Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church Audiobook By The Investigative Staff of the Boston Globe cover art

Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church

The Findings of the Investigation That Inspired the Major Motion Picture Spotlight

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Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church

By: The Investigative Staff of the Boston Globe
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service

The story behind this groundbreaking audiobook - one of the most significant works of investigative journalism since Woodward and Bernstein's reporting on Watergate - has been brought brilliantly to life on the screen in the major new movie Spotlight.

Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence - deeds that left millions of the faithful in the US and around the world shocked, angry, and confused. Here as well is a vivid account of the ongoing struggle as Catholics confront their church and call for sweeping change.

©2002 The Investigative Staff of the Boston Globe (P)2015 Hachette Audio Catholicism Christianity History Sociology Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing

Featured Article: Stephen King’s 20 Best Audiobooks—The Definitive List


Stephen King is one of the most prolific American authors of all time. He has published 61 novels, more than 200 short stories, and six nonfiction books—and he shows no sign of stopping. His most recent novel, The Institute, was published in September of 2019, and we’ve already pre-ordered his novella anthology If It Bleeds, which is set to be released in 2020. With such a large portfolio, choosing one listen to start with can be daunting.

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Investigative Journalism • Hard-hitting Work • Great Narration • Well-written Book • Important Documentation
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Where was god when these kids were being abused by church leaders?

The catholic church, much like Penn State with its scandal, should be shut down. I know that won’t happen, but maybe it should be a taxed entity and be forced to publicly admit its stupidity and obvious role in this scandal.

Scandalous… and there aren’t enough apologies

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This is not only told through great narration but the story will shock you. With victims stories being told and getting the full picture of the cover up will have you wanting shaking your head. It’s amazing!

Remarkable!

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I just wish that narrators would speak with people from the area to make sure they are pronouncing the names of people and places correctly. I definitely don't want to hear this narrator say 'Methuen,' 'Haverhill' or 'Bulger' ever again.

All good but...learn the proper pronunciations

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend it with a caveat if my friend were from the Boston area. A number of proper nouns were mispronounced, mispronunciations that wouldn't have happened if the production team had asked someone from the Boston area how to pronounce Haverhill (HAY-vrill, not Have-er-hill), Methuen (M'-THOO-en, not METH-uen), Framingham (Framing-Ham, not Framingum) and Bulger (Buljer). The last one, in particular, jarred because it was repeated so frequently. (It's a man's last name.)

What did you like best about this story?

The wealth of detail and how it was organized.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Paul Boehmer?

Maybe.

Was Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church worth the listening time?

Absolutely.

Fascinating story, marred by mispronunciations

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I enjoyed the book, because I never knew that anyone went to jail over these horrible crimes.
I hope the church can recover and make itself a shining light as it should be.
The revelation of the scope of these crimes not only robbed the children, but also robbed the country of its innocence. The church is made up of people. when they commit horrible crimes they should go to jail.

Amazing

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We were taught to respect clergy as being next to Godliness. We bowed. We genuflected. We tithed as children, to give our pennies to the religious, to gain heavenly happiness. They are nothing more than the 20th century Santa Claus.

Bless me Father for I have sinned...

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this book is well written but scary. be advised. these are some sick sick sickos. goddamn! lots.of victims made by a corrupt system..

very scary

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The depths that this scandal goes if beyond comprehension. It needs to be told and it was interesting.

Horrible narration but still worth the read.

It’ll piss you off!

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The book fills in the details left out in the movie. It can be hard to listen to the tales of abuse but I think it is necessary to make sure changes happen in the church and to hold the church accountable.

A hard story well-hard

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This is not an easy story to listen to. I'm from Boston and it's a story I was familiar with. the outrage I felt then is still the same now. it was good to hear a bit more detail not just what we all heard on the news. The story underscore deliberate hiding of the perpetrators and frankly the dismissive attitude of the church towards the victims. The worst part is that could've been avoided.

Excellent but scary story

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