Father Sweet

The shadow of sexual predation has hovered over the Catholic Church for more than two decades. Canadian J.J. Martin has written a novel, “Father Sweet,” that perhaps paints the picture with more detail than we care to know about. But, nonetheless, it is insightful and educational. A twelve-year old alter boy is urged to accompany a charismatic local priest on an two-day camping trip by his parents that turns into a nightmare for the child as he has to fight off the repulsive advances of the holy figure.

Twenty years later the boy, now a lost and angry man with no resources, is forced to face a past that never goes away. The excommunicated priest, and other characters, are all caught up in the scandalous behavior that haunts many young men. Different outlooks at sexual abuse are presented in all their ugliness. Martin has carefully researched the many aspects of this continuing outrage, exploring the many shadowed pathways over which the controversy has traveled.

The writing is illuminating, as practices that are repulsive to most everyone seem to get explained away by theological expressions of love and belief in the Supreme Being. Many religious figures, as private expressions of individual preference, have adopted practices that are repulsive and sinful. The author brings those opinions forward as expressed by the persuasive urgings of the repulsive Father Sweet as he unhinges the boy and instills lifelong mental problems.

I was impressed by the book because of the opportunity for me to get a deeper look at a subject that both intrigues and repulses me. I felt that the writer presented a rational look at a subject that is usually accompanied by hysteria and overblown emotion. It’s a problem that must be addressed through strict oversight and discipline. I believe the author has taken an important step in bringing the details and the difficulties in dealing with them to our attention. A question I’ve long wanted to ask; when will things change?