{"product_id":"9780765324429","title":"The Cardinal Virtues","description":"\u003cp\u003eFather Laurence O'Toole McAuliffe, the pastor of Saint Finian's parish in Forest Springs, is weary and worn out, his priesthood and faith in tatters. Once literally a bomb-throwing radical and then a Vatican Council liberal, Lar McAuliffe has grown old and cynical. To make matters worse, he's smart enough to know what is happening to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGod, the cardinal, or some combination of the two plays a dirty trick on Lar by sending him Father James Stephen Michael Finbar Keenan, the \"new priest.\" Lar expects a classic confrontation between young and old, between sardonic maturity and enthusiastic inexperience. But the new priest does not fit the stereotype and the two become friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether they face the conflicts and joys, the hopes and pains of the contemporary Catholic parish—the old-fashioned school principal; the broken family; the reactionary finance committee; frustrated young lovers; and the chancery office and a timid Cardinal, who interferes with the priests' work on every possible occasion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlternately sad and uproariously funny, \u003ci\u003eThe Cardinal Virtues\u003c\/i\u003e is about the meaning of religion, the meaning of faith, and the meaning of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Doherty Associates","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48728911872240,"sku":"9780765324429","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780765324429_p0.jpg?v=1768854596","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780765324429","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}