The Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church condemns in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a morally unacceptable method of human reproduction. But when Father Cletus Nicholas McCarthy is outed in court as the first IVF-conceived Catholic priest, Pope Benedict XVI must make a difficult choice: annul McCarthy's ordination without any relevant canon to back his action and risk a backlash from the people, the press, and the general public, or allow McCarthy to continue to exercise his priesthood, thereby indirectly endorsing IVF as morally acceptable.
The Mirror Apocalypse follows the popes and McCarthy's stories as it speaks to the numerous ethical issues that arise every day in the world of medical science, religion, and health care. While most of the new technologies invented in the medical field are meant to solve life's problems, often their use can go against the religious dictates of a people and what they hold dear in their faith. The Mirror Apocalypse is a tale of just the kind of moral impasse that can affect such people for better or for worse.
Will Father McCarthy's situation help lead the church forward, or will the pope have to make a no-win decision about the future? Or will the throes and turmoil of it all, coupled with the demands of all the other problems facing the church, force this aging pope to resign his papacy? Join Father McCarthy and Pope Benedict XVI as they stand at the intersection of science, morality, and faith.
