Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church [Hardcover]

The Investigative Staff of the Boston Globe (Author), Matt Carroll (Author), Kevin Cullen (Author), Thomas Farragher (Author), Stephen Kurkjian (Author), Michael Paulson (Author), Sacha Pfeiffer (Author), Michael Rezendes (Author), Walter V. Robinson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0316075582 | ISBN-13: 978-0316075589 | Publication Date: June 1, 2002 | Edition: 1st

With this expose, The "Boston Globe" aims to present the single most comprehensive account of the cover-ups, hush money and emotional manipulation used by the Catholic Church to keep its long history of sexual abuse secret. The case of Father John Geoghan, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and whose 130 victims have been awarded $30 million, has dominated news headlines. The newspaper maintains that the 2000 related civil suits pending against the Church are just the tip of the iceberg. With the same incisive reportage that first broke the scandal open, The "Boston Globe"'s team of investigative reporters also provides important analyses of what's at stake and what this "crisis of faith" means for Catholics everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a classic example of what serious, long-form investigative reporting and dedicated community service by the press can accomplish..." -- Buffalo News, 7/7/02

"...a terrible, horrible, awful book. Thank God for it...we should be grateful to the Globe..." -- Boston Globe, 7/7/02

"...authors are largely successful in their attempt to achieve balance in their description and analysis of the events..." -- New York Times Book Review, 7/14/02

"...compelling, fresh, flowing narrative...wrenching, but never lurid...required reading for concerned Catholics..." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/23/02

A riveting, tragic read. -- Irish Times, June 15, 2002

About the Author

The Boston Globe is one of the largest daily newspapers in America and in November 2001 they petitioned the Massachusetts Superior Court and forced the Boston Archdiocese to release secret documents - and won.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown; 1st edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316075582
• ISBN-13: 978-0316075589
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Documents of a horrendous crime, October 22, 2002

By 

cnyadan (Bavaria, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

It doesn't matter if one is Catholic or not, one thing that must be agreed upon is that the abuse and mistreatment of children must not be tolerated. Therefore, it is disturbing to read such an account as this; that one can see the mechanisms that were systematically used to protect the perpetrators of these crimes, rather than the slew of victims.

This book is NOT a book condemning Catholism or Christianity. I am not Catholic myself, but I have enough respect for Christianity and the Catholic Church, that had it been merely thus, I probably wouldn't have wasted my time reading it.

With the persistance of the staff of the Boston Globe, though, much of this information, which was previously off-limits, has been opened and researched. This book is a product of that research, and without drowning the reader in tons of details, goes into many aspects of this story - how the story broke, victims' stories, profiles of some of the most heinous perpetrators, the Catholic culture around Boston, and the heirarchical structure of the Catholic Church, and the effects this scandal has had on the Catholic Church in America and in the world.

As late as this has come to many people, I am glad that somebody had the nerve to pursue the story. For those who still want to believe that this isn't a major problem, remember that what is written here is just Boston's story, and just a small bit, at that. The priests who committed these crimes are criminals, and should be recognized as such, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A painful read, but a must read, July 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

1. This book is an excellent investigation into what occured in Boston involving the Catholic church and sex abuse.

2. It is also an excellent book in explaining the power of the Catholic Church in the culture and politics of Boston. This power may explain why Cardinal Law and others were able to get away with such abuses of power.

3. This is an extremely painful read as it details exactly what occurred to these children while they were being abused.

4. With that said, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ALL CATHOLICS!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just the Facts, August 7, 2003

By 

David (Forney, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

[Let my put my conflicts of interests right up front. I am a Catholic who converted from Methodist six years ago. Since that time I have worked actively in my parish in Fort Worth, Texas and now am the director of the RCIA program (the program for adults who want to join the church) in my parish. In addition, althouth I am not aware of any abuse by priests in my parish or diocese, the liturgy director at my parish, a lay person, was convicted this year of sexual conduct with a minor that occured about ten years ago.]

In my opinion, the most fascinating person in a true crime story is not the person who is obviously sick and evil, but the one who aids and abbets in the crime. For instance, several years ago in Chicago there was a young woman who was desparate to have a child. She hatched a plan to steal a child by cutting the child out of another woman's womb. If the story ended there, it would only be one of an obviously sick woman who needed alot of help, but it didn't. She convinced a man she new to actually carry out this plan. How does that happen? How does the man listen to the ravings of this deranged woman and say, "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I'll do it."?

I have the same questions about the crisis in the Catholic Church. I have no problem with understanding that the likes of John Geoghan, Joseph Birmingham, Paul Shanley, and Robert Trupia are sick and evil men. They each have molested scores of young boys and seem to have no comprehension of the impact of their actions. What I don't understand is why did the bishops they worked for and knew of accusations of molestation against them think it was a good idea to move them to a new set of victims? Why do some men of God become complicit in evil?

Unfortunately this book has no answer for those questions. It is written by the group of reporters from the Boston Globe who pried the story from the secretive Boston diocese. As such, it primarialy answers who, what, when, and where, but not why. The gory details of the molestors' activities are given and the pain and anger of many of the victims, too. But in one unforgetable story, the Christlike actions of one victim is told. A victim of Birmingham confronted him after many years of pain and suffering and said, "I've come here to ask you to forgive me for the hatred and resentment that I heve felt toward you for the last twenty-five years."

Much of the book is devoted to the problems in and around Boston, as may be expected. However, the reporters do touch on similar cases in other areas. Although the full extent of the crisis is not known, and may not be known without many more reporters in other dioceses investigating their local church, these reporters note that almost 200 sitting priests have been removed around the country and many more have been removed around the world. The problem of failing to respond to evil in the midst of the Catholic Church is definately not specific to Cardinal Law or even to the United States.