Chapter 11, Retreat Retreat Summary

The construction of a Catholic conscience begins at an early age and continues through high school, consistently built by parents, nuns and priests. Religion classes are mandatory in all Catholic schools, at all grade levels, but high school religion classes focus primarily on the mortal sins of sex—petting, going all the way, masturbation, and even thoughts of such things. One brother, in order to make his point, suggests to the students that, whenever they are tempted to commit a mortal sin, they light a match and stick a finger into the flame. The pain is just a small taste of the pain in Hell, he claims, where the entire body will be engulfed in flames for eternity.

The most important attempt to solidify a Catholic conscience comes every year with the annual retreat. For three days, the...