Andrew Greeley Throws A Tantrum

He’s in his "terrible two"’s now. (Of his second childhood.)

What a baby!

GET THE STORY.

(Credit: a reader who e-mailed me this.)

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

20 thoughts on “Andrew Greeley Throws A Tantrum”

  2. Baby? It truly is an “unnecessary, foolish, ill-conceived, badly executed and, finally, unwinnable war.”

  3. On a serious note, for those that opposed the war on these grounds, when does this become a war of self defense? Alternatively, when are we considered to be enforcing justice over a conquered land rather than fighting a war? If we were to leave at this point, there would surely be civil war resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The Pope has made clear that we and the international community are charged with establishing justice in this country.

  4. Sam: Greeley is an annoying, self-righteous loser with some skills in the pulp-novel department, and occasional attacks of insight. Having him as an ally should be only slightly less embarrassing to honorable people who sincerely oppose the war than having Michael Moore on their side is.
    Michael Forrest: I’m pretty much of the “you break it, you buy it” school. I was mildly skeptical about the Iraq war when it started, but as of the point that Baghdad fell, the justice/injustice of the war became moot: we owed it to the Iraqi people to help them pick up the pieces of their society. At this point, the bare mimimum we owe them, to my mind, is pacifying the Sunni Triangle, getting their army trained, and watching their backs through the election.
    Now is the wrong time to leave, regardless of what you think of the Bush administration’s policies.

  5. Greeley writes:

    Note: Some conservative Catholics — Republicans, I assume — are spreading the word on the Internet that I am an ”unfrocked” (sic) priest. [The “sic” is Greeley’s. -SDG] That is false witness. I am and have been for 50 years a priest in good standing of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Call (312) 751-8220 if you don’t believe me. False witness is a grave sin and must be confessed before Christmas communion. Moreover, those who commit it are bound to restore the reputation of the one about whom they’ve lied.

    Interesting that Greeley accepts and indeed insists on the Church’s teaching that violations of the eighth commandment, i.e., sins against truth, are “grave sins.” In his novels he’s repeatedly described violations of the sixth commandment, i.e., sins against chastity, as minor venial sins, if that.
    I’d like to see him publish an editorial announcing “Premarital sex, masturbation, contraception etc. are grave sins and must be confessed before receiving communion.”

  6. Saying that Greeley is a defrocked priest isn’t a lie, exactly — more like a gloriously sweet dream and hope. (Just kidding — sort of)

  7. If Greeley is based in Chicago, does that mean Cardinal George has the authority to do something about him?

  9. I picked up on the *grave sin* aspect of this piece, too, Mr Greydanus. Especially regarding this statement:
    “This cockamamie and criminally immoral war was planned before the Sept. 11 attack in which Iraq was not involved.”
    Proof, please, Fr. Greeley? Isn’t that as much of a misrepresentation of fact as folks alleging he’s been “unfrocked”?

  10. Jason,
    I don’t know the answer to this question. Maybe it’s where he was ordained or who know what.

  11. Steve,
    I’ve seen enough of your work on enough blogs to know that you know the answer to the question. Say what you mean. Stop beating around the bush.

  12. Jason, cool it. You’re being rude to Steve Jackson. Keep it polite. Don’t. Get. Personal.

  13. Steve,
    Greeley means that he is incardinated at (presently assigned to and under the authority of the archbishop of) the Archdiocese of Chicago, so yes, Cardinal George is his boss and could “do something about him” if he strays too far over the line.
    Unfortunately, throwing a tantrum of this nature in a newspaper column isn’t really an actionable offense for practical purposes.

  14. Jimmy,
    I’m hardly being rude to Steve. Steve’s a regular lurker around Catholic blogs. He has particular issues he likes to stoke whenever he possibly can. He knows what he’s doing. But, I will refrain from further interaction with him on this blog, in accord with your wishes.

  15. I’m highly sympathetic to Greeley’s sentiment but hostile toward his presentation of it. He appears to be the “unreasonable pessimist” who really has no love and secretly enjoys causing pain. Derringdo has it about right, Greeley hurts his cause. I was gonna argue a need for more charity, but yeah, he’s basically being a big baby.

  20. I have written Fr. Greeley several times regarding his obsession with GW but no response so far. I had a Jesuit history professor at Fordham with a similar obsession with Franklin Roosevelt and his involvement in WWII, where he would rant and rave about how Roosevelt subverted the notification of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which we knew about in advance because of the “Purple Machine” that could decode Japanese messages. Fr Greeley’s obsession would have us believe that support of the Iraq war involves grievous sin and possible loss of our souls. I am genuinely concerned for Fr. Greeley’s mental health. Any comments out there?

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