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| Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Greeley 1928-2013 |
Fr. Andrew M. Greeley was born in Oak Park, IL in 1928 and died Wednesday, May 29, 2013 quietly at his home in Chicago at 85 after being a victim of strokes resulting from an accident leaving a taxi a few years ago.
His life's work as a parish priest, scholar, researcher, author of books, best selling novels, journalist, sociologist, philanthropist and at times as an iconoclastic critic social critic made him somewhat of a dissenter in the Church, particularly with those in hierarchical places.
Nonetheless, he is widely acclaimed for his significant influence in America, including by Catholics, as a uniquely vocal spokesman for social justice. A self-described "loud-mouthed Irish priest", Greeley once quipped, "May they carve it on my gravestone!"
Obituaries in magazines and journals across the country today illustrate the different views of this maverick in the church. An excerpt from the Jesuit weekly magazine, "America", reads as follows: The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, who died on May 29, was a prolific writer and researcher who published his first article in America in 1957. He wrote dozens of articles for the magazine over the years, and was presented with the Campion Award by America in 2006. Former editor Thomas J. Reese, S.J., shared this story with us: "When Thurston Davis, S.J., was editor of America, he received a call in the early 1960’s from Jack Egan, an influential Chicago priest, telling him about a young parish priest who just finished his doctorate in sociology. 'You should encourage him to write,' said Egan. Neither recognized that they were opening a floodgate of prose and fiction that would have such a profound impact on the church."
Here's the NYTimesGreeleyStoryToday.
Born in a large Irish-Catholic family in a a suburb of Chicago, the life journey and words of Fr. Andrew M. Greeley have traveled to many places far from his native home. May he R.I.P.
His life's work as a parish priest, scholar, researcher, author of books, best selling novels, journalist, sociologist, philanthropist and at times as an iconoclastic critic social critic made him somewhat of a dissenter in the Church, particularly with those in hierarchical places.
Nonetheless, he is widely acclaimed for his significant influence in America, including by Catholics, as a uniquely vocal spokesman for social justice. A self-described "loud-mouthed Irish priest", Greeley once quipped, "May they carve it on my gravestone!"
Obituaries in magazines and journals across the country today illustrate the different views of this maverick in the church. An excerpt from the Jesuit weekly magazine, "America", reads as follows: The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, who died on May 29, was a prolific writer and researcher who published his first article in America in 1957. He wrote dozens of articles for the magazine over the years, and was presented with the Campion Award by America in 2006. Former editor Thomas J. Reese, S.J., shared this story with us: "When Thurston Davis, S.J., was editor of America, he received a call in the early 1960’s from Jack Egan, an influential Chicago priest, telling him about a young parish priest who just finished his doctorate in sociology. 'You should encourage him to write,' said Egan. Neither recognized that they were opening a floodgate of prose and fiction that would have such a profound impact on the church."
Here's the NYTimesGreeleyStoryToday.
Born in a large Irish-Catholic family in a a suburb of Chicago, the life journey and words of Fr. Andrew M. Greeley have traveled to many places far from his native home. May he R.I.P.
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