Catholic Boys, The

- Blurb -

On the face of it, the Ledinghams were a great example of a Catholic family with strong Irish roots growing up in New Zealand. The 'faith' was strong in the family members, so much so the boys served as altar boys at the local church. What was not easily apparently to an outsider was that one-by-one the boys were picked off by a sexual predator. That predator was God's representative in their parish, the parish priest whose authority ruled not only over the local church but also the convent school the boys attended and in their devout family. The three Ledingham boys who tell their stories in this book went from being a happy, feisty lot of kids to troubled teenagers who became angry, abusing, (and self-abusing) men, with consequences for their families. Only after a torturous series of negotiations was their plight recognized in any way by the Catholic Church. The stories of Michael, Gerry, and Chris are introduced by their sister Mary, who provides readers with background on each of the boys, now men, with love and admiration for their survival. Their storeis and the background to their lives provides an important perspective to the impact of sexual abuse by all-powerful religious authority figures.