Summary

In Chapter 23, “Pastoral and Homiletic,” Joe goes about attending to what have become his routine errands about the business district in Inglenook, most notably his stop at the liquor store for beer and gin. Later, after making his rounds at the hospital, Joe returns to the rectory to find Bill and Father Felix in earnest conversation with Greg, a young parishioner who dropped out of college and now faces the possibility of being drafted for service in Vietnam. His induction notice is expected any day. Greg tells the priests that he will not report for induction nor will he file as a conscientious objector. That leaves only the option of jail or heading to Canada. Joe knows Greg’s parents. The father, Brad, is an established reporter on the local newspaper whose work Joe has long admired. In the course of the evening...