By Mike Ledingham with brothers Gerard and Chris. Published by BMS Books, 2019. Reviewed by Ann Gilroy

The Catholic Boys is difficult reading. It is the personal story of three brothers who were sexually abused by Francis Green, one of the priests in the Auckland Onehunga parish in the 1960s and 70s. None of the brothers knew that the others were also victims of the priest. Each kept the abuse to himself until 2001 when, according to their sister Mary, the youngest brother was urged by his counsellor to share his story with his family — rightly assuming that he wouldn’t have been the only victim. By this stage their mother was dead and the siblings no longer needed to protect her from the truth about the priest she had trusted.

It’s a heartbreaking account of the mess that abuse makes in the lives of the brothers, the shame they felt, the self blame they endured, the betrayal by the Church, their impulse to keep the truth secret, the clerical culture that allowed the abuse to continue unnoticed and the dissatisfaction they felt with the Church’s response to their revelations.

The brothers’ siblings rallied around them when they heard the story, as did their families and some professionals.

This book is sad, even harrowing, because it is the voice of men who have been silenced for too long.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 258 April 2021: 27