The Children's Crusade, Scandal at the Vatican

By Eugene Bianchi

I ask myself why I wrote this novel. In part it was the pleasure of creating a story and imagining characters coming alive. And the characters do take on a life of their own, both in my head and, I hope, on the page. But I was also struck by the stunning revelations about the abuse of children by religious professionals. It is arguably the greatest crisis in Catholicism in a very long time. I grew up in this tradition and spent two decades in the Jesuit order. I went on to teach religious studies at Emory University. The play "Doubt," by John Patrick Shanley, further stimulated my interest in approaching the topic via fiction. The interplay of respecting the primacy of the literary, while being engulfed in a storm of contemporary information on children abused by priests, presents its own problems. How does a writer keep from being an essayist under the guise of a novelist? I wanted my characters to be as alive as possible and not just carriers of ideology. Whether I succeeded to some extent is for others to judge. But I kept posing that dilemma to myself as I went along.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097993902X
• ISBN13: 9780979939020
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Caritas Communications
• Length: 441 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Children;s Crusade - a page turner for me!

The story quickly became a page-turner for me. I found the cover-up around the issue of clerical child abuse a fascinating drama. The plot was intricate and the characters seemed believable. The author's knowledge of church history and his description of Rome and the Vatican contributed to the story's credibility. Even conservative Catholics would enjoy the novel and might be led to re-thinking some important problems in the church. John B. Grztzek, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine

Mystery, Forbidden Love, and Intrigue, Within and Without the Church

The Children's Crusade is a modern morality play, pitting established church doctrine against rising questions and doubts within the church itself: Does the end justify the means in seeking redress for priestly sexual transtressions against children? Should priests be set apart from human desire or should their humanity be embraced? Need church doctrine be changed, within or outside of the law? Short chapters keep the pages turning.

A modern-day allegory

"The Children's Crusade is a modern-day allegory embodying the currents, crosscurrents and riptides of contemporary Catholic experience and belief. The characters exemplify all the permutations of sexual relationship exhibited by the church in America and Europe today - and then some. In all of them there is a struggle between authenticity and hypocrisy, striving to be true to themselves and still survive in an essentially medieval institution. Not even a pope can escape this dilemma." - Robert R. Rahl, College Professor and Administrator

The Children's Crusade, Scandal at the Vatican

"Here in Los Angeles, I've been waiting to see if Cardinal Mahoney will face a grand jury regarding his part in the church's secrecy around the several, heart-breaking sexual abuse cases of children by priests.~ I've just finished reading The Children's Crusade: Scandal at the Vatican by Eugene C. Bianchi. I've found the story of Archbishop Mark Doyle and his friends' dramatic attempt to get to the bottom of child sexual abuse by Pope Clement XV to be riveting, provocative and suspenseful. It's also a creative way of promoting more openness and transparency in the church. I highly recommend it."~~~~~~ --Morgan Zo-Callahan, author, Intimate Meanderings: Conversations Close to Our Hearts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Super characters, Super plot

This one is even better than The Bishop of San Francisco. Love the tension between the bishop and the pope. Great mystery. I love these characters. Want to see more!!!!