Conclave

The Story

In the sweeping tradition of The Thorn Birds, and the riveting style of The Shoes of the Fisherman, comes a magnificent new novel that will take you into the secret chambers of power, politics, and conflict within today's Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican. Conclave is a spellbinding novel of depth and insight that dares to ask -- and answer the question: Who will be the next pope?Conclave follows the life and career of an American Catholic priest, Timothy John Mulrennan, from his youth and early priesthood through the crises that have beset the Church and its faithful around the world for the past forty years. He experiences first-hand the tumultuous events and forces that have shaped our time: the Second Vatican Council, the Vietnam War, racial unrest in America's cities, celibacy and the sexuality of priests, communism's demise, conspiracies and assassinations, and the dark undercurrent of religious reaction that wants to turn back the clock.... He also experiences the shattering consequences of love between a man and a woman, which changes him forever.As a respected voice of compassion with the reputation among bishops and laity as a skilled pastoral administrator, Father Mulrennan also has attracted his share of enemies who oppose him and seek to destroy him by exposing the sins of his past. But his unshakable faith in God and his fellow man will prevail -- if he is not defeated in the struggle for the very soul of the oldest and largest Christian body in the world.Not since The Cardinal, the monumental bestseller of a half-century ago, has an American novel portrayed the life and times of a Catholic priest with as much accuracy, sympathy, and humanity, opening thesecrets of his soul to readers of all faiths. Conclave is a story that will be read and cherished and talked about for many years to come.