Faith abides, but the sex abuse scandal and their son's death have alienated the McIlmails from the Catholic Church. A statue of the Virgin Mary, bordered by mums, graces the verdant lawn
of the McIlmail residence.
In the driveway and on the suburban street
are three Chevy Impalas, one of them formerly owned by the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia, long the family’s spiritual home and refuge. The split-level is crowded with crosses, over doors and beds, and a
swarm of butterflies adorns everything from shower curtains to a
changing table. These are symbols of the McIlmails’ abiding faith, the
cross from their decades as cradle-to-grave Catholics, the butterfly an
emblem of comfort adopted in the wake of catastrophic loss.