UNITED STATES
TowleRoad
March 15, 2019
By Andy Towle
In an excerpt from his new memoir, Too Much Is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthoodh, Andrew Rannells describes becoming an altar boy in the Catholic Church while he was in high school and was beginning to understand things about his sexual orientation.
In the excerpt, published on Vulture, Rannells discusses his interactions with both the nuns and the priests that operated around the school and church he attended. He said he attended mass once a week and it was during one particular confession that a priest forced himself upon him.
“This was not your typical confession with private rooms and curtains drawn,” wrote Rannells. “Priests would set up two chairs close to each other in various darkened corners of the quad, turn on music at a low volume to muddle the sound of confessions, and then you would basically just get right up in a priest’s face and whisper your sins. Sometimes he would close his eyes and grab the back of your neck firmly while you confessed. It seemed very ‘Roman Wrestler’ at the time, but looking back it was also very ‘Abusive Pimp.’ I waited in line to talk with Father Dominic, who was popular for confessions. I told myself that he was going to be helpful, that this was my best option.”
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