A brisk and informative discussion--with the occasional flare-up--between our

conservative-Catholic host and two liberal-Catholic guests. TF: "I think that the history

of the 20th century is going to show one of the most magnificent changes in Catholicism.

It is the first century in which educated Catholic women are sharing their stories, have

entered the fields of theology and are recording theology ..." WFB: "I don't completely

understand your point, because I wouldn't have thought of theology as being affected by

the sex of the person who explores theology." TF: "I think the whole point is that men

often don't understand."... WFB: "To what extent does the development of theology

depend on the acquiescence of the faithful, i.e., is this a means by which that which is

true is sifted from that which is not true?" RM: "Well, you're making a distinction, I

hope, between theology and doctrine. Theology is the human effort... to try to make

sense of the faith. You put it fairly well, I think. Theology, like any science, tries to sift

the true from the false, and most of the time what you end up with is the doubtful."