ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses specifically on the ways that the Roman Catholic Church has created a politics of sainthood that functions to control women's sexuality while perpetuating the rape culture that imbues our sociopolitical structures. Rape culture permeates our society and keeps women in a constant state of fear. Through biblical texts, purity legends, virgin martyrs, the veneration of Mary as virgin and mother, and a theology of complementarity, the Catholic Church has a history of rape culture and has created a politics of sainthood that encourages women and girls to be chaste at any cost, to place the value of their virginity over the value of their lives. The chapter explores each of these elements including an examination of modern-day virgin martyr St. Marie Goretti and the decision by Pope Francis to canonize Junipero Serra during his visit in the US in 2015.
