The author, who describes herself as a priest and a feminist, sees violence as debilitating to not only the victims, but to the perpetrators as well; their perversion or destruction of relationships with other persons destroys their relationship with God. However, advocacy of the Church in this area is intended not merely to provide redress for victims and assure punishment of offenders. Those actions are means to the greater end of stopping or, at least, dramatically reducing domestic violence. The author examines the Church's historic complicity in domestic violence, and ways in which the contemporary Church has begun to address the problem. She also explores additional antiviolence work for which religious institutions might be particularly well suited. In conclusion, she argues that any serious attempt to serve victims of domestic violence and to reduce the prevalence of such violence throughout our society stands little chance of significant success without the active and sustained involvement of the religious community. Footnotes