Predator Priest By: Robert J. McAllister, M.D., Ph.D. When the small town of Springer, Montana, receives a new priest in the parish, retired psychiatrist-turned-rancher Bob Lee forges an unlikely friendship with the mysterious Father Brown. But when a young boy dies under strange circumstances, alone in the woods with the new priest, Springer is in the spotlight, and Bob Lee is go-between and confidant for the accused. Inspired by the worldwide prominence of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, Predator Priest will challenge readers’ attitudes and preconceptions regarding both victimizers and victims. In 50 years of psychiatric practice, the author has treated numerous victims of abuse and interviewed and treated clergy who were abusers. Building on that unique experience, the author offers a sympathetic portrait of a predator priest, calling on church authorities to do much more to lessen the prevalence of abuse and on the rest of us to have more understanding, and more compassion.

The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church captured headlines and mobilized public outrage in January 2002. But much of the commentary that immediately followed was reductionistic, focusing on single "causes" of clerical abuse such as mandatory celibacy, homosexuality, sexual repressiveness or sexual permissiveness, anti-Catholicism, and a decadent secular culture. Predatory Priests, Silenced Victims: The Sexual Abuse Crisis and the Catholic Church, a collection of groundbreaking articles edited by Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea and Virginia Goldner, eschews such one-size-fits-all theorizing. In its place, the abuse situation is explored in all its troubling complexity, as contributors take into account the experiences, respectively, of the victim/survivor, the abuser/perpetrator, and the bystander (whether family member, professional/clergy, or the community at large). Setting polemics to the side, Predatory Priests, Silenced Victims provides a sober and sobering analysis of the interlacing historical, doctrinal, and psychological issues that came together in the sexual abuse scandal. It is mandatory reading for all who seek thoughtful, informed commentary on a crisis long in the making and yet to be resolved.

While seminaries, by many accounts, admit an increasing number of homosexuals, women are strictly barred from ministerial roles. The church's time-honored tradition of "avoiding scandal" also backfires. For by the shielding of fallen clerics, Berry shows, the suffering of the abused is often compounded.

Turning to the Catholic Church as a means of healing from childhood abuse, Hank Estrada looked for consolation and comfort but instead found cruel deception and ultimate religious betrayal at the hands of a very powerful religious machine, and in particular one manipulative, deviant priest. UnHoly Communion is a shocking and candid account of one man's personal battle with the darker side of the Catholic Church. Read the author's first hand accounts of how the Catholic Church continued to shamefully protect one of its sexual predators while he moved on from one victim to another. In this heart wrenching memoir, Estrada describes his road to hell and back as he lived through devastating sexual scandals and found the courage to persevere. This inspiring story of determination and resilience is for anyone who has struggled with any type of childhood abuse, adult exploitation, or the unspeakable sex crimes from once trusted clergy. Estrada connects with the reader and shows us how hope, peace and love can be found if you don't give up.

The persecution of Fr. Mark White by his bishop. All because he was bringing attention to the clerical sex abuse coverup by bishops and the Vatican.

“Courageous and inspiring.”—Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God “James Carroll takes us to the heart of one of the great crises of our times.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve An eloquent memoir by a former priest and National Book Award–winning writer who traces the roots of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal back to the power structure of the Church itself, as he explores his own crisis of faith and journey to renewal NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy. Carroll argues that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the sexual abuse crisis. The power structure of clericalism poses an existential threat to the Church and compromises the ability of even a progressive pope like Pope Francis to advance change in an institution accountable only to itself. Carroll traces this dilemma back to the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, when Scripture, Jesus Christ, and His teachings were reinterpreted as the Church became an empire. In a deeply personal re-examination of self, Carroll grapples with his own feelings of being chosen, his experiences as a priest, and the moments of doubt that made him leave the priesthood and embark on a long personal journey toward renewal—including his tenure as an op-ed columnist at The Boston Globe writing about sexual abuse in the Church. Ultimately, Carroll calls on the Church and all reform-minded Catholics to revive the culture from within by embracing anti-clerical, anti-misogynist resistance and staying grounded in the spirit of love that is the essential truth at the heart of Christian belief and Christian life.

"Eight men and women recount their childhood experiences of being sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests and they discuss the impact that abuse has had on their lives"--Provided by publisher.