The Priestly Sins: A Novel

Father Herman Hoffman, a young priest from the Great Plains, witnesses child abuse in the rectory during his first parish assignment. When he reports the abuse to the pastor, local police, and the archbishop, he is rebuffed. After denouncing a priest cleared by police, Hoffman faces retaliation: he is placed in a mental-health center and then exiled for graduate study. While studying immigrant history in Chicago, Hoffman meets Monsignor Blackie Ryan, a Vicar for Extern Priests who helps restore his confidence. Hoffman returns to request his own parish from the archbishop, who reluctantly assigns him to a struggling congregation. Through his dedication, Hoffman revitalizes the parish, but his success is interrupted by a subpoena to testify in court. Testifying would require him to confront the institutional forces working against him and other priests, risking exile from both his parish and the priesthood. Drawn from the author's fifty years as a priest, the novel presents a candid account of human priests within the Catholic Church.