Suffer the Parents

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnamese refugees settled in Oklahoma City around Our Lady's Cathedral of Perpetual Help. They found a beautiful and welcoming church that gave them a sacred place to worship in their own way and in their own language. Vietnamese Catholics grew in numbers and soon a community of faithful Christians eagerly expanded their numbers by sponsoring Mr. and Mrs. Binh and their four children from Vietnam. They delighted their sponsors by converting to Catholicism, but it was Viet, the eldest son's ordination to priesthood that thrilled the parishioners. Father Viet, a larger than life hero, was a beloved priest until he he betrayed his oath of office. What began as a love story among a people and their priest became story of an abuse of power and authority by a priest that ended tragically. The powerful conclusion of the novel attests to the awful truth that love bears all things even unto death. The novel masterfully weaves together characters who immigrated to the United States in 1975, 1985, and 1992, mirroring the waves of migration out of Vietnam in a love triangle that reflect Vietnamese culture and class distinctions between the Saigonese social class and the working class--all professed to be Catholics.