The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture
Philip Lawler's stunning book is a fresh look at the causes and consequences of the Catholic clerical sex-abuse scandal.Ground zero was Boston. Lawler tells the story of the Church's role in advancing a culture of morality and excellence within the 19th-century immigrant community. But all of that good crashes into a mid-20th century wall of indifference, amorality, and hostility to orthodoxy and "the power of Faith."The same story holds true throughout much of the country. Depressing repetition meets depressing repetition.Lawler places the blame squarely on the laps of the shepherds, the bishops who were more interested in their public image and meeting the mortgage payments, than the safety of souls. His is a powerful story of a dismal period in the life of the Church. --Frank Keating, Governor of Oklahoma, 1995-2003