EVANSVILLE, Ind., June 11, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In recent times, the trustworthiness of the clergy has been in question in light of the Cardinal Law incidents. However, this is not the first time the clergy has been accused of being infidels and sexual abusers. Author John William McMullen takes readers back in time to recount a priest's accusation in the new book, Roman: Unparalleled Outrage (now available through 1stBooks).
"A master of atmosphere and detail, McMullen adroitly takes us back in time to the antebellum American frontier and won't let us return until he has staggered us with the tale of a Catholic priest charged with a heinous crime ... a heart rending tale of betrayal," Mike Whicker, author of Invitation to Valhalla, says.
McMullen bases his novel on actual events that occurred in Evansville, Ind., in 1842. The Reverend Roman Weinzoepfel, an Alsatian missionary priest, served in the Diocese of Vincennes, Ind. In a whirlwind of accusations, the priest is charged with the rape of one of his parishioners, while hearing her confession in a church.
"Roman is a tale set in the often neglected and complicated era of American history during the 1840s where a xenophobic public finds itself odds with ever increasing Irish and German Catholic immigrants," McMullen says.
The lives of Roman, a lonely married woman, a jealous husband, an ambitious attorney, a wily newspaper editor, the saintly founder of Saint Mary of the Woods College, blessed mother Theodore Guerin and the first lady, Sarah Polk, are knit together in this event in early American history that exploded into a national scandal.
"Here is a remarkable tale of crime, prejudice and faith in frontier Indiana ... Roman will appeal not only to those who care about the early history of the Church in America, but to anyone who appreciates people of principle," Thomas Kunkel, Dean of Philip Merrill College of Journalism, says.
McMullen is a native of Vincennes, Ind., and holds a master's degree in theological studies from Saint Meinrad School of Theology. He is a Third Order Benedictine Oblate affiliated with Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana and a member of the Thomas More Society of Southwestern Indiana. McMullen teaches theology at Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind., and has authored articles and assorted short stories. He is currently working on a second novel. Roman is his first.
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