Book Description
CARNEYVILLE is a controversial novel recounting the indelible memories of Patrick Kelly from 1959 to 1967 in a strict Catholic seminary. In reconstructing the past, he cant help but comment on the current travails of the Church, specifically those deviant priests who had reputations for victimizing youth or engaging in sexual liaisons with men or women. Kelly speculates about the deep and multi-faceted psychodynamics of sexual abuse by priests and the enabling institutional factors that permitted this evil to become so pervasive and long-lasting. Specific cases are cited of former colleagues and senior clerical personnel in the religious order he had joined. The thrust of the book is, however, on the young mans memory of those times, his idealism and ambition to succeed, the beliefs and expectations he brought to the seminary experience, his bitter disillusionment and his eventual turning away after eight years. His entry into so-called civilian life was in the mid-sixties, a time rife with events that probably fueled his propulsion from that cloistered place. Throughout the story Kelly remembers a priest who influenced him. He traces the evolution of this model priest, who gained some power and reputation, but eventually fell far because of his own weaknesses. But he resurrected himself within his faith and continues today, a kind of symbol of the survival of the priesthood, albeit heroically. The contrast of our protagonist to this priest over the years, how they both, for better or worse, faced the harshness of cultural, psychological and spiritual challenges, makes for an fascinating story. The narrative is at times irreverent, an obvious channel of great anger toward the Church for the writer, but it takes our now-aging author to task as well. Although he is not saved in the traditional Christian sense, he is at peace with that chapter of his life. His recollections have forced him to look deeply within himself for the meaning of his own life, and he realizes an awakening of compassion, sensitivity and forgiveness. What he considered lost years of youth are now a source of self-discovery that liberate him from his long resentment.
From the Publisher
This book is readily available directly from the Publisher and through Baker & Taylor Book services.
About the Author
Jim Murphy is a former seminarian. He left the seminary in 1967. He is currently married and a Special Education Teacher in The School District of Philadelphia. He won the Rose Lindenbaum Teacher of the Year Award in 2000. He painted murals and billboards for several years and is also an Art Therapist. He continues to write and paint.
Carneyville: A Young Man's Journey through the Old Catholic Seminary FROM THE PUBLISHER
CARNEYVILLE is a controversial novel recounting the indelible memories of
Patrick Kelly from 1959 to 1967 in a strict Catholic seminary. In
reconstructing the past, he canᄑt help but comment on the current travails
of the Church, specifically those deviant priests who had reputations for
victimizing youth or engaging in sexual liaisons with men or women. Kelly
speculates about the deep and multi-faceted psychodynamics of sexual abuse
by priests and the enabling institutional factors that permitted this evil
to become so pervasive and long-lasting. Specific cases are cited of former
colleagues and senior clerical personnel in the religious order he had
joined.
The thrust of the book is, however, on the young manᄑs memory of those
times, his idealism and ambition to succeed, the beliefs and expectations he
brought to the seminary experience, his bitter disillusionment and his
eventual turning away after eight years. His entry into so-called civilian
life was in the mid-sixties, a time rife with events that probably fueled
his propulsion from that cloistered place.
Throughout the story Kelly remembers a priest who influenced him. He traces
the evolution of this model priest, who gained some power and reputation,
but eventually fell far because of his own weaknesses. But he resurrected
himself within his faith and continues today, a kind of symbol of the
survival of the priesthood, albeit heroically. The contrast of our
protagonist to this priest over the years, how they both, for better or
worse, faced the harshness of cultural, psychological and spiritual
challenges, makes for an fascinating story.
The narrative is at times irreverent, an obvious channel of great anger
toward the Church for the writer, but it takes our now-aging author to task
as well. Although he is not saved in the traditional Christian sense, he is
at peace with that chapter of his life. His recollections have forced him to
look deeply within himself for the meaning of his own life, and he realizes
an awakening of compassion, sensitivity and forgiveness. What he considered
lost years of youth are now a source of self-discovery that liberate him
from his long resentment.
About the author
Jim Murphy is a former seminarian. He left the seminary in 1967. He is
currently married and a Special Education Teacher in The School District of
Philadelphia. He won the Rose Lindenbaum Teacher of the Year Award in 2000.
He painted murals and billboards for several years and is also an Art
Therapist. He continues to write and paint.