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by J. H. Bográn (TopShelf Columnist)
The Cardinal Sins is a beautiful novel
published in the early 80’s by Andrew M.
Greeley. The plot is about two lifelong
friends, rich Kevin Brennan and poor
Patrick Donahue who decide to enter the
seminar, but the family status is only the
first difference between them. For Kevin,
becoming a priest was a conscious well-
thought decision. However, by the end of
high school, Patrick wasn’t sure about what
to do with his life. The idea of following his
friend’s path came to him as an epiphany,
as he described it, while he was lying on his
back with his girlfriend near a lake and
looking at the sky.
Seminar proved hard for both young
men, and that’s where the institution of the
church started to separate the weed from
the wheat. Kevin Brennan had his faith
and his books and became a scholar. On
the other hand, Patrick Donahue seemed
to have a score to settle with life, and his
ambition lead his maneuvering raising the
ladder until finally becoming the next
Cardinal in Chicago.
For a plot about two priests, you’d be
surprised to discover each of them had a
sweetheart in high school, and later in life,
they played critical roles in the plot. Patrick
hooked up with Kevin’s cousin Maureen
Cunningham. Kevin didn’t think much of
Ellen Foley when she was assigned to him
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Andrew M. Greeley was born on
February 5, 1928, and ordained as a priest
in 1952. He passed away in 2013 after a
life as a scholar, an advocate for child’s
Twitter @JHBogran | [email protected]
rights and consummate author of over
120 books, both fiction and nonfiction.
He also had papers published about
theology.
He lived his life battling for the
things he believed were right. Writing
gave him a voice that he used for good,
even donating the proceedings from
his work to charity, including Survivors
Network of Those Abused by Priests,
known a s SNAP.
In 2008, he had an accident with a
taxi as it pulled away and he ended
with a fractured skull. His health
diminished in the years following until
his death in 2013 at the age of 85. His
family confirmed he had died
in his sleep and his body found the
next morning.
The Cardinal Sins was Father
Greeley’s third novel and the first
one to achieve commercial success.
The title serves as a double
entendre since the Seven Deadly
Sins as observed by the Roman
Catholic Church, are known as
Cardinal Sins, and the story deals
with the sins of Cardinal Patrick
Donahue.
FORGOTTEN TOMES
THE CARDINAL SINS
as the date by his cousin, but she proved a
smart and touting young lady. She stole a
piece of his heart, the rest of it, belonged
to the Catholic Church.
The book combines elements of drama,
action sequences, plenty of suspense, all
interlaced with some real-life historical
events that rocked the world, particularly
those at the end of the 70’s. The action
starts in 1948 but covers thirty years, all the
way to the election of Pope John Paul the
First. As some may remember, John Paul
the First had a very short papacy, the
shortest in recent history when he was
found dead merely months after taking the
high office of Shepard of the Church.
COLUMNS
J. H. Bográn, born and raised in
Honduras, is the son of a journalist;
however, he ironically prefers to write
fiction. José’s genre of choice is
thrillers, but he enjoys to throw in a
twist of romance on occasion. He has
published three acclaimed novels and is
a member of The Crime Writers
Association, the Short Fiction Writers
Guild, and the International Thriller
Writers where he also serves as the
Thriller Roundtable Coordinator and contributor
editor for their official e-zine The Big Thrill.
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