"Alas, it is shameful to speak of it! It is shameful to relate such a disgusting scandal to sacred ears! But if the doctor fears the virus of the plague, who will apply the cauterization? If he is nauseated by those whom he is to cure, who will lead sick souls back to the state of health?"
With these words, St. Peter Damian introduces The Book of Gomorrah, an eloquent and impassioned denunciation of a plague of homosexuality among the Catholic clergy of the 11th century. Although it was written almost a thousand years ago, The Book of Gomorrah is in many ways addressed to our own times, associating the phenomena of clerical homosexuality and pederasty, and endorsing the imprisonment of clergy who are a danger to youth.
This new translation by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman is the most accurate and faithful ever produced in English, and carries a foreword by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Guadalajara. It includes a 10,000-word biographical introduction recounting Damian's struggle against corruption in the Catholic Church, and a Translator's Preface that breaks new scholarly ground and resolves old controversies about the text.
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