A Gospel of Shame

Opening with the story of James Porter, a former priest scheduled to be tried in late 1993 for mass molestation, the book uses interviews with victims to examine children's unique vulnerability to priests and with priest abusers to explore their dangerous isolation. It documents the failure of prosecutors, judges, psychologists and reporters to monitor bishops, who spend millions of dollars to protect the Church's image rather than its believers. Finally, it dares to ask - and answer - the question of why such a seemingly disproportionate number of priests molest children. Without indicting the Church, Burkett and Bruni argue that the demands of the priesthood and the hierarchical structure decreed by Rome foster a climate perilous to the young. Their insights are culled from extensive interviews with many of the nation's foremost experts on child sexual abuse and even some of the Catholic Church's most respected American bishops.