Acts of Faith, Acts of Love: Gay Catholic Autobiographies As Sacred Texts

In Acts of Faith, Acts of Love, McGinely explores the overlap of religious and sexual identities in the stories gay men write about themselves. The autobiographical writings of forty gay Catholics (or once Catholics) are analysed. The work is both literary and theological on the premise that experience constitutes one of the four sources of theological reflection, along with scripture, tradition, and reason.

"This is?an important contribution to the ongoing discussion of the intersection of homosexuality and religion. McGinley presents a scholarly, well-documented discussion of the integration of sexuality and identity, as well as of the theoretical issues of moral agency and narrative form. He complements this discussion with a sensitive exploration of patterns and themes in contemporary autobiographical writings by 40 gay Catholics (or former Catholics)… . This book resounds with the authenticity and integrity of personal narrative and academic critique. Highly recommended.” -Library Journal

“Our newspapers and churches are filled with questions about gay rights, same-sex marriage and gay/lesbian adoption. What we may miss is the human face of the debate. In this regard, McGinley has done a great service, assembling and analyzing forty gay Catholic autobiographies. Some excerpts are funny, others heart-breaking; all attempt to save lives. They are acts of courage and sacred texts because they save not only the author, but also other gay Catholics for whom following church teaching ‘led not to virtue but to pathology.’” -Human Development