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You Can Find the Humor in Vatican II

by Monica Weymouth

Scott Pomfret | Wed., Aug. 20, 5:30 p.m., free, Giovanni's Room, 345 S. 12th St., 215-923-2960, giovannisroom.com

Lawyer, erotica writer, church lector: Scott Pomfret has a diverse résumé. Add in the fact that he's gay, and things get considerably more complicated. In Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir (Arcade, $26), the Boston native dissects his evolving relationship with an old-school faith, his Bush-loving family and a devoutly atheist boyfriend — thankfully, with a wicked sense of humor. This Wednesday, he'll pay a visit to the only city that can rival his hometown's number of altar boys who like altar boys for a reading at Giovanni's Room.

"When I first started, I had this notion that it would be a serious endeavor — a look at the life of a gay lector," he says. "That died on the vine. It was humor that saved me." With a charming affection for the intense rituals and traditions of Irish-tinted Catholicism, Pomfret mines his religion for all that it's worth. And, as any semi-practicing Catholic can attest, there's plenty of material. Helpful sidebars clue readers without patron saints in to Catholic vocabulary, how to identify the many pieces of a Eucharistic place setting and what, exactly, the priest is wearing up there. His handy Excommunication FAQ is meant to be cut out, should you need an on-the-go reference for how to reserve your spot in hell.

Of course, there are many serious moments before and after the "How to Come Out to Hardcore, Bead-Counting Catholics" tipsheet. Pomfret is, after all, a member of a church that condemns his long-term, loving relationship and has recently endured painful and humiliating child molestation scandals. "The book is not a finished product. I do not come out a finished product," he says. "If you're a gay Catholic, it's a never-ending path."