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| Father Andrew Greeley (Public Domain) |
Never mind that Father Andrew Greeley had written a host of popular novels, plus a number of influential sociological works. In his own words, he was first and foremost "a priest, pure and simple."
Wikipedia reports that Greeley had discerned this calling by the time he was in second grade. He was born into "a large Irish Catholic family" and grew up during the Depression. Ordained in 1954, he never looked back. According to
Greeley: The other things I do – sociological research, my newspaper
columns, the novels I write – are just my
way of being a priest.
So what's an ordained Catholic priest doing writing sexy novels?
Thus spake some of Greeley's (righteous, no doubt) critics. While on this subject, one might as well also ask why the Vatican supported some of the greatest works of art the world has known. (Ever hear of Michelangelo? Raphael?)
The thing is, spirituality cannot be (easily, if at all) captured literally.
Greeley was not one who believed that every word from the Bible was to be taken at face value. He instead believed that "visible, tangible things in
the created order serve as metaphors for the divine…"
Certain works of art are therefore sacred in nature because of their ability to evoke religiosity.
And sexuality? Read
the Song of Songs. Greeley had commented that his novels weren't nearly as sexy as that biblical passage. But how
would a priest even know about such details as are written in these novels? Greeley had explained that from what priests "heard in confession from women," they "probably knew more about marriage than most married men…"
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Greeley
Copyright June 1, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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