Sex and the Confessional

New York: Stein & Day, 1974. 213pp. Or cream papered boards with brown cloth spine in jacket. Jacket lightly rubbed and edge worn. The authors took tape recorders into the confessionals all over Italy and 'confessed' typical sexual problems: premarital and extramarital relations, birth control, love play. These confessions were conducted in the same ratio by men and women at actual confessions. The results were startling. From orthodox to liberal, from genuine and humane attempts to give guidance to lascivious interest in detail far beyond the penitents willingness to talk. The results of this research make it clear that the Church has as many voices as its confessors, and that the advice given by celibates may be responsible for the distortion, perversion and repression of instinctive sexuality to a degree that constitutes a crime against humanity. The authors were ex-communicated and the book banned in Italy.. First English Language Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. 8vo.