In "The Keys of the Kingdom" as in his preceding novel, "The Citadel" Dr. Cronin tells the story of a man who faced life directly, without cant and with the will to serve his fellow men. The priest in the present story, like the doctor in the widely discussed earlier novel, is an individualist in the sense that his conscience, not his self-interest must be his guide. In the Church, as in the medical profession, that necessity entails courage, disillusion, often personal disadvantage and disappointment….

This story of the life of a priest shows the conflict between an individualist and an institution—a conflict not unlike that between Andrew Mason and the medical profession in "The Citadel." The position of the priest is in some ways simpler than that of the doctor, since Francis had forsworn marriage and personal ambition such as that which compelled Andrew's decisions. Both...