New Book Alert: The Paraclete by Bernard Leo Remakus, M.D.; Disturbing Thriller About The Dark Side of the Catholic Church
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: When it comes to sex scandals, the Roman Catholic Church has a lot to answer for. Not just for individual priests who molested patrons, both male and female, but also the Vatican's zero response to the cases. Instead of forcing the priest to resign or press charges against them, many Archbishops often simply moved them to another diocese to continue their foul deeds elsewhere or sent them to an "undisclosed location for a time for rehabilitation."
Someone that I know works across from such an undisclosed facility. It is remote, on a dirt road, in a rural area, and is not a safe area to be because of how far it is from local authorities. I worry about this person for that and reasons concerning their job but I digress. (For protection's sake, I will not reveal my contact's name, relation, nor where this facility is located.)
There have been some improvements in the situation. I suppose when enough people come forward with the same experiences, even the Pope has to pay attention. Recently Pope Francis has changed Vatican laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. But for many survivors, the damage has already been done and accusations are still made. Is the Vatican's tougher approach working or are these priests being more secretive about it? It remains to be seen.
One novel that explores the Catholic Church sex scandals is The Paraclete by Bernard Leo Remakus, M.D. Like any good crime novel, it shows no matter how high up that you think you are, no matter how right you claim that you are with God, if you commit a heinous crime you will be caught and exposed.
The protagonist is Father Paul Thielemans, who is considered a "Rock Star" in the world of modern Catholicism. He is from a prominent family that made their money by distributing Belgian based beer but he entered the church upon adulthood. He is known for his lectures and best selling books. He is also not afraid to confront controversial topics like "Should the church allow priests to marry?" In many circles, he is famous and just as equally infamous.
While in San Diego, he makes the acquaintance of Bobby Kucera, an introverted altar boy and runs afoul with Father Kitterick, a sinister and rude priest. On a sea voyage to Hawaii for a lecture, Thielemans discovers that his concerns about Bobby and suspicions towards Kitterick were correct when he learns that Bobby committed suicide after having been molested by the priest.
Thielemans also meets Sister Michelle Erzengel, a nun whom he hires as his assistant. He learns that Michelle is part of a secret network dedicated to capturing and exposing priests for sex crimes. Thielemans also learns that Michelle herself has prior experience with priests who refused to keep their hands to themselves.
The Paraclete is one of those kinds of thrillers and mysteries that subverts our notions of guilt and innocence, right and wrong, black and white. Just like Thielemans does in his research, the book itself is not afraid to ask tough questions like if one knows that a crime is being committed is it their duty to report it without evidence? How long can one hide their horrible deeds under a God fearing facade? If the authorities won't do something about a crime what else can be done? If a priest hears of a crime in confession should they turn the perpetrator in? What sins can be forgiven and what cannot? Is confession enough or does true repentance involve a change in actions? There are no easy answers and The Paraclete does not give them.
Instead what the Paraclete does is give us decisions that the characters make based on their own experiences and proximity to these situations. Some characters do horrible things and are never held accountable for them. Instead they are left to their own devices and continue those crimes because their society is insulated and allows them to continue. Even worse, they carry these deeds to another generation by turning a blind eye or taking active part in the deplorable actions that the younger generation does.
Many of the characters in the Paraclete, particularly Thielemans and Sister Michelle are faced with these moral conundrums because of priests getting away with molesting parishioners and the silence of the Church itself that allowed the crimes to continue.
Michelle and her organization prefer to take a more active role in finding and persecuting these men so they can never hurt anyone else. While Thielemans takes a more theoretical cerebral approach to this situation, he too is appalled by the hypocrisy that many of his fellow priests have when they honor God with one hand while raping a male or female parishioner with the other.
He is disgusted not only with their actions but those of the bishops, archbishops, and cardinals who allow it to happen.
Illegal, unethical, and immoral deeds can only be caught when higher ups let go of their apathy and no longer fear the repercussions or their personal loss.
To paraphrase the famous quote attributed to Edmund Burke "Evil only thrives when good people do nothing."
Unfortunately, sometimes when the answer is to do nothing, some like the characters in The Paraclete, do something and that something isn't always right. However, in some cases it may be the only way for that evil to end.
The Paraclete is a thought provoking thriller that through its characters asks some tough questions about sexuality, morality, legality, and faith. It is a novel that leaves the Reader in suspense but also to form their own conclusions.
