Book: Queer and Catholic: A life of contradiction

Queer and Catholic: A life of contradiction by Mark Dowd, Hardback. Published by Darton, Longman and Todd, 2017 £14.99 224 pages

Mark Dowd's account of coming to terms with being both gay and Catholic is not, he tells us, another misery memoir. And indeed, it races along. The reader discerns that the life force within Mark is strong, carrying him through some situations that might have left others wounded, notably an early encounter with a libidinous brother from a teaching order.

Although its focus is faith and sexuality, the book conveys much more. In today's fast-changing Britain it is hard to remember the enclosed world of a Lancashire working class family in the 1960s. Coming out as gay in this situation required courage. All adolescents find the turmoil of raging hormones difficult to navigate, but for a gay working class lad of his era it was a lonely experience.

The Dominicans weave in and out of the book, often with sage, humane advice. At one point Mark tried his vocation with them, and there is an affectionate account of life in community. His subsequent career led him to journalism and television. (Tut! Surely a journalist should know the difference between discreet and discrete? Eight times he uses discrete wrongly.)

There are some wonderful touches of humour. Lofty Oxford dons assessing Mark for a PPE place ask how he would calculate the amount of money circulating in the country. His terse reply: 'Ring up the Bank of England'. Then there is the story of the Anglican nun giving the eulogy at the funeral of the convent gardener, unaware that he had died of AIDS. She decided, in all innocence, to riff on the word 'infectious' to describe his personality.

Mark writes honestly of falling in love, and of partnerships that have not endured. What has endured is his faith as a Catholic. He has come to terms with being gay and Catholic. But his treatment of this tension cries out for more consideration. Surely the Catholic position is more than fear and prejudice? There is no sustained reflection on Catholic teaching about sexuality, especially in relation to marriage, and how this relates to same-sex questions. The treatment here (eg pages 151-153) is skimpy. By contrast he wrestles more with the question of how a good God can permit evil in the world (pages 191-196). The latter question was prompted by his reporting on the devastation wrought by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.

Mark seems rich in friendship, and from the evidence of this book it is not surprising. By the way, there is a most moving finale. Although he does not use the word, it is the sudden realisation of a vocation. Read it and you will understand.