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It’s Father Paul F. Morrissey’s duty, as an Augustinian priest, to help relieve the pain and suffering of others. But what if the pain and suffering is within the Catholic Church itself? That is the central issue Morrissey addresses in his provocative novel, “The Black Wall of Silence.”
The cover shows a priest muffled by his own collar. “We are all muffled in some way, torn between loyalty and honesty,” says Morrissey who, like the central character of his novel, serves as a prison chaplain and spiritual director.
In his novel, a gay priest discovers that the Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse may result in a life sentence without parole for a victim.
“In the novel, I try to show the parallel between the Church and the prison system,” says Morrissey. “Bishops have protected the Church at all costs, even if it means, at times, relocating an admitted pedophile. To survive, whether in a prison or in the Church, you have to follow the loyalty ode or open yourself to retribution. In my novel, I attempt to pull back the curtain of silence on these issues.”
The conflict between Morrissey’s fictional priest and a bishop builds up this battle between honesty and loyalty in a courtroom climax. The novel’s main character, Father Zach, says, “If I remain silent about a problem in the prison or the Church, I’m rewarded for being a member of the team. But if I ask a question, I’m seen as a traitor.”
“Father Zach realizes he lives in two prisons — the Catholic Church, and Riker’s Island, where he serves as a prison chaplain,” says Morrissey, “This loyalty-versus-honesty theme is universal. Readers will be able to identify with the characters, whether they are Christian, Jewish or Muslim, because we all tend to censor ourselves in some way in order to fit in and be accepted. The question my books asks is: Can Catholics, or anyone, speak our truth, or must we hide?”
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