A Book Review… Catholics Seeking God’s Mercy
By PEGGY MOEN
Advocatus Diaboli: A Novel, by William Baer. Many Words Press: 2023. Softcover; available at Amazon.com; 212 pages. Advocatus Diaboli is the first in a series of Catholic-themed novels by William Baer, a recipient of the T.S. Eliot Award and many other honors.
- + + Part murder mystery, part romance, this book will also be a delight for devotees of family history, given the complex and sometimes mysterious relationships that underlie the story.
Along with being an engaging read, Advocatus Diaboli [Devil’s Advocate] by William Baer is profoundly Catholic, with themes of repentance and forgiveness. Many of the characters are guilty of serious sin, as is detailed in the book, but rather than despairing they turn to seeking God’s mercy. Fans of Padre Pio will enjoy the book, as several characters visit Rome to seek his counsel and to confess sins ranging up to murder. Devotees will also appreciate being reminded of Pio’s most famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
The protagonist of the novel, Robert Rankin, is a widower, a canon lawyer, and a professor of theology at Georgetown. The archbishop of Washington, D.C., appoints Rankin to be the devil’s advocate for the sainthood cause of Venerable Adelaide Bruckner.
The historic St. Adelaide of Burgundy lived during the tenth century and was the consort of the Western Emperor Otto. Pope Urban II canonized her in 1097. Also, she is the patron saint of second marriages, something that figures into the story as well.
This fictional present-day Adelaide is a candidate for sainthood as well, but questions were anonymously raised about the validity of this sainthood cause, even though she evidently brought about the miraculous cure of a newborn baby with a collapsed lung. The anonymous source sent a note to the local archbishop saying that Adelaide was involved “in a serious act of violence.” The note was postmarked Seattle, which seemed an unlikely location for the informant.
With all its twists and turns, the book does have a happy, inspired ending that ties the story together.
As a plus, The Wanderer is mentioned in the book, as follows:
[Cardinal Wallace asks Robert Rankin]:
“Do you understand why Laura chose Dr. Bruckner?”
He smiled.
“I do. Kathleen told me that Laura read an article that the professor had written for The Wanderer, which was about how to properly educate a child. Meaning intellectually. After all, Eliot was a bachelor with no real child-rearing experience, but he certainly knew the kind of academic grounding a Catholic child should have.”
To understand the background of that passage, you will have to read the book.