Dancing Angel

Catholic angst is the subject of this well-conceived but awkwardly written first novel that looks at the conflict between the religion as seen by the Vatican and the more liberal variety preferred by some younger clergy and laity. Casserly (Scripps: The Divided Dynasty) sets the story in Chicago, framing the religious battles as a conflict between two powerful families, the Dolans and the Carmodys. The major plot deals with an old church that Cardinal Brendan Carmody is about to sell off in a land deal to help retire the debts of the archdiocese, much to the consternation of those in the neighborhood who revere both the building and its history. While scrambling to halt the demolition efforts of the heavy-handed cardinal, members of the heroic Dolan clan struggle with other issues of faith. Leo, the old-fashioned family patriarch, sees his family forsaking the traditional Church ways, while daughter Evie struggles with the decision to have an abortion after being ``accidentally'' impregnated by a relative of the cardinal. In a subplot, Leo's son Bob, soon to be ordained as a priest, encounters a crisis of conscience over his vows after being raped by a fellow seminarian. Casserly clearly knows his subject, and he presents issues and characters is a powerful, authoritative fashion that stylistically often recalls Michener. But his writing is hardly seamless, and the failure of the assorted subplots effectively to converge or come to life makes the novel read like a laundry-list presentation of ``big'' Catholic issues. 30,000 first printing. (Mar.)