The Priest and the Acolyte / With an Introductory Protest by Stuart Mason

A short, controversial tale recounts a clandestine sexual relationship between a church clergyman and a boy who serves at the altar, its discovery, and a tragic resolution that involves the deliberate use of Eucharistic words in a lethal act, raising questions of sacrilege and moral transgression. Accompanying the story is an introductory protest that clarifies authorship, rebuts misattribution to a famous contemporary writer, and reproduces elements of the public and legal reaction, including critical testimony condemning the tale's literary and moral character.