Beyond Belief Abused by his priest, betrayed by his church, the story of the boy who sued the pope

The inspiring true story of a man who moved on from a background of shame to sue the Roman Catholic Church over its systematic cover-ups of child abuse scandals involving its priests--and won "I was living in a world where a priest who spoke the words of God used me for sex, and there was no one to tell. The world where this horror happened didn't exist for anyone else." As a boy in Ireland where everyone--from his own neighbors to the powers of church and state--chose to deny that a priest could sexually assault a child, Colm O'Gorman felt only shame, guilt, and fear at the regular rape and abuse he suffered. But Colm would go on to make history, successfully suing the Roman Catholic Church, asking questions of the Pope himself, and creating a watershed in history as hundreds more victims around the world found the courage to report their abuse. This powerful story of a young man's shame turning to outrage demonstrates that, whatever our past hurts, there is hope for the future if we are prepared to stand for truth.

Colm O'Gorman founded the charity One in Four to support women and men who have experienced sexual violence. He is a former senator of the Irish Parliament and is now executive director of Amnesty International Ireland.