Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Burned Out, Bummed Out, and Thrown Out: Progressive Reformers Begin Their Wilderness Journey Sower of Mustard Seeds: Call to Action -- Rebuilding the Temple: Voice of the Faithful -- Leaving Egypt: DignityUSA, Corps of Reserve Priests United for Service, Catholic Organizations for Renewal -- Catholic Feminists Confront Goliath: Women’s Ordination Conference, Women’s Ordination Worldwide, Women-Church Convergence, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, Catholics for Choice -- Toward a New City of God -- Testing the Waters and Pushing the Boundaries Prophets without Honor: Vatican II Pastors are Disappearing -- What Therefore Belongs to Caesar? Marginal Communities -- Notes from the Underground The Catacombs Revisited: Underground Catholic Faith Communities -- Something New Under the Sun? Underground Parishes -- Conclusion -- Appendices Appendix A: Comparative Data on Vatican II Reform Organizations -- Appendix B: Field Research -- Bibliography -- Index.

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Since the 1970s, liberal American Catholics have sustained a Reform Movement to counteract the conservative drift of the Vatican and to preserve and expand on the reforms of Vatican II. This book draws on a range of theory to analyze and interpret this movement, which is intent on creating a model of church, that examples Vatican II's open, receptive attitude toward the modern world. In response to backlash from church officials, the movement has increasingly abandoned effort to reform Roman Catholicism from within, and has moved in a sectarian direction by creating independent worship communities. The movement faces a precarious future due to its rapidly aging membership and the unstable nature of its newly-formed communities.