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In this chapter, the history of the National Council of Catholic Women in the 1960s and 1970s – the years during and following Vatican II – is reassessed. The NCCW has been commonly perceived as a powerful anti-feminist organization for Catholic laywomen that was controlled by the Catholic hierarchy, but its archives reveal a sustained effort to engage with feminist ideas after the Second Vatican Council. Although most of the NCCW’s leadership did not self-identify as feminist, the group espoused many feminist beliefs, particularly about women’s leadership, opportunity, challenging ideas about women’s vocation, and women’s right to participate fully in the life of the Catholic church. The NCCW, under the leadership of Margaret Mealey, developed new organizational structures, educational programs, and publications to educate their membership about changing gender roles and the need to press the church for greater inclusion. Comparison to the international organization the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO), reveals the limitations of their feminism, however. Whereas WUCWO was willing to openly embrace feminism and feminist activism, NCCW was divided and preferred not to self-identify as feminist.

Katharine Harmon explores the intersection of the interwar Liturgical Movement with three forms of female lay initiative, the National Council for Catholic Women, the Catholic intellectual revival promoted by Maisie Ward and the Grail. The development of the theology of the Mystical Body of Christ served as a means by which Catholic laywomen, hitherto confined to a restricted sphere of religious activities at the parish level and in the family home, were able to enter upon a much wider sphere of action. The Liturgical Movement thus helped promote greater freedom of action for Catholic women and paved the way for their greater participation in later initiatives such as the Christian Family Movement.

Mary Henold explores the changing character of the National Conference of Catholic Women during the 1960s and 1970s, with particular reference to its executive director Margaret Mealey. By contrasting the new attitudes among Catholic women that arose in the aftermath of Vatican II with those of the nascent feminist movement, Henold demonstrates that Catholic feminism continued to accept a modified notion of male/female complementarity even as it asserted the right of Catholic laywomen to be active in the Church and develop a theology that was their own.