The faithful departed : the collapse of Boston's Catholic culture

Faithful Departed Traces The Rise And Fall Of The Catholic Church In Boston, Showing How The Massachusetts Experience Set A Pattern That Echoed Throughout The United States As Religious Institutions Lost Influence In The Face Of Rising Secularization. The Collapse Of Catholicism In Boston Became Apparent With The Explosion Of The Sex-abuse Crisis. Lawler Shows That The Sex-abuse Scandal Was Neither The Cause Nor The Beginning Of Catholicism's Decline In Boston. Introduction: The Good Of The Church -- The Catholic Century -- The Irish Conquest -- Under New Management -- Good Neighbors -- Personally Opposed, But-- -- Shifting Foundations -- The Center Cannot Hold -- Waiting For Roe -- Moving Out Of The Catholic Ghetto -- Southie Won't Go -- Lost Battles -- Habits Of Denial -- The Collapse -- The Learning Curve -- Not Enough Millstones -- Lost In Dallas -- The Death Watch -- Ruin -- Generations Betrayed -- The Beacon Hill Massacre -- Restoration -- The Wrong Explanations -- The Dash-2 Bishops -- The Church Militant. Philip F. Lawler. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 259-261) And Index.