As if the diagnosis were not enough, a big city newspaper has just published an expos on Catholic priests with AIDS. Father Tierney must guard his secret with his life or become the victim of a witch hunt or, worse yet, a public scandal of monumental proportions. Desperate to confide in someone, Father Tierney finally reveals his secret to Pascal LaVigne, his openly gay friend. But when Pascal hears from his ex-boyfriend, a freelance writer who wants to write a similar story with a local angle, Father Tierney and others in the Catholic Church fear the worst.
As guilt, shame, and a desperate struggle for redemption plays out in the lives of clergy, friends, and the media, Father Tierney struggles to keep a secret that has the potential to destroy everythingincluding his own soul.
John Shekleton was a member of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus and earned his BA in Philosophy and History from St. Louis University. Since leaving the Jesuits, he has worked as a systems analyst and freelance writer. His first novel, A Jesuit Tale, received one of four honorable mentions in the 2000 Writer's Digest in self-published fiction awards, mainstream fiction. He currently lives in Minnesota.