The story of one man's crusade to bring justice to the victims of child abuse carried out by the priests who care for them. In 1985, a promising Catholic lawyer named Renon Chattelrault agreed to defend the first ever priest to stand trial for child abuse. He knew it would be controversial. But it was a high-profile case, and he wanted publicity, money and fame.
So begins a journey that will take Chattelrault from a tiny church in rural Louisiana to the Papal Nunciate in Washington, and thence to Rome itself. Not in defence of this priest, but in what would become a twenty year crusade to force the Catholic Church to confess their sins.Because what Chattelrault unearths during his legal research is a vast conspiracy in the Catholic Church. For years, the Church has been allowing and then covering up appalling crimes against children. Thousands of children have had their lives destroyed. Hundreds of bishops are implicated in the cover up – including the Pope himself.
Chattelrault urged the Vatican to acknowledge the situation. They refused, even when presented with documentary evidence of 500 cases of sexual molestation that was known about by the bishops. Chattelrault did not give up. For twenty years, he lived and breathed this fight for justice – a fight that would cost him his career, his family and his faith.
This is an astonishing story about one of the great scandals of our time, and one man's epic efforts to put things right.
