BY ERIKA ANDERSON

Staff Writer

ROSWELL--After searching in vain for a magazine geared toward women devoted to the Catholic faith, Genevieve Kineke decided to start her own.

Canticle, a new magazine for Catholic women, was born.

Kineke, a parishioner of St. Andrew’s Church in Roswell, said she started the publication from her home, sending it out to various women’s groups to establish readership. Originally called Hearth, the publication was picked up by St. Michael’s Press in Charlotte, N.C., becoming Canticle.

Kineke’s vision for the magazine is to show women “what is possible for them if they truly live out their vocations.”

“This is a wonderful time to sort out what the essence of femininity is without resorting back to stereotypes,” she said. “Women are just now beginning to come into their fullness.”

The mother of four children, all of whom attend Pinecrest Academy in Dunwoody, Kineke and her husband, Charley, have been married for 14 years. She said that the true Catholic woman is a model of the church.

“A woman needs an image--something outside of herself to guide her life. That image is the church,” she said. “A woman is a reflection of the sacraments--she washes, welcomes, nourishes, confirms, reconciles and heals.”

Kineke also refers to the role of the Catholic woman as “mater” and “magister,” mother and teacher.

“As mother and teacher, the woman reaches out and has an ability to connect with the human person in an extraordinary way,” she said. “Mother Teresa was a beautiful reflection of the seven sacraments...Her strength as a mother gave her credibility as a teacher.”

Kineke also maintains that it is essential to have a devotion to Mary. “A Catholic woman really has to get to know the Blessed Mother and what she did so that the will of God could be done through her,” she said.

Raised in the Presbyterian Church, Kineke joined the Newman Center at Towson State University in Baltimore when she went to college because she had “always been fascinated with the Catholic Church.”

“My heart was already open to the church,” she said. “The more I read about it, the more I loved the way the church stood apart with its universal truth.”

In 1984 Kineke was brought into the Catholic Church and said that she feels blessed because of her conversion.

“There is such beauty and dignity in the church,” she said. “In the spousal relationship between Christ and his bride, the church, I get to image the bride.”

Kineke is aware of women who feel the Catholic Church has chauvinist tendencies, but said that many of those women feel that way as a result of having been hurt.

“If you look at most of feminism, it is women who have been legitimately hurt, mostly by men,” she said. “The Holy Father has shown us, in order to get the grace of this millennial year, we have to forgive. By carrying around all our wounds, what kind of freedom is that?”

“God is not indifferent to the pain of these women that have been hurt. He says, ‘Live in the fullness of My love and you will find joy,’” she said. “Unless we return women to the fullness of joy, families will always suffer and there will always be resentment between the sexes.”

Kineke said that the key to happiness is the grace of Christ.

“There is a joy in saying yes and no matter how severe the pain, Christ is there with the grace to get you through it,” she said. “His constancy is what gives us the confidence to open us up and love. When we love, we make Christ present. If the woman can just get her act together, it just resonates in the family.”

Kineke hopes that Canticle may help women to “get their act together.” The magazine is published quarterly and is expected to focus on different themes. A two-year subscription is $27.95.

The theme for the first 48-page issue, published this spring, was “Equality or Androgyny,” with articles such as, “The Lost Essence of Femininity,” “Job Title: Mother,” “Why Do We Hail Mary?” and “Why Can’t Women Be Priests.” Writers include Kineke and other lay Catholics. The issue also includes an article on Dorothy Day by Jim Forest, who wrote a biography of Day called “Love Is The Measure,” and first-person faith stories by several writers.

Although Kineke does most work at her home computer, Canticle is published in North Carolina with the help of two women editors and a board of directors who contribute articles and professional expertise. Those interested may contact the office at (800) 933-9398.

Kineke’s main goal for the magazine is to reach its readers.

“Canticle has to speak to all women or it’s not true femininity,” she said. “We just want to show women the fullness of what God has in store for his beautiful daughters.”