Andrew Greeley
Encyclopedia
Father Andrew M. Greeley (born February 5, 1928, Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
) is an Irish-American Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, sociologist, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
writer.
Father Greeley is Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and is a Research Associate
Research associate
The title of research associate is used to denote an academic research position at a university or similar institution. A research associate usually conducts research under the supervision of a principal investigator. In contrast to a research assistant or research officer, a research associate...
with the National Opinion Research Center
National Opinion Research Center
NORC at the University of Chicago, established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, is one of the largest and most highly respected social research organizations in the United States. Its corporate headquarters are located on the University of Chicago campus...
(NORC) at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He writes a weekly column for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
and contributes regularly to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the National Catholic Reporter
National Catholic Reporter
The National Catholic Reporter is the second largest Catholic newspaper in the United States; its circulation reaches ninety-seven countries on six continents. Based in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, NCR was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964 as an independent newspaper focusing on the Catholic Church...
, America
America (magazine)
America is a national weekly magazine published by the American Jesuits that contains news and opinion about Catholicism and how it relates to American politics and cultural life....
, and Commonweal
Commonweal
Commonweal is a American journal of opinion edited and managed by lay Catholics. It is headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City.-History:...
. He has given numerous interviews on radio and television.
Biography
After studies at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory SeminaryArchbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood...
in Chicago, he received an AB from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Chicago in 1950, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB
Bachelor of Sacred Theology
The Bachelor of Sacred Theology is a graduate-level academic degree in theology.The Bachelor of Sacred Theology is offered by a number of Pontifical Universities. It is sometimes offered as a graduate degree, for students who have already completed a B.A. or other first degree...
) in 1952, and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL
Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology is the title of the second cycle of studies of a Faculty of Theology offered by a pontifical universities or ecclesiastical faculties of sacred theology. An Ecclesiastical Faculty offers three cycles of study: Baccalaureate or fundamentals, Licentiate or specialized,...
) in 1954, when he was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
.
From 1954-64 he served as an assistant pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
at Christ the King
Christ the King
Christ the King is a title of Jesus based on several passages of Scripture. It is used by most Christians. The Roman Catholic Church, together with many Protestant denominations, including the Anglican Churches, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Methodists, celebrate the Feast of Christ the King on the...
parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Chicago, during which time he studied sociology at the University of Chicago. He received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1961 and then a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1962. His doctoral dissertation dealt with the influence of religion on the career plans of 1961 college graduates. At various times Greeley was a professor at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
Father Greeley has honorary degrees from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
(New York State) and the National University of Ireland, Galway
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
. In 1981, he received the F. Sadlier Dinger Award, which is presented each year by educational publisher William H. Sadlier, Inc.
William H. Sadlier, Inc.
William H. Sadlier, Inc. is the oldest family-owned publishing company in the United States.-History:It began in 1832 when brothers Denis and James Sadlier emigrated from Cashel, County Tipperary to New York and began to publish materials to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the Catholic...
in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the ministry of religious education in America.
Father Greeley's first work of fiction to become a major commercial success was The Cardinal Sins
The Cardinal Sins
-Plot summary:Lifelong 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...
(1981). He then put out the Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
trilogy: Thy Brother's Wife (1982), Ascent into Hell (1983), and Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance (novel)
Lord of the Dance is a novel by Father Andrew Greeley. It is the third in the Passover Trilogy. It is the story of a teenager, Noelle Farrell, who Greeley has said represents a composite of Irish-American teenage women he has met....
(1984). After that, he wrote on average a minimum of two novels per year. In 1987 alone he produced four novels and two works of non-fiction. He labels himself as "a smart-aleck, in other words, and a glib smart-aleck who can be dangerously humorous and even pugnacious when someone tries to put him down". His literary output has been such that it has been said that he "has never had an unpublished thought".
At the height of the Catholic Church sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
scandal, Greeley wrote The Priestly Sins (2004), a novel about a young priest from the Plains States who is exiled to an insane asylum and then to an academic life because he reports abuse that he has witnessed. His book, The Making of the Pope (2005) was intended as a follow-up to his The Making of the Popes 1978. This was a first-hand account of the coalition building process by which Joseph Ratzinger ascended to the papacy as Benedict XVI. Greeley has also dabbled in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, writing the novels God Game and The Final Planet. Politically, he has been an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War, and supports immigration rights. His book entitled A Stupid, Unjust, and Criminal War: Iraq 2001–2007 (2007), evaluates and presents the logic of the rush to start the Iraqi War by the Bush administration and its consequences for the United States.
Income
Income generated from the sale of his books has been used to fund certain philanthropies. In 1986, Fr. Greeley established a $1 million Catholic inner-city School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago Archdiocese with a minorityMinority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
student body of more than 50%. In 1984, he contributed a $1 million financial endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
to establish a chair in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He also funds an annual lecture series, “The Church in Society”, at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, where he earned his S.T.L.
Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology is the title of the second cycle of studies of a Faculty of Theology offered by a pontifical universities or ecclesiastical faculties of sacred theology. An Ecclesiastical Faculty offers three cycles of study: Baccalaureate or fundamentals, Licentiate or specialized,...
in 1954. He donated several thousand dollars to the 2008 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Injury
He suffered a fractured skull and left orbital bone near his eye in a fall on November 7, 2008 in Rosemont, IllinoisRosemont, Illinois
Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...
, when his clothing got caught on the door of a taxi as it pulled away, and was hospitalized in critical condition. His website indicates that he is still recovering from the traumatic brain injury that he received, and that his family hopes he will soon be able to "continue to work so that, in spite of his injury, he can enjoy a quality of life in keeping with his imagination, intelligence, and service to his Church and community."
Non-fiction
- The Social Effects of Catholic Education (1961)
- Religion and Career: A Study of College Graduates (1963)
- And Young Men Shall See Visions (1964)
- Letters to Nancy (1964)
- The Hesitant Pilgrim: American Catholicism After the Council (1966)
- The Education of Catholic Americans (1966)
- The Catholic Experience: A Sociologist's Interpretation of the History of American Catholicism (1967)
- The Changing Catholic College (1967)
- Uncertain Trumpet: The Priest in Modern America (1968)
- The Crucible of Change: The Social Dynamics of Pastoral Practice (1968)
- What Do We Believe? The Stance of Religion in America (1968)
- The Student in Higher Education (1968)
- From Backwater to Mainstream: A Profile of Catholic Higher Education (1969)
- Religion in the Year 2000 (1969)
- A Future to Hope in: Socio-religious Speculations (1969)
- Life for a Wanderer (1969)
- The Friendship Game (1970)
- Recent Alumni and Higher Education: A Survey of College Graduates (1970)
- Can Catholic Schools Survive? (1970)
- Why Can't They Be Like Us? (1971)
- American Priests. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center (1971)
- The Denominational Society (1972)
- Unsecular Man (1972)
- Priests in the U.S.: Reflections on a Survey (1972)
- That Most Distressful Nation: The Taming of the American Irish (1972)
- The Catholic Priest in the U.S.: Sociological Investigations (1972)
- Ethnicity in the U.S.: A Preliminary Reconnaissance (1974)
- Building Coalitions (1974)
- The Sociology of the Paranormal (1975)
- The Great Mysteries: An Essential Catechism (1976)
- Ethnicity, Denomination and Inequality (1976)
- The American Catholic: A Social Portrait (1977)
- No Bigger Than Necessary (1977)
- Neighborhood. New York (1977)
- The Making of the Popes (1978)
- Crisis in the Church: A Study of Religion in America (1979)
- Ethnic Drinking Subcultures (1980)
- The Young Catholic Family (1980)
- The Religious Imagination (1981)
- Young Catholics in the United States and Canada (1981)
- The Irish Americans: The Rise to Money and Power (1981)
- Parish, Priest and People (1981)
- Catholic High Schools and Minority Students (1982)
- The Bottom Line Catechism (1982)
- Religion: A Secular Theory (1982)
- The Catholic Why? Book (1983)
- The Dilemma of American Immigration: Beyond the Golden Door (1983)
- Angry Catholic Women (1984)
- How to Save the Catholic Church (1984)
- American Catholics Since the Council (1985)
- Confessions of a Parish Priest (1986)
- Catholic Contributions: Sociology & Policy (1987)
- An Andrew Greeley Reader: Volume One (1987)
- The Irish Americans: The Rise to Money and Power (1988)
- When Life Hurts: Healing Themes from the Gospels (1988)
- God in Popular Culture (1988)
- Sexual Intimacy: Love and Play (1988)
- Myths of Religion: An inspiring investigation into the nature of God and a journey to the boundaries of faith (1989); ISBN 0-446-38818-1
- Religious Change in America (1989)
- The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics (1990)
- The Bible and Us (1990)
- Faithful Attraction: Discovering Intimacy, Love, and Fidelity in American Marriage (1991)
- Sex: The Catholic Experience (1995)
- Religion as Poetry (1995)
- Sociology and Religion: A Collection of Readings (1995)
- Common Ground (1996)
- Forging a Common Future (1997)
- I Hope You’re Listening God (1997)
- Furthermore! (1999)
- The Mysteries of Grace
- The Catholic Imagination (2000); ISBN 0-520-23204-6
- Book of Love (2002)
- The Great Mysteries: Experiencing Catholic Faith from the inside Out (2003)
- The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council (2004); ISBN 0-520-24481-8
- Priests: A Calling in Crisis (2004)
- The Making Of The Pope (2005)
- The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe (2006)
- Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women (2007)
- A Stupid, Unjust and Criminal War: Iraq 2001-2007 (2007)
Fiction
- The Magic Cup (1975)
- Death in April (1980)
- The Cardinal SinsThe Cardinal Sins-Plot summary:Lifelong 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...
(1981) - Thy Brother's Wife (1982)
- Ascent Into Hell (1983)
- Lord of the DanceLord of the Dance (novel)Lord of the Dance is a novel by Father Andrew Greeley. It is the third in the Passover Trilogy. It is the story of a teenager, Noelle Farrell, who Greeley has said represents a composite of Irish-American teenage women he has met....
(1984) - Virgin and Martyr (1985)
- Angels of September (1985)
- Happy are the Meek (1985)
- God GameGod Game (novel)God Game is the title of a science fiction novel by Rev. Andrew M. Greeley which was first published in 1986. It was published in hardcover by Warner Books with a paperback edition by Tor Books following in 1987.-Plot :...
(1986) - Happy are the Clean of Heart (1986)
- Patience of a Saint (1987)
- The Final Planet (1987)
- Happy Are Those Who Thirst for Justice (1987)
- Rite of Spring (1987)
- Angel Fire (1988)
- Love Song (1989)
- St. Valentine's Night (1989)
- Andrew Greeley's Chicago (1989)
- All About Women (1989)
- The Cardinal Virtues (1990)
- The Irish (1990)
- The Search for Maggie WardThe Search for Maggie WardThe Search for Maggie Ward is a 1991 book by Andrew Greeley which details the quest of one man to find his bride, Maggie Ward, who has inexplicably vanished from their new home in a remote Arizona town....
(1991) - An Occasion of Sin (1991)
- Happy Are the Merciful (1992)
- Wages of Sin (1992)
- Happy Are the Peace Makers (1993)
- Fall from GraceFall from Grace (novel)Fall from Grace is a 1993 novel by Father Andrew Greeley. It is a novel about sin and corruption in Chicago and the cover up of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.-Plot introduction:...
(1993) - Irish GoldIrish GoldIrish Gold is the first of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(1994) (first in the Nuala Anne McGrail seriesNuala Anne McGrail seriesThe Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels are written by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley.Each of the novels feature the characters Nuala Anne McGrail and Dermot Michael Coyne.-Novels:...
of mystery novels) - Happy Are the Poor in Spirit (1994)
- Angel Light (1995)
- Happy Are Those Who Mourn (1995)
- White Smoke (1996)
- Happy Are The Oppressed (1996)
- Irish LaceIrish LaceIrish Lace is the second of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(1996) - Summer at the Lake (1997)
- Star Bright! (1997)
- The Bishop at Sea (1997)
- Irish WhiskeyIrish Whiskey (novel)Irish Whiskey is the third of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(1998) - Contract With an Angel (1998)
- A Midwinter's Tale (1998)
- The Bishop and the Three Kings (1998)
- Irish MistIrish Mist (novel)Irish Mist is the fourth of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(1999) - Younger Than Springtime (1999)
- Irish Eyes (2000)
- The Bishop and the Missing L-Train (2000)
- A Christmas Wedding (2000)
- Irish Love (2001)
- The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germain (2001)
- September Song (2001)
- Irish Stew!Irish Stew!Irish Stew! is the seventh of the Nuala Anne McGrail series series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2002) - The Bishop in the West Wing (2002)
- Second Spring (2003)
- The Bishop Goes to the University (2003)
- The Priestly Sins (2004)
- Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy (2004)
- Golden Years (2005)
- Irish CreamIrish Cream (novel)Irish Cream is the eighth of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2005) - The Senator and the Priest (2006)
- Irish CrystalIrish CrystalIrish Crystal is the ninth of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2006) - Irish LinenIrish LinenIrish Linen is the tenth of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2007) - The Bishop at the Lake (2007)
- Irish TigerIrish TigerIrish Tiger is the eleventh of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2008) - The Archbishop in Andalusia (2008)
- Irish TweedIrish TweedIrish Tweed is the twelfth of the Nuala Anne McGrail series of mystery novels by Roman Catholic priest and author Father Andrew M. Greeley....
(2009) - Home for Christmas (2009)
Other work
His column on political, church and social issues appears each Friday in the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, and each Sunday in the Daily Southtown, a Chicago newspaper.