They were saints, and if they dared say or think anything that wasn't kosher, the church would have censured them and their writings would be forgotten.
St. Catherine of Sienna suffered and died too young for her rigorous aceticism. I can't deal with that any more. St. Teresa of Avila was probably schizophrenic according to Time magazine. I roiled at that and asked a priest about it. "What do they know?", he said. To this day I don't understand her and since I was never graced with the interior illuminations (oh now I remember). She wrote something to the effect that depressed people aren't (can't remember what but it was negative) Since I suffer from chronic depression, I knew I could never hope to reach her exalted state. St. Therese of Lisieux was the sweetest little thing which is why everybody loved her but she succumbed early to victim mentality. I don't find fault with her little way, but I don't want to follow in her footsteps. She had few options being a single woman in that time so I don't know what she could have been if she had stayed in the world and her life had not been cut short. St. Edith Stein has been questioned about some of her writings not exactly squaring with orthodoxy but she was a martyr so she is cut some slack. Maybe I would like her because she was a convert from Judaism.
In short, they are all catholic propagandists through and through, the way I was for awhile because I thought I was pleasing God by defending the church no matter what. I would rather be honest with myself. There are things I believe. There are things I don't believe, but may come to believe. There are most things I don't really know for sure and know that I never will know for sure in this life.
I suspect anybody who pushes any version of religion because they have a vested interest in having to justify to themselves why they made the choice they did.
Right now the woman writers who do the most good for the cause are those who stick up for women and try to get men to see how their attitudes have hurt women. I found a Hartford Courant article about three women who left the church because they were unwed mothers in the catholic church/social structure and the church sold them out, their families sold them out because of pride, and the nuns sold their babies to adoptive parents. I want to read women writers who stick up for those poor souls. Why? Because it makes me feel better and makes me think somebody is on my side. I wanted to post the article but wasn't in the mood for any more personal attacks (most catholics ignore me now and that is ok, probably better for me) and I figured, probably rightfully, that the women were tramps according to conservative catholic thought and deserved what they got.
But that's the kind of stuff I want to read right now. People who stay in the church because they believe most of it but know how it really is for a lot of people that others don't want to deal with because because, why I don't know.
St. Therese said she wanted to spend her heaven sending roses to earth. I want to spend my heaven helping those women getting their babies and dignity back.