I read this book about 13-May-2002. This is the first time I've read this book. The book is copyright 1994. This note was last modified Thursday, 19-Dec-2002 16:29:01 PST.
This is a "Father Dowling" mystery. I picked it up used at Uncle Edgar's for no particular reason (it looked interesting).
The story revolved around the Catholic practice of annulling marriages, as practiced in the US at the time. Some individual families are profiled, and the political machinations are discussed, and the two interact. Several bodies turn up.