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| Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir | 
 enlarge | Author: Scott Pomfret
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $12.89
You Save: $13.11 (50%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 98314
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1559708697
Dewey Decimal Number: 282.086642
EAN: 9781559708692
ASIN: 1559708697
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New Hardcover With Dustjacket exactly as pictured; In stock for fast shipping; Satisfaction is Always guaranteed!
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Product Description
Scott Pomfret serves as a lector at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston. He also writes gay porn. His boyfriend is a flaming atheist, and his boyfriendOs Protestant grandmother counts Catholicism a sin worse than sodomy. From Pentecost to Pride, from the books of the Bible to the articles of The Advocate, PomfretOs wry, hysterically funny memoir maps with matchless humor the full spectrum of the gay Catholic experience. Listen in as Pomfret learns a thing or two about love and compassion from Father Bear Daddy, a priest with a hot Gay.com profile, and the Three Hale Marys, and join him as he sets out on a brave quest to convince his arch-nemesis, Cardinal OOMalley, to invite him to serve at a weekly mass.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
The Humor of Being Gay and Catholic May 21, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Pomfret, Scott. "Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir", Arcade Books, 2008.
The Humor of Being Gay and Catholic
Amos Lassen
I have read and reviewed other books by Scott Pomfret but as one of the Scotts of Scott and Scott, Usually the books I read by the two Scotts were erotic sizzlers so I was quite surprised when I got "Since My Last Confession" as this is not the kind of book that I expected him to write. The same humor of the other books is there and there is some of the playful eroticism that I have grown to love in the other books. Yet even with the humor this book deals with the very serious issue of sexuality and organized religion.
So let's meet Scott Pomfret. He is a lector at Saint Anthony Shrine and he also writes (for lack of better words) gay porn. He has a boyfriend whose name is also Scott who is a total non-believer, an atheist (Sacre Bleu). The boyfriend's grandmother considers Catholicism to be a crime worse than sodomy.
Pomfret pokes fun at the entire Catholic experience and he says so with great humor and possible excommunication from Mother Church. The cast of characters in this novel fills three and one-half pages and their names are wonderful--Father Bear-Daddy, Father McSlutty, three females with the initials of "MF" and who all share the first name of Mary, Thelma and Louise, Ward and June, to name a few.
Before I continue, let me give a quote from the author's note: "This is not an attack on the Church. It's an invitation to laugh". And laugh you will--in fact, I am still laughing as I type this.
However there is a great deal of pain here. As Pomfret attempts to make sense of the way the Church regards the GLBT community, he sees a humor in the pain it has caused. He points out of the irony of the church in that many issues of anti-gay policy are mouthed by sexually active gay priests. Pomfret really tries to give a religious relationship to the church and in this lies the humor of the book. By using satire, he considers the role of the church in modern life.
The book looks at all of the important topics with which a gay Catholic is faced--excommunication (and how to achieve it), Catechism (and its many uses), faith (and its uses and merits), the role of priests (in and out of the closet). Does this sound sacrilegious? It probably is but how would I know? I don't have these problems--I'm Jewish and I have headaches of my own.
It is the wit, the humor and the truth beneath it that makes "Since My Last Confession" such a good read, if you can stop laughing long enough to turn the pages.
One reviewer has dubbed Scott Pomfret as the "patron saint of devilish wit" and I have to agree. This is quite a book and quite a read.
 Give us this day our daily Father Bear Daddy ... June 3, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Does being a self-assured and proud gay man make you a bit of a hypocrite in also proclaiming to be a practicing Catholic? That's the question that Scott Pomfret asks himself in his hilarious (as well as insightful and seemingly historically/scholarly accurate) memoir. Starting with remembrances of how it felt to belong to the Church in his youth, he resumes practicing his faith in Catholicism, at a time and place where more people were leaving it: in Boston, at the time of the Church's lobbying to repeal gay marriages.
Pomfret (who works as a government attorney during the day and, with his partner Scott Whittier, is responsible for the "Romentics" series of explicit gay romantic novels) shows a knack for describing the stereotypical yet colorful individuals, both gay and straight, he met while involved as a lector (reader) at church services, and attending meetings of Dignity and a gay spirituality group. There's the tough pastor Father Bear-Daddy, a trio of elderly Irish lady volunteers he calls the Hale Marys (they're all named Mary), spirituality group leader Mama Bear, and the worldly Father McSlutty, among others. He also has a few choice names for the Archbishop, as well as the Pope (Pope Benedict XVI, whom he calls B-16.) He rants at, yet tries to reconcile, the rules and politics of the Church, which he correctly points out, largely came from individuals throughout history, not God. Ultimately, he focuses on the reality that the Church is made up of a diverse group of individuals, gay and straight, clergy or not, and spotlights the more memorable (or outrageous) among them.
As a "product" of 12 years of Catholic education (enough to turn off ANYone to organized religion for life!), I must admit I roared with laughter dozens of times at the author's spot-on depictions of the Church's less-than-logical rules and pronouncements. He deals with many concepts that would be considered in bad taste, and joyfully leaps over "the line" to tell it like it is. He almost (but not quite) made me want to give "my" church another try as well, which is certainly a miracle worthy of papal-declared sainthood! My only beef with the book is that it is somewhat unfocused and rambling, with many "deja vu" moments that seem to overlap with sections that went much earlier in the book. Don't know if non-Catholics can relate much to it, but I do recommend the book highly for both practicing and "lapsed" Catholics. Give it four stars out of five.
Laughter and Redemption for a Gay Catholic May 21, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Pomfret nails what it's like to be a gay Catholic in this funny, vivid portrait of a man on a mission to be accepted in a Church that often makes it clear it doesn'[t want his kind. Peppered amidst the story line are little sidebar items and quizzes that make for fascinating learning about others (one looks at how to tell of Cardinal O'Malley is a homosexual) and yourself (one asks questions to determine if you're a gay Catholic; I scored 12 out of 14! I guess I know where I sit!) Employing contemporary imagery with well researched history and facts, Pomfret creates a personal tour-de-force. Pope Benedict XVI (who Pomfret calls B16), probably wouldn't be too happy, but, then again, maybe he would. Pomfret ultimately embraces all the imperfections of the Church, just as he embraces all the imperfections in himself and those around him. In the middle of a gay-Catholic discourse that usually ends up in bitter division, it's a masterful achievement of Pomfret's to end with laughter and redemption.
I am validated at last May 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Scott Pomfret is a genius. This is a must read for every GLBT Catholic on the face of the planet. Every 100 years or so someone comes around and writes a brilliant and also funny account of lifes circumstances. In this case it is being GLBT and Catholic. Mr. Pomfret does it with such intellegence and wit. I feel like Mr. Pomfret has channeled my life of 64 years as a gay catholic man. No one understands gay humor like another gay person. I could not put this book down. Mr. Pomfret has validated every nuance of my life as a Catholic Gay Man. Dealing with the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church is made easier once you understand them better. Mr. Pomfret does a brillant job of peeling away the layers of Church B... S... and lays open a human experience that reflects our lives. I am so grateful to Mr. Pomfret. Every Roman Catholic Priest, Bishop, Arch-Bishop, Cardinal and Pope should read this book. Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty and Mr. Pomfret, I am free at last. I am not alone.
A truthful yet humorous anecdote! May 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Pomfret's writing on the Catholic Church from his perspective as a gay man had me on my knees in hysterics! He brings a much needed light touch to what has otherwise been a heavy time for the Archdiocese of Boston. As a former seminarian who lived "inside those walls", I highly recommend Since My Last Confession for all who have struggled with the Catholic Church in recent years. This is a must read for gay and straight alike!
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