Mary DalyIn its obituary, the Guardian newspaper called Mary Daly (1928–2010) 'one of the key feminist writers of the twentieth century.' Challenging patriarchy in religion, society, and culture, Daly was a coruscating critic of the ways in which patriarchal nstitutions operate and discriminate. The Church and the Second Sex (1968), her best-known book, was an attempt to work within a Christian framework. Later works, such as Pure Lust (1984) and Outercourse (1992), emerged from a post-Christian mindset. Written after The Church and the Second Sex and before the influential Beyond God the Father (1973), Catholicism: End or Beginning? explores a renewed and revitalized ecclesiology that transcends the perceived dichotomy between 'Catholic substance' and the 'Protestant principle.' For Daly, resolving this polarity - by reclaiming a new freedom of spirit and intellectual power - would allow theologians to answer the central question: 'Has Catholicism reached its end, or is there hope for a genuine new beginning?' Read More Read Less