k of a chap 3 jaime and amara

Not for long; soon he crossed over to the opposite aisle and found what he was looking for: one of those little cupboards with curtained doors, in which confessions are made, and a line of penitents, kneeling on a bench, waiting. He joined them. When his turn came, he entered the little cubicle, knelt down, leaned his face to the grill behind which the priest sat unseen, and said, 'Help me, Father!'
'You must say," Bless me Father, for I have sinned",' said the priest.
'I have not come to confess. Please, help me,' said the youth.
'If you do not wish to confess, get out!' said the priest. 'How dare you? How dare you abuse the sacrament?'
'Is there no mercy then? I implore you to help me!'
'If it is not with your sins, I cannot help you. You must go to the appropriate authorities.'
'There is a man at every gate who refuses me entry,' said the youth. 'And she will die.' But he had accepted that the priest would not help him; flat despair dulled his voice, like the note of a cracked bell. The priest sighed, stood up, stepped out of his booth, reached into the penitents' booth, and pulled the youth to his feet. There were no other penitents waiting - no further tales of lust and greed and cruelty to be told that afternoon.
' People die every day, and there is nothing to be done about it,' he said to the youth, taking in his poverty, his helpless demeanour.
'But she will die unbaptized,' the boy cried. [p34-35]

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Would not the priest at Sant Jeronimo help you?' enquired Severo. 'Does he know about this?'
'He knows. He did nothing. I thought if I came to Ciudad...'
'And here you found all doors closed to you except that of the confessional? I suppose I am not surprised. My officials are beleaguered; they have too many requests, no doubt. But I am surprised at the priest at Sant Jeronimo. Are you telling the truth, Jaime?'
'Yes, I am, Holiness, but....'
'But?'
'But Holiness, you have not seen her. She is - she is terrible. Everyone turns away, but I do not blame them. If I could stop thinking of her, I would. Holiness, when you see her, blackness .....it is blackness in your heart. You are cast down, you cannot bear it. It is the worst thing you could ever know.....' He recovered himself a little, and said, 'He said it would be blasphemy to baptize such a thing.'
Severo paced up and down the garden for a while.