Fallen Order

When I was researching for my history doctorate in Italy, several years ago, I came across some very interesting documents in the archives of an obscure religious order, and in the Vatican. Over the next few years there was an explosion of interest in the phenomenon of paedophile priests, and the Catholic church tried to shrug it off as a new occurrence, exacerbated by media hype and a compensation culture. But the documents proved that there was nothing new about the child-abusing priest, and the recent opening of the Inquisition archive offered a further opportunity to investigate. This book shows how the patron saint of Catholic education himself was implicated, and how covering-up scandal has always been the top priority for the church.---Karen Liebreich