THE EMPTY CONFESSIONAL
Tom Hogan
What does it really mean to be a good Catholic? ‘The Empty Confessional’ written by Tom Hogan is a novel of a very young priest by the name of Gabe. Gabe is just starting out in his new parish located in Pittsburgh, PA and he wants 
his parishioners’ help in any way that they can help. Gabe has been noticing many odd happenings that have been occurring in and around his church. Gabe also has many decisions to make about how he really wants to help those living around him.‘The Empty Confessional’ is a story that shows what it could be like to be a priest in a major metropolitan city when some serious crimes are taking place in said city. Tom Hogan has written this novel to show how priests are humans too. This is also a novel that allows the reader to visualize the events that occurs in the story. Tom has written characters that are quite believable. As a reader, I am on Gabe’s side when he made his various decisions. Priests do not have to sit in the confessionals to help their people for they can advocate in more ways than just one, even though, it may seem wrong to a point. ‘The Empty Confessional’ would be a good human service read to understand the spiritual side of living life along with making proper decisions. ___________________________
The Empty Confessional plunges readers into the dark workings of the Catholic church and its tacit policy of protecting pedophilic priests as told through the eyes of Gabe, who, at just 27 years old, already has his own parish in working-class Pittsburgh. But he is in crisis. He is sexually attracted to Michelle, a teacher at the seminary where he works, and he is growing increasingly frustrated by the church’s lack of ownership of the pedophilic priests within its own diocese
About the Author
Tom Hogan is the author of two novels: Left for Alive (2019) and The Devil’s Breath (2021); as well as the co-author of The Ultimate Startup Guide, published in 2017. His screenplays have won awards (PAGE competition and the Austin Film Festival). He has also written for Newsweek and a number of political and travel publications, including The Jerusalem Post and The Bulwark. Prior to joining Silicon Valley, where his agency, Crowded Ocean, launched over 50 startups, he was a Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Santa Clara University and UC Santa Cruz
2022ISBN: 978-1-7369436-3-2Laughing Dog Publishing, LLC284 pages
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