The Cardinal Virtues
A Novel
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4.5 • 21 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Father Laurence O'Toole McAuliffe, the pastor of Saint Finian's parish in Forest Springs, is weary and worn out, his priesthood and faith in tatters. Once literally a bomb-throwing radical and then a Vatican Council liberal, Lar McAuliffe has grown old and cynical. To make matters worse, he's smart enough to know what is happening to him.
God, the cardinal, or some combination of the two plays a dirty trick on Lar by sending him Father James Stephen Michael Finbar Keenan, the "new priest." Lar expects a classic confrontation between young and old, between sardonic maturity and enthusiastic inexperience. But the new priest does not fit the stereotype and the two become friends.
Together they face the conflicts and joys, the hopes and pains of the contemporary Catholic parish—the old-fashioned school principal; the broken family; the reactionary finance committee; frustrated young lovers; and the chancery office and a timid Cardinal, who interferes with the priests' work on every possible occasion.
Alternately sad and uproariously funny, The Cardinal Virtues is about the meaning of religion, the meaning of faith, and the meaning of life.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This extremely busy follow-up to The Cardinal Sins brings back Father Larry McAuliffe (aka Lar), the former ``bomb-throwing radical'' now ``disillusioned'' pastor of St. Finian's parish. Pressure from the Cardinal persuades Lar to take on an assistant, Father Jamie Keenan, a man from what Greeley terms the ``new priesthood,'' whose homilies offend the traditionalists. Particularly offended is George Wholey, leader of the ultra-right-wing Catholic group, Corpus Christi, who makes life hard for the young priest. Fighting to save Jamie from a vile set-up helps Lar regain his youthful enthusiasm, and several parishioners benefit as well. While the plot is plausible, Greeley simply fails to engage us; with the possible exception of Lar, the characters remain two-dimensional, serving Greeley's nostalgia for those who believed in Vatican II and his revulsion for those who fought the reforms. The bestseller lists prove there are many who revel in relentless detailing of rectory life; the suggestion, however, that this tale is a taut thriller, is preposterous. Literary Guild selection; author tour.
