Philip Lawler has been covering Catholic news for years, particularly the salacious and sickening reports that The Smoke of Satan addresses. This means that the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis has, sadly, been front-and-center in his work on a daily basis for more than 15 years. This affords Lawler a unique perspective and understanding of how such atrocities could not only come to pass but also, essentially, be protected by a corrupt hierarchy.
In short, there are various flashpoint moments in Church history, usually followed by periods of unrest and even confusion before things begin to settle down. Unfortunately in our day and time, the unrest that followed the second Vatican Council resulted in what we have all, by now, been disgusted to learn about.
Lawler pulls no punches. The Smoke of Satan is an excellent crash course summary of the key dates, names and developments that have arisen since the Boston scandal in the early 2000’s – with special attention to the shocking summer of 2018. More importantly though, this is a hard but necessary look at what needs to change in the Catholic Church. Because if those in authority do not embrace significant self-appraisal and continue to take even more radical corrective measures, the negative fallout will reach far beyond the appalling sex abuse crisis. And Lawler’s appraisal of the situation may surprise the reader – as the most obvious steps have already been taken, yet better results are still needed in the Church.
The narrator Kevin Gallagher is very pleasant to listen to. His voice is natural and smooth. For a non-fiction book focused on laying out the facts, his voice never distracts from the core material. Yet, he manages to remind the listener with his passionate reading, that a passionate response is needed to the crisis at hand.
I would certainly recommend this or any other audiobook from Philip Lawler and/or Kevin Gallagher.