I have had first hand experience with priest sexual misconduct, so I have read much of the literature and have followed the present crisis closely. This is the best thing I have read. The best written and researched. Every Catholic should read this book about the present state of the priesthood. I know what he is saying is true, and I also know from my experience, but it still astounds me.

This is truly a can't-put-down book about the current crisis in the Catholic Church--priest abuse of children. Jason's book was written before the present crisis that erupted in 2002, but it gives solid background of other priest-pedophile cases dating back 30 years or so.

Jason is not content to just quote other sources--books, newspapers, magazines--as others have done concerning this scandal. He actually went and interviewed the priests, bishops, parents, and most importantly, the victims. He doesn't just state the facts, which could become boring, but he has the gift of writing that made me feel that I was actually there, seeing and hearing what he was seeing and hearing.

Nothing else got done in my house for over a week because I was so wrapped up in his true characters and his gritty, gutsy reporting style. This is not a book for the faint of heart, and Jason does not pull any punches in his investigative reporting. He proves himself vulnerable, however, as he revealed that he cried with victims and became angry with the system that let this abuse be a continual event. He remains a Catholic as I am because he feels that there is still hope that the Catholic Church can correct itself and become what Jesus meant it to be. I feel the same way.

The Catholic hierarchy is shown as more caring about the male buddy system than they are about our children who need our protection. The guilty priests, who should have been defrocked and turned over to the authorities, were nonchalantly transferred to other parishes with no warning to other parishes about the new priest in their midst and his dangerous, dark side.

Jason's writing is powerful and real. When I read the part about a man who became terrified because he felt that the devil was after him after he had talked to a pedophile priest, that terror transferred itself to me. It was 2 a.m. and I had been unable to stop reading Jason's book. I needed to go downstairs to get my medicine, but I was afraid to do so. My house alarm had been on so I knew that no BODY was in the house, but I felt the same evil that Jason's character had felt. It was as though an evil menace was there in the room with me. I knew that this menace did not want me to read Jason's book and thereby learn about all the evil that had been buried in the Catholic Church for so many years and that Jason's reporting was now bringing to the light.

Fortunately, the terror did not last long. A beautiful peace soon settled over me, and I knew that a protective Presence had entered my room, dispersing the evil menace. This loving Presence wanted me to continue reading Jason's book so that I would be knowledgeable and would be prepared for necessary changes that I believe the Holy Spirit will make in the Catholic Church.

Thank you, Jason, for a remarkable book and all your labor that went into it. I do not know you but I feel that I do. Keep up the good work.

Jason Berry investigated the Catholic Clergy Crisis starting with a reporting assignment he received for his job almost fifteen years ago. From that story, Berry went on to become increasingly captivated by the facts of the Catholic Clergy Abuse Scandal in the United States.

While the book principally follows the tragedy that befell the Layfayette, Louisiana Diocese in the late 80's and early 90's, Berry's book is so comprehensive that the reader can't help but get a full picture of the depth and breath of this national scandal.

Originally published in 1992, Berry's book is a classic. In the midst of the 2002 scandal that began in Boston with John Cardinal Law and has grown worse by day throughout the country, this is one of the best books to read to get a true sense of the complexity of the crisis. It also reminds us that what has happened in 2002 has happened before. All the apologies and posturing by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy become far less convincing or hopeful in light of the fact that they have addressed this issue before and made the same promises to the American Catholics before! Why are we expected to believe them on this go around?

To his credit, Jason Berry concludes his book with his personal reflection that his investigations did not cause him to lose his faith. This speaks to Berry's personal integrity and to his book's credibility. This book is not an effort to throw more rocks at the Catholic Church. Rather, it is one intelligent Catholic journalist's reporting of the facts.

If the Catholic Church wants to restore confidence in American Catholics, perhaps it should start by recognizing that we, as a group, are generally a well educated group of people who are no longer able to follow "the because I said so" approach to being "faithful" Catholics. Instead of bemoaning us as troublemakers (translated, not ignorant or timid -- apparently 'desirable' 'qualities' in a faithful people???),

Rome and the American Catholic hierarchy might do well to begin to speak to American Catholics in an intelligent, honest fashion, if they are truly sincere in their stated desire to restore credibility with the American Church, essentially its' people -- not it's institutional ego or ridiculous organizational structures.

A compelling read!

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Honorable Mention for Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to photographer Philip Gould, author Jason Berry, designer Laura Roubique Gleason, printer Dai Nippon Printing, and the Louisiana State University Press.

Phillip Gould has been an astute and quirky observer of Louisiana life for a couple of decades. Though a transplant he has established serious and widely respected local roots. He speaks Cajun/Creole French; he speaks to the heart. This finely honed selection of portaits echoes every strophe of Louisiana life. His visages map and mirror what Louisiana is and is about. They stand as a testament to a place and its cultures-- a singular place at that, fiercely individual cultures to boot; a world and its folkways that still tenaciously remain undiluted into the general American homogeneity. Gould's reportorial eye is keen and witty, his pictures are trenchant and lambent and are destined to imprint and remain.

If you are interested in the development of R&B in New Orleans, then this is the book to buy. All the essential contributors are there. What I really liked was the space given to the Mardi Gras Indians.