The Red Hat — Ralph M. McInerny

"A murder; an accusation of sexual misconduct in the future cardinal's past; a seminary rivalry; vaulting ambition; a power play in international finance; a virtual schism in the American hierarchy; another Avignon pope; two or three really nice people - Mclnerny's new novel will keep you in suspense until the next to the last page. A nifty parable and a lot of fun." - Michael Novak, American Enterprise Institute "An intimate knowledge of things Catholic, an exuberant orthodoxy, and an apparently unlimited gift of narrative imagination. Ralph Mclnerny has them all. Life is unfair, fortunately." - Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor, First Things "Ralph Mclnerny's satirical probe into the sickness of our times is very funny. But beneath the comedy and the pathology there is an undercurrent of grief over the immense tragedy of the Church in North America and Europe. As the author presses down with his scalpel, he exposes the betrayal in all its banality, not for the purpose of mockery, but to point to something better that is still possible for us, to recall us to authentic hope. The central character, Archbishop Lannan, is a kind of episcopal "everyman " who is paralyzed by his weakness, ambition, and mind-numbing commitment to ecclesial politics. He stands at the crux of a dilemma upon which rests the future of the Church in the West. This is a book that should be read in every chancery, rectory, and university faculty - indeed, wherever men have grown cynical about the Bride of Christ." - Michael O'Brien, Author, Father Elijah "You need not be a Father Dowling to follow Ralph Mclnerny's trail through the agony of one bishop's lust for the Cardinal's hat with its built-in chicanery, and the ultimate test of his faith - fidelity to the Pope and martyrdom, or media acclaim and power from schismatic peers." - Msgr. George Kelly, Author, Battle for the