The Politics of Penance

""Bless me Father, for I have sinned,"" says the penitent to open the dialogue in Catholic confessionals across the globe and throughout the ages. Along with the priest's words, ""For your penance . . ."" this encounter is an icon of Catholic life. But does the script, and the practices it signifies, have any relevance beyond the confessional? In The Politics of Penance, Michael Griffin responds yes. He explores great figures of the Christian tradition--the early Irish monks, St. Thomas Aqu...