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Andrew Greeley's THE PRIESTLY SINS echoes the problems facing the Roman Catholic Church and its members today. Although this book is fiction, it is obvious that Greeley has taken his story from today's headlines. The scandal that runs rampant in the Church is told from the point of view of Father Herman Hoffman, who at the beginning of the novel witnesses a fellow priest raping a young boy. Greeley is discrete when he describes this scene, but gives enough detail to allow the reader to envision what had just transpired. The introduction is told in the form of a court transcript; it is from this point that the novel takes off.
The reader thus gets pulled into the scandal that has rocked the Church in recent years. Greeley uses newspaper articles to show the progress of this particular abuse case, the victim being a boy named Todd Sweeney, the very boy whose rape Hoffman had witnessed a number of years ago. The newspapers describe Hoffman as a gay priest, among other things, through interviews done with other members of the clergy. The Church appears to be defending the alleged abuser and ridiculing Hoffman for his outrageous accusations, calling him a traitor. This is the first description the reader gets of Hoffman, but it soon changes as more is revealed.
The book then details Hoffman's earliest memories of his life with a close-knit family of "Volga Deutches," living in the midwest on a farm that he and the rest of his family worked. It is a tale that only Greeley can tell, with characters who will warm your heart. THE PRIESTLY SINS details Hoffman's most important moments in his childhood and adolescence: his family, the love of his life Kathleen and his decision to become a priest --- all told in a humorous tone and from Hoffman's point of view.
The reader learns that Hoffman is a very affable man of Russian German descent, and in his recollections of his youth he emphasizes the characteristics that belong to persons of this background, the rigidity that marks his German side in particular. It is with some comic relief that he describes himself, and the reader can easily identify with this priest and will grow to like and admire him. It is with some humor and maybe some amazement that Hoffman goes into detail about his love for a young Irish girl, a childhood sweetheart, whom he never has let go of and will always love in some form in his heart. Their passionate love affair is told in great detail, showing the young Hoffman's burning desire for Kathleen, a love that will never die. It is obvious that although this novel is supposed to center on the "priestly sins," it actually is more about Hoffman, the life he led before and after he became a priest, and how he deals with the crisis that has gripped the Catholic Church.
While most of the book is about Hoffman's past, which in turn leads up to his involvement in the Church sex abuse scandal, it begins and ends with the actual trial involving Todd Sweeney, with Hoffman as a crucial witness. Greeley admits that this book is a work of fiction, and for obvious reasons he gave it a happy ending. But he also admits that real life cases were not so clear-cut.
This reviewer finds it almost astonishing that this novel was even published; Greeley must have come under some scrutiny, himself being a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. The appeal for this reviewer is knowing that Greeley had an inside view of the scandal, and reading THE PRIESTLY SINS makes one wonder how much detail in the novel is based on fact. A bonus for Greeley fans is the inclusion of his most popular character, Father Blackie Ryan, and it certainly has made this reviewer a fan of his famous character.
THE PRIESTLY SINS is an interesting read for those who are caught up in the current Church scandal, but also a must-read for all Greeley and Blackie Ryan fans.
--- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton (Ratmammy@lofton.org)
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