Roman Collar Crime: Violated: The Transgressions of a Small-Town Priest

by Charles A Utter

Father Joseph Brennan was an icon in the small North Dakota town of New London between 1953 and 1973. As the head of the town’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish and its associated boarding school, he amassed supporters with his show of dedication to the school. By recruiting elite coaches, Brennan built a high school sports empire that won state championships and strengthened a sense of pride among the town’s one thousand residents. But alongside the success story, another much darker tale was being written and ruthlessly suppressed.

Sexual assault, theft, drug distribution, and blackmail ran rampant in Brennan’s secret life. Those who aimed to expose his actions were threatened into silence as Brennan built a fortune with stolen money and destroyed the lives of those around him, all while church leaders turned a blind eye to his horrific transgressions. As Brennan’s supporters and victims clashed, the town of New London was brought to its knees.

Roman Collar Crime is based on the controversial true story of one priest who held an entire community hostage for twenty years and the curious sportswriter who finally exposed two decades of heinous actions in small town America.

Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2018

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nearly impossible for me to rate this book. Reading it was utterly (no pun intended, Mr Utter) surreal, for the author writes about the town of my growing up -- the community in which my Protestant parents raised me; the town that knew bitter division between Catholics and the rest of us; the town that kept hideous secrets that were only whispered about around bridge tables, coffee tables, and the local bar. To say that I read each page attempting to identify the sometimes thinly disguised members of that farming community is true. To say that I gasped a few times when I figured out who some of them were is also true. To say that I now understand the vast contempt that my father held for the priest around whom this 'novel based on true events' is based, cracks my heart. I knew many of these people and loved them dearly. Being only 12 years old at the time of his departure (and not a Catholic girl), I did not know the priest depicted. I did not know the sickening violations of his vows, his collar, and the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ. I only knew vaguely -- sort of like 'seeing through a mirror dimly' as we often do -- of the rumored disdain for the man who led the Catholic parish so central to my hometown. But I do know that the truth will out. For that I applaud the writing of this book, which had to be as heart-breaking to write as it was to witness.

The English teacher/reader part of me wishes that Mr Utter had had a better content editor. But really, that's ultimately beside the point, which is to tear off the covers from a bed of deceit and bring to light the misery that one man perpetrated upon so many in the prairie town identified in this text as 'New London, ND.' It saddens me that many who know about this book (and actually, who know about what actually happened over the 20 years that a real priest in a real town made mockery of sacred things) have expressed their scorn for Roman Collar Crime. To them I would only say, "Light has come into the world...whoever lives by the truth comes into the light..."; therefore, let the Light of Truth shine on this matter, so that, by telling the truth about what men do, we may, by God's grace, "reject what is evil and cling to what is good," namely, Christ.

I still can't quite get my mind 'round the fact that the events that unfold in this book took place in a town I still call 'home,' though I haven't lived there for many years. In this case, the truth isn't stranger than fiction. It's more hideous than even this fictionalized accounting could possibly reveal. May God help us all.

[Astrid Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

I am normally not a big fan of this type of story. When this book was recommended to me, i figured i will give it a shot. To my surprise it was almost impossible to put down. The outrage i feel after reading this true story is indescribable. One cannot help but wonder how many more towns like New London exist.....

[Marilyn Trzynka · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was horrible. If these priests have such a hard time with their sex life why don’t they just allow priests to be married. I know where the actual town is and remember the Catholic school dominating all schools around them. Horrible and a lot of people believed he was innocent.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A North Dakota small town scandal that I'd never heard of? And wow, what a scandal it was. Simply the fact that Brennan was able to get away with his behavior for so long...this isn't something that seems like it should happen in a farm town in North Dakota, but it did.

[Donna S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't have asked for a better reading experience. The writing in this book is top-notch.