The Purple Culture: A Novel - Hardcover

Stephen Boehrer (author)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1933515244 ISBN 13: 9781933515243

Publisher: Oceanview Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

What happens when those we trust most commit the most egregious acts of betrayal? It's a scandal that has sent shockwaves throughout the world. Sexual abuse committed in the place where we-and our children-should be safe: the church. As three bishops stand trial in Federal Court, charged with conspiracy for protecting abusive priests, prosecutor William Goulding and defense attorney James Kobs prepare for the trial of a lifetime. As Goulding presents a litany of damning evidence, Kobs is forced to take an unorthodox route. But Kobs' toughest battle will be persuading the jury. From expert testimony about power, aristocracy, narcissism, and addiction, to the innermost thoughts of the trial's spectators and participants, this extraordinary courtroom drama unfolds as Kobs presents his startling case. An intelligent, provocative story about power and human nature, The Purple Culture is not a book about shame, guilt, finger-pointing, or lurid details. Part legal thriller, part psychological drama, The Purple Culture demystifies the majestic and intriguing traditions of the Roman Catholic faith.

About this title

Review:

"A compelling and provocative novel." --Bookpleasures

"Boehrer makes a compelling case. The book is an examination of what the author calls the purple culture--a study of the hierarchy of the institution. Boehrer contends it is the hierarchy that is inherently flawed, not the church. And he does it in a most convincing way. As a member of the faithful, this is good news." --Armchair Interviews

"The Purple Culture may be set as a novel but every character and every story in it is solidly grounded in fact. The author's purpose is not to re-tell more church-based horror stories but to examine a plausible answer to the vexing question why. His response to the 'why' of it all is a brilliant analysis of the Catholic hierarchy within a multi-disciplinary context. His conclusions probe deeply into the 'Purple Culture' and present the best and most plausible answer to date to the why of the destructive nightmare of clergy sexual abuse." --Thomas Doyle, co-author of Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes

"Boehrer tackles a difficult subject in The Purple Culture trying to understand why upper-level clergy would essentially condone deplorable behavior by its priests. The book may cause some controversy, but at least it will get people thinking. I look forward to reading more from this talented author." --Fresh Fiction

"Steve Boehrer's wonderful new novel, The Purple Culture, is a timely and entirely accurate investigation of what is truly at stake in the church's clerical sex abuse crisis, which has finally begun to lift the curtain on the obscene underside of clerical culture. The various and florid sexual pathologies and cover-ups by bishops are not some minor blip on the centuries-long radar screen of salvation history, as they would like us to believe. They are, rather, an inherent part of the way the hierarchy reproduces itself. Boehrer's page-turning story might be fictional, but it is entirely based upon the facts." --Peter Isely, Midwest Director, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

"When bishops around the world covered up the crimes of their pedophile priests and then passed them around secretly, resulting in thousands of continuing crimes, the universal cry was, 'Why?' Various experts, in attempting to answer that question, offered speculations referring to pathology, collusion, and/or stupidity among the hierarchy. These are trumped by the author of this book, who presents a uniquely incisive answer. His theory is fictional, yet thoroughly credible, and the depth of its implications raises even more frightening questions." --Rita McDonald, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Professor Emerita, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

About the Author:

Stephen Boehrer was ordained as a priest in Rome. He left the priesthood after 9 1/2 years, and he currently lives with his wife in Wisconsin.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1933515244
• ISBN 13: 9781933515243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208