It's common knowledge that in developing countries--Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America--the burden of HIV/AIDS falls disproportionately on women, who are generally the victims of male carriers of the disease. In this book, Roman Catholic women theologians from all over the world will discuss the pandemic in terms of their particular geographical and social location. The model for the volume is Continuum's "Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS Prevention" (2000), edited by James Keenan, S.J.

The occasion or impetus for the volume was the First International Crosscultural Conference for Catholic Theological Ethicists, single-handedly created by James Keenan (he raised 3/4 of a million dollars) and held at Padua, July 2006. (The plenary sessions will be published by Continuum under the title "Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church." )

The mentors for the volume will be James Keenan (editor Iozzio's Doktorvater) and Margaret Farley, "America's leading Catholic feminist theological ethicist" (19 Dec. review of "Just Love" in "America"). Farley's advocacy both in the US and Africa on the issue of women and AIDS is renowned, and she will be the best-known contributor. The leading contributor from English-speaking Europe is Linda Hogan from Trinity College Dublin.