Description
Faithful Departed traces the rise and fall of the Catholic Church in Boston, showing how the Massachusetts experience set a pattern that echoed throughout the United States as religious institutions lost influence in the face of rising secularization. The collapse of Catholicism in Boston became apparent with the explosion of the sex-abuse crisis. Lawler shows that the sex-abuse scandal was neither the cause nor the beginning of Catholicism's decline in Boston.
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As a journalist, Lawler has written and edited several newspapers and magazines, and has written five previous books on political and religious topics. He is currently editor of Catholic World News, the first English-language Catholic news service operating on the internet. In his latest book, he explores how the Catholic Church became the dominant cultural power in Boston and how it subsequently fell from its position of influence during the second half of the 20th century. Lawler argues that the sex-abuse crisis of 2002 was but one manifestation of corruption that had begun decades ago. He offers this account as a cautionary tale for other Catholic communities and other religious groups in the U.S., warning that what happened to the Catholic Church in Boston could easily happen elsewhere. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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