The Church that Forgot Christ.

The Church That Forgot Christ

Jimmy Breslin 

Free Press

New York 

ISBN: 0743266471 $26.00; 239 pp.

The Church That Forgot Christ is a healthy dose of righteous anger. Breslin has always had a wry sense of humor, a street-smart way of putting every one and every thing in its place, but that is almost totally lacking here. He's not laughing in this book; he's crying. This is a scream from the street into a sealed cathedral. This is a lone, sobbing man rattling the chained and barred doors protecting the golden calf inside from the poor rabble outside, asking simply, "What have you done? Have you no shame? Have you forgotten God?"

The evidence abounds in the news and reverberates in every page of this book. The stories of survivors are gut-wrenching and Breslin makes no attempt to sugarcoat what has happened. These are nightmares brought into the full light of day. As you read of these still-suffering victims, you can feel your soul slowly, word by word, tearing apart in abject disgust. You can't decide whether to cry or punch some one. How has this ever been allowed to happen, not just once, but decade after decade with full knowledge and active official cover-up? It is particularly horrific when Breslin juxtaposes the crimes with the official responses, or non-responses as is the case all too often. Once, after a priest named Porter is jailed for molesting over a hundred known children in the Boston area and we hear tales of him holding down children and humping them like dogs, we see Cardinal Law denouncing the press for being "anti-Catholic" and blowing it up into a front-page story. This insane official of the church then attacks us all with his holiest of holies solution to the problem: Law, "By all means we call down God's power on the media, particularly The Boston Globe."

The Church That Forgot Christ is a shocking read in many ways: shocking to hear the sordid details of behind-the-scenes abuse, scandal, and cover-up; shocking to read of such a devout man's heart torn asunder; shocking to read the outrage and damning language of a true believer; shocking to read of the official wall of silence and denial; and of course, as always, it is shocking to hear the very simple, yet so strongly condemned (by some) and ignored (by most) message, "Could we simply have some Christianity put back in Christianity?" But I think that endless battle for common human decency, honesty, and humility is what Christ's message and death was all about. It is certainly what Breslin's moral outrage of a book states clearly. He should be praised for his courage and truly undying faith in the face of this on-going nightmarish church crisis. Because his faith is real and he turns his anger into action by calling for a renewal of the church. Instead of just giving up on God, he turns to God and calls on the church to do the same. This is one case where the best solution just might be to turn out the fossilized hierarchy of theologians in their ivory and gold towers, and listen instead to the lowly heart of the street, return to the common sense of the common man. Hell, it certainly couldn't be any worse, and, just like the passionate example that started the church, some times a common man has the real answers. We can build on that.