“You know this town, Your Eminence. There’s very little that remains secret for very long.”
“We’re not asking anyone to keep secrets, Mr. Kel y. Just a little discretion.”
Gianni had been a rugby player in his day. I could see the game in the heft of his shoulders and the smal, rough scars around his eyes when he scowled.
“So what happens next?” the cardinal said.
“We’re checking out Holy Name, as we speak. Depending on what we find there, we’l develop a plan to sweep the rest of your churches.”
“You know how many parishes there are in the archdiocese?”
I shook my head.
“Three hundred fifty-nine. You’re going to check them al?”
“I don’t know, Father. But we’l try to keep disruption to a minimum.”
Gianni’s laughter stopped just short of derision. “We’re not a business, Mr. Kel y. People look at their church as a sanctuary. A place where they feel safe.”
“Yeah.”
The cardinal circled away from the window. “Not a fan of the church?” His Eminence could smel the lapsed Catholic in me clear across the room.
“Al due respect, Father, how safe were the parishioners at Holy Name this week? How safe would they have been next week if we’d kept a lid on this thing?”
A moving statue of a nun emerged from the mists, carrying a silver service of coffee and momentarily saving me from eternal damnation. Gianni sat back down and poured us each a cup. The nun disappeared from whence she came.
“What is it I can help you with, Mr. Kel y?”
I took a deep breath and dug into it. “We’d like some information. About some of the sexual abuse claims from the past.”
Gianni ran a thumb across his lower lip. “Go ahead.”
“It’s a natural line of inquiry, Your Eminence. Someone takes their revenge on the church for a wrong that was done to them as a child.”
The cardinal looked past my shoulder, at his church’s version of original sin, a history for which there was no simple act of atonement. No easy way to erase the stain.
“I understand the logic behind your query. Al too wel. Do you have a suspect?”
“No.”
“Would you tel me if you did?”
“Maybe.”
“And you think this spate of violence might be specifical y tied to the abuse scandal?”
“At this point, Father, it’s just a theory.”
“I see.” The cardinal sat back and fixed up his coffee with cream and sugar. Then he took a sip and continued. “As you know, our policy is clear. None of the archdiocese files are to be made public, save that which has already been revealed pursuant to a court order or negotiated agreement. If we feel there’s an ongoing danger, we wil contact the authorities with information. If the police have an identified suspect, we wil also cooperate with respect to that specific person. Unfortunately, what you are suggesting is more like a fishing expedition. And, if I understand your request, might involve revealing the names of possible victims.”
“You asked if I was Catholic before. At least that’s what I got out of it.”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t wil ingly stepped foot inside a church for ten-plus years. Want to know why?”
The cardinal’s features tightened and the fingers of one hand rol ed against the rub on the arm of his chair.
“Certainly, Mr. Kel y.”
“I don’t believe in your church. What was once my church. I think it’s more an institution than a church. One that is out of touch with its people. One that likes to make up rules and hide behind them.”
“Those rules, as you cal them, are the bedrock upon which the church is founded. Without them, we would have no anchor to keep us steady, no foundation upon which to build. As the waters got deeper, the currents faster, as the ground beneath us began to shift its shape, we would find that, without those rules, we would have no faith at al.”
As Gianni spoke, I felt the familiar sting of childhood, the lash of Catholic arrogance. It was palpable in the soft flow of words and dismissive tone. This was not a discussion between equals. It was a lecture. One steeped in beneficence and understanding, but a lecture al the same. Except I wasn’t ten years old anymore, and I wasn’t in the mood.
“Al due respect, Your Eminence, but if those are the same rules that tel a woman she doesn’t have what it takes to be a priest, or asks men who have never been married to counsel a couple considering the same, I have a problem with that.”
“Those are doctrinal matters, Mr. Kel y.”
“And the inherent evils of the condom, Your Eminence?”
The cardinal started to get up. “I suspect we have taken this as far as is practical, Mr. Kel y.”
An image floated through my mind-Rodriguez counting the many ways I could be an asshole. I needed to play another card, and quickly.
“You know, Father, when I was a kid, I remember learning about something cal ed the seamless garment of life.”
The reference bought me a moment’s pause. His Eminence lowered himself back into his seat. I kept talking.
“The idea was to accord life the highest value in any moral argument, in determining what is fundamental y right and wrong. If you made life the trump card in ordering your priorities, you would find it to be an unerring compass, one that would always lead you down the right path.”
Gianni’s dark lashes fluttered. “I’m familiar with the concept, Mr. Kel y.”
“You helped to champion it, Your Eminence. It was the first major plank in your career as a theologian.”
Gianni waited.
“Life is what’s at stake here, Father. We’re talking about real people dying. Potential y, a lot of people. But the number isn’t even important, is it? If there’s even one life at risk, that life must be weighed against your rules concerning the privacy of any records. And that life must prevail. Isn’t that the calculus I’m asking you to make?”
Gianni tilted his head and looked at me as if I’d just walked into the room. “You studied under the Jesuits?”
“Maybe.”
The cardinal laughed. “I knew it. Very wel, Mr. Kel y. The church wil help if it can. But we must use tremendous discretion in handling these records.”
“Discretion’s my middle name, Father.”
Gianni made a gesture I assumed to be hopeful. We both stood up and began to walk.
“Maybe we can talk specifics once we have a handle on the threat?” I said.
“And when might that be?”
“I’d hope by day’s end.”
The cardinal stopped. “But you suspect this man is targeting the archdiocese because of the abuse scandal?”
“I said the scandal was a logical avenue to pursue, Father.”
“But not a theory you necessarily subscribe to?”
“I don’t subscribe to any single theory right now. This man is attacking the entire city, not just the church. And I think there is more at play here than we know. Maybe a lot more.”
Gianni looked at me closely, but didn’t respond. I glanced out the window. There were now three news vans and two live trucks parked outside the mansion.
“Maybe I could sneak out a side entrance?” I said.
The cardinal raised his eyebrows. “If only we al had it so easy, Mr. Kel y.”
