Brian Moore
In this short novel, a priest is sent to a remote Irish monastery where the Latin Mass is celebrated in defiance of the order’s orders. Dialog ensues. It’s interesting, but has been overtaken by events and the ambiguous ending – as much a hallmark of the 70′s as harvest gold refrigerators – is annoying.
In the library copy I read, an early edition from 1972, the blurb says, “Although written as prophecy, ‘Catholics’ sets forth the crisis of religion in the modern world. The future it depicts is, startlingly, in the process of becoming true.” While “the future it depicts” is a good example of what Pope Benedict XVI calls the “dictatorship of relativism”, thanks to John Paul II and Christ’s promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church, it’s a prophecy that didn’t, and won’t, come true.