Raleigh, NC  What is the biggest obstacle to a Church reform capable of cleaning up the sexual abuse scandal? It is Pope Francis according to the brand new book by yours truly, John Gravino.  In Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, I argue that Francis is spreading the pernicious heresies of the late twentieth century that led to a terrible epidemic of sexual abuse and the worst Church crisis in centuries.

But Francis is not only spreading these heresies, he is quite possibly plagiarizing from them as well.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

“Another major issue with the language of Amoris Laetitia concerns its remarkable similarity to previously published works.  Consider the most famous line from Amoris Laetitia, par. 37:

“We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.”

Compare that line to this one from Human Sexuality—the book condemned by Pope John Paul:

“[G]uidelines will serve to enlighten the judgment of conscience; they cannot replace it.”

Did Pope Francis, or his ghostwriters, borrow the line from Human Sexuality? No attribution is given for the snappiest line in AL.  If in fact the line was plagiarized from Human Sexuality, it is understandable why the writer did not credit the source.  After all, the book had been condemned, not once, but twice by the Vatican.  The book explicitly rejects the concept of intrinsic evil.  In fact, it is so zealous to deny this bedrock principle of Judeo-Christian morals that the book wouldn’t even categorically condemn bestiality or incest.”

Here is the book’s description from Amazon:

Buy the book!

“Pope emeritus Benedict was exactly right when he blamed the sexual abuse scandal of the Church on the sexual revolution. Priests and theologians embraced the psychological ideas behind the sexual revolution, but many of these ideas clashed with traditional theology. So theology was thrown out, and a new “I’m okay, you’re okay” philosophy was what seminarians were taught in their religion classes. These new ideas rejected Christian morality in favor of a relativism that encouraged sexual indulgence and experimentation. Seminarians were no longer taught to be chaste and celibate because it was now believed that these ancient traditions were psychologically damaging. Sexual liberation promised greater happiness, freedom, and mental health according to the new psychology. But like the promises of a certain ancient serpent, the promises of humanistic psychology would prove to be empty and false. The new philosophy of freedom that promised so much in terms of personal growth and fulfillment took a very dark turn. And it led to one of the darkest chapters in Church history. In Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, John Gravino documents how the new ideas of humanistic psychology, far from leading to the promised land of self-actualization, drove humanity instead into the wasteland of criminal sexual abuse.”

Review copies available to journalists upon request.  Send me a private message through this website that includes your email address.  You can do this by using the “Contact” function.