Waubonsee Community College

Mortal sins, sex, crime, and the era of Catholic scandal, Michael D'Antonio

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 350-378) and index

index present

non fiction

Mortal sins

bibliography

811597411

Michael D'Antonio

sex, crime, and the era of Catholic scandal

"An explosive, sweeping account of the scandal that has sent the Catholic Church into a tailspin -- and the brave few who fought for justiceIn the mid-1980s a dynamic young monsignor assigned to the Vatican's embassy in Washington set out to investigate the problem of sexually abusive priests. He found a scandal in the making, confirmed by secret files revealing complaints that had been hidden from police and covered up by the Church hierarchy. He also understood that the United States judicial system was eager to punish offenders and those who aided them. He presented all of this to the American bishops, warning that the Church could be devastated by negative publicity and bankrupted by its legal liability. They ignored him. Meanwhile, a young lawyer listened to a new client describe an abusive sexual history with a priest that began when he was ten years old. His parents' complaints were downplayed by Church officials who offered them money to go away. The lawyer saw a claim that any defendant would want to settle. Then he began to suspect he was onto something bigger, involving thousands of priests who had abused countless children while the Church had done almost nothing about it. The lawsuit he filed would touch off a legal war of historic and global proportions. Part history, part journalism, and part true-crime thriller, Michael D'Antonio's Mortal Sins brings to mind landmark books such as All the President's Men, And the Band Played On, and The Informant, as it reveals a long and ferocious battle for the soul of the largest and oldest organization in the world"--, Provided by publisher

Clerical culture -- The Church knows -- Sexual intellectuals -- Spiritual betrayal -- The Catholic States of America -- A weeping priest -- Five brothers, three victims -- The angels had to cry -- "What did the priest do to you, Greg?" -- The measure of the elephant -- Willful indifference -- An attitude of resistance -- The meaning of memory -- The pendulum swings -- Pushback -- "Would a bishop lie?" -- Oliver O'Grady -- By other means -- Paper chase -- Catholic guilt -- The open window -- A reckoning -- "Don't trust me" -- A rolling catastrophe