WE ARE NOT SAINTS

A novel chronicles the lives of gay Roman Catholic clergymen at odds with their chosen vocation and the LGBTQ+ community.

Canadian author Brown's busy, provocative tale about religion clashing with lifestyle examines the lives of two 20-something deacons. Jared Röhrbach and Paul Fortis, both handsome, gay men at a seminary school in Rome, are on the verge of ordination to the priesthood. Jared struggles with nightmares involving his disapproving entrepreneur father and stepmother as well as an emotionally turbulent, decadelong relationship with Paul. Complicating matters is the knowledge of Paul’s affair with Jared’s schoolmate Jeff Hensen. Right from the opening pages, the author paints this love triangle with a fiery flair for the dramatic. Jared absconds with Jeff’s private letters detailing the “juicy secrets” about his and Paul’s intimate summer dalliance. Paul grows more conflicted about his gay relationship and its contradiction with church canons. When Jared makes a hasty departure stateside, he decides to take advantage of his trust fund and romances Tony Keating, a sexy, sketchy hustler, while Paul accepts a challenging position to assist a reclusive monsignor. A rushed meeting reunites Paul and Jared, but more trouble lies ahead, as family secrets are revealed about Jared’s stepmother. Brown’s prose straddles the vigorous, the poignant, and the sordid in equal measure, particularly during moments when Jared embraces his wild side and when Paul’s faith is tested against his deeply felt attraction to Jared. Some scenes seem cobbled together without resolution, and the details of the characters’ motivations tend to feel rushed. Jared, for instance, is a restless protagonist who strains believability. Though he’s initially fully ensconced in his religious routines, he abandons everything for a luxurious life with Tony, then seamlessly returns to his ministerial duties with ambitions to become a bishop. As things progress, the plot becomes overstuffed and unwieldy with subplots involving twins and embezzlement. Though the characters lose some of their early allure, a surprise twist revives things. Brown channels his former vocation as a minister and spiritual director into creating a narrative that is authentically pious but riddled with sex and shocking secrets. For readers of queer romance yarns, this novel will satisfy on several levels as an engrossing, modern tale of faith versus freedom and feelings.

A fun, deliciously scandalous, if unevenly written, depiction of queers in the clergy.