The Cardinal SinsThe Cardinal Sins is a 1981 novel by American author and priest Andrew Greeley.Plot summaryLifelong friends and occasional rivals, Kevin Brennan and Patrick Donahue enter seminary together, but their lives soon diverge dramatically. Brennan achieves success as a scholar but often finds himself at odds with his superiors in the Church. By contrast, the ambitious Donahue rises steadily through the Church hierarchy, only to fall prey to the temptations of lust and power.