• The Confession
• Our Fathers
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"What is there still to be said about priestly pedophilia? The amount of ink, the number of television hours devoted to the issue might be expected to have induced a kind of atrocity fatigue in the American public, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. There are, of course, the die-hard supporters of the church who interpret all the media attention as a left-wing conspiracy against the Word of God, but for most people it was a situation as black and white as the traditional priestly suit and Roman collar. There were the victims and the perpetrators: the victims were innocent and therefore worthy of sympathy; the perpetrators, shielded by an institution claiming to be devoted to love and justice, were betrayers or criminals -- depending on your worldview.

"David France, who covered the pedophilia scandal for Newsweek, has set himself the daunting task of making sense of a whirligig. His method in 'Our Fathers' is a mixture of oral history and omniscient narration. This method by its very nature understands that, as in conversation, all beginnings are arbitrary. France's choice of a first scene for 'Our Fathers' is masterly. We think we are reading about a real event, and then learn that it is a description of Hitchcock's 'I Confess,' the 1953 film about a priest who faces execution rather than break the seal of confession. It could hardly be more appropriate: the romance of priestly honor, priestly self-sacrifice, starring the glamorous, tormented Montgomery Clift, directed by Hitchcock, a Roman Catholic and our Virgil in the underworld of dark psychosexual terror. . . .

"'Our Fathers' has a kind of compulsive readability that paradoxically accompanies the feeling of being overwhelmed. It is best read, I think, in pieces -- perhaps because the moral outrage it causes requires a break from time to time, to read Turgenev, say, or Chekhov, or one of the 18th-century optimists who suggest the goodness of humankind. France is adept at making his characters real, breathing human beings, and his very lack of final judgment allows him a delicacy of tone that neutralizes the blood-in-the-water instinct that has been too closely associated with the pedophile scandal. His method allows us to put a face to what had been a series of names, and to make important distinctions among the priests and their victims. He succeeds marvelously."

Mary Gordon, The New York Times Book Review

"No matter how thoroughly this material has been presented by other reporters, the effect of this cumulative retelling is devastating."
Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Stunning in its insight, . . . France writes with such compassion and intelligence, his book never feels the least bit rehashed."
John D. Thomas, Atlantic Journal & Constitution

"Reads like fiction . . . well-written, fast-paced . . . riveting."
Hartford Courant

France "writes with steely discipline. His narrative sweep is generous, authoritative, smart, powerful and -- at the risk of using a much-abused term -- novelistic. The cast of characters brought to life is impressive; for every memorable villain there is an equally unforgettable hero, with most somewhere in between. . . The admiration David France earns is rivaled only by the heartbreak and indignation generated by his brave, important book".
Joseph Di Prisco, San Francisco Chronicle

"I'm not in the business of plugging books, but I did read [Our Fathers]. It's terrific."
Aaron Brown, NewsNight

What I took away from the book is that there is this almost total collapse of leadership in America at the top of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church aided and abetted by an apathetic Vatican."
Bill O'Reilly, The Factor

"*****! A riveting new book, both inspiring and deeply disturbing. . . without a doubt the definitive account of the sexual abuse scandal that continues to grip the Catholic Church."
Tucson Citizen

"A remarkable accomplishment. The dramatic story of [the church in America] cannot be told without this difficult but rewarding account by David France."
R. Scott Appleby, Boston Globe

"Ingenious . . . The book is better than any movie will be . . . there is dialectic that takes your breath away."
Father Thomas H. Stahel, SJ, America Magazine

"Moves with the pace of an action-packed novel - a non-Catholic himself, [France] provides a note-perfect and detailed assessment of each of the characters that crowd this complicated story."
Edmonton Journal

"A page-turning account."
Out Magazine

"I keep comparing it to Randy Shilts's 'Conduct Unbecoming' or 'And the Band Played On' because it has the same quality of an enormous amount of reporting at the service of very human storytelling."
Bruce C. Steele, The Advocate

"Unflinching, articulate, and admirably honest."
New York Blade

"Fair-minded, although not untouched by moments of legitimate, indeed necessary, outrage."
First Things

"Engrossing as well as smartly written."
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, MSNBC.com

"Take France's book seriously - not because of the relentless recounting of horrific details, but because France has used these tragic episodes to weave an intimate and sad narrative of American Catholicism in the last 50 years."
Chicago Tribune

"France is a gifted writer . . . [and] sympathetic reporter, alert to ambiguities that often cloud the truth."
Commonweal

"Quite an accomplishment."
L.A. Frontiers

"Reads like 'The Perfect Storm.'"
Gail Hudson, Amazon.com

"Should be required reading for legislators."
Marci A. Hamilton, the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

"A superb job. . . [T]he strength of 'Our Fathers' is its anecdotal detail and psychological insight."
Washington Post

"France's book reveals the hurting humans behind the numbers, in moving stories of both victims and priests."
Grand Rapids Press

"A journalist's journalist, France provides behind?the-scenes details on everything from press conferences and electronic databases to conflicts with editors. If you enjoyed All The President's Men, you'll love . . . this book."
Providence Journal

"'Our Fathers' - an amazing book."
Dave Cronen, NPR's "Off the Cuff"

"David France, a senior editor at Newsweek who has covered the scandals, provides some unsettling details in 'Our Fathers.' What France does is to give it flesh and blood by telling the stories of the people who were affected."
Wisconsin State Journal

"Joseph Birmingham is diabolical and remorseless. The story of his rampage of rape and sodomy in Massachusetts in the 1960s is numbing. France's re-creation of the dread and paralyzing fear felt by Birmingham's victims, whom the priest sometimes called out of class and assaulted in an adjacent closet, is terrifying and sickening. France, a former Newsweek editor, does a superb job of showing how the shame and guilt of the victims led them to blame themselves for the assaults. They asked, in so many words: Why would a priest do this to me unless I in some way deserved or wanted it? . . . One of the book's most powerful and disorienting moments is when Birmingham, dying of lung cancer or possibly AIDS and unable to speak, is confronted by one of his victims, now a grown man. 'Father, it's Tommy Blanchette from Sudbury. . . . I've come to visit you, Father. Is it okay if I pray for you?' Who says life isn't a mystery?"
Washington Post Book World

"[France] is one of the first writers to explain the scandal from the perspective of a gay person. He describes the fear that gay priests feel as Ratzinger begins a crackdown on gay clergy, and explores their thoughts and feelings as some Catholics begin putting blame for the scandal on gay priests. 'Our Fathers' will appeal to a broad audience . . . 'Our Fathers' is a good read, well-balanced and well researched."
National Catholic Reporter

"Hot."
Vanity Fair