It is not only young boys that Roman Catholic priests abuse; these dysfunctional, deceitful predators, who use God as an excuse for their behavior, emotionally damage many unsuspecting adult women.Bless Me, Father, For I Have Sinned: Confessions of a Priest's Mistress is the story of one woman's involvement with a Roman Catholic priest and how it changed her life. Just as the male victims are coming forward to tell their stories, there can be no closure for Maggie Renaldi until this story is told.During a vulnerable period in her life, Maggie meets Father Brendan O'Reilly and embarks upon a clandestine affair. Father O'Reilly's fear of commitment and his "I love you, go away" behavior threaten to destroy their friendship and their love, until Maggie intervenes and O'Reilly seeks therapy to save himself. Unfortunately, he chooses a priest-psychotherapist who adds more guilt and shame.From seminaries that require young men to beat themselves bloody to bring the flesh into subjection to bishops who play politics, from power-hungry nuns to superiors who profess "the party line," Bless Me, Father, For I Have Sinned is also a graphic picture of church politics and hypocrisy.Maggie Renaldi is not her real name. All the names as well as the places have been changed to protect the innocent (as well as the guilty) .
