Eucharist in Orthodoxy (PDF File, 61.2 kb)
    - Angelo Nicolaides
  • Buber Invites Barth to a Dance - in Jerusalem… (PDF File, 52.4 kb)
    - Matthew Del Nevo
  • Post HumanaeVitae: Germaine Greer and Pope Paul VI in conversation (PDF File, 71.4 kb)
    - Sophie McGrath RSM
  • How to Create a Hollywood Christ-Figure: Sacred Storytelling as Applied Theology (PDF File, 61.1 kb)
    - Anton Karl Kozlovic
  • Peace-building through Ecumenical and Interfaith Dialogue (PDF File, 70.9 kb)
    - Felicita Carr
  • Persistent Postmodern Numino-Political Analysis (PDF File, 60.0 kb)
    - Matthew John-Paul Tan
  • Australian Universities in Transition: Moral, Pragmatic or Religious Drivers? (PDF File, 83.2 kb)
    - Paul Tyson
  • The Gendered Dynamics of Kenosis and Theosis in the Traditional Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Surprising Theological Possibilities for Inclusive Theologies of Gender and Sexuality (PDF File, 108.5 kb)
    - Michael Carden
  • Theological Resistance to the Conquest of Latin America (PDF File, 74.8 kb)
    - Michael Elphick
  • Book Reviews...

  • Reflecting Theologically on Aids: A Global Challenge (PDF File, 16.2 kb)
    - Robin Gill
  • New Paradigm in Ministry Education (PDF File, 21.6 kb)
    - Dr. John H. Morgan
  • A selection of recent titles in theology chosen by Hugh McGinlay of Rainbow Books/Mosaic resources (PDF File, 17.8 kb)
    - Hugh McGinlay
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