Crimes of the father : a novel
(Book)

In 1996, Father Frank Docherty returns to Sydney after 20 years in exile in Canada, where he had been sent due to outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War. Becoming aware of 2 cases of alleged sexual abuse involving a popular local priest, he carefully seeks the truth. Set at a pivotal moment when the Church is making key decisions about how to respond the the increasing number of abuse allegations, this tale takes the reader inside the closed door meetings where the priests and their lawyers plan their defense. Even as the story reveals the emptiness of an organization that demands so much of its followers but asks so little of its leaders, it also finds courage, determination, and hope in the honorable priests and parishioners who demand justice. Timely and compassionate, Keneally gives voice to those who have been silenced by the most shocking religious scandal of our age. [From publisher's description]