Hail Mary?

The Virgin Mary is considered the most powerful female religious figure in western civilization. She is also a popular figure, as demonstrated by the ongoing "cult of Mary" that includes flocks of believers who pilgrimage to the place of her sighting. Yet the official image of Mary is a troubling one. In traditional Catholicism, she is venerated for her humility, her lowliness in the sight of God, and her perpetual virginity. Christian feminists challenge this sexist portrayal, which reinforces oppression against women. They propose instead an image of a stronger, more independent Mary. Hail Mary? covers this struggle to control the imagery of Mary, illustrating how Mary is central to the Church's moral control over Catholic women and therefore pivotal in any movement for change. The book promotes an imagery which attempts to recover the ancient concept of every woman's participation in the divinity of Mary, which proposes transcendence, not divination, to maintain women's active participation in Catholicism.