*Sightings* 12/20/2010

– Martin E. Marty

Father Andrew Greeley, friend, neighbor, sociologist, novelist, youngster—we
were born on the same day, but he arrived three hours later—has published
over 150 works of fiction and non-fiction. *Chicago Catholics and the
Struggles within Their Church *is his final book. Final, that is, because
two years ago he suffered a brain injury, after the manuscript was well
along. Colleagues brought the materials together, but insist that it is
“Andy’s book,” and anyone who has read him and reads this will recognize the
stamp: he honors some friends, picks some fights with others, and loves to
present data which many will find provocative, controversial, and slanted
counter-intuitively.

While the Pope and the bishops, with most of whom he is out of patience,
make global news, Greeley has engaged in survey work which assures that he
has his feet on the ground. His regard for the Catholic people—whom he
thinks the hierarchs overlook—is evident. His writing occupies only
sixty-five pages; the rest of the book is made up of appendixes: the Survey
Questionnaires, revealing “Interviews in Depth,” and “Transcripts.” If that
sounds boring, his opening but summary statements startle.

Yes, he insists, 25 percent of the people in the sample have left the
Church, but not for the reasons mass media give. The Church neglects the
young, but they are more attached to it than were those in the past (I keep
my fingers crossed on that one). “Four-fifths of Chicago Catholics approve
of the pope, the Cardinal, and their pastor.” Note that bishops are not
included in that list. The lay people make up their own minds about the
Church: “With astonishing ease, Chicago Catholics have separated what God
demands of them and what the Church expects of them.” After the papal
encyclical banning birth control back in 1968, Greeley first foresaw them
heading for the exit doors in disappointment and disgust. Many did. Most do
not argue about the teachings which do not square with their experience,
their life in community, and what they consider to be the Catholic story.
They simply ignore what the bishops declare, and bond with each other,
enjoying what appeals to them in Catholicism.

Not that all is well with Chicago Catholics. “Very few young people plan to
be a priest or a nun. Cafeteria Catholicism divides the Catholic population
into two groups. Catholic schools are closing. Many dispense themselves from
Sunday Mass because they get nothing out of it, because it is dull, tedious,
and BORING!”

It wouldn’t be part of Greeley’s testament if it did not include his
prediction about the reception of his survey findings and conclusions: “Both
the left, which thinks Chicago Catholics should be more resentful of their
leadership, and the right, which thinks that Catholics are more orthodox—or
should be—on sexual issues, will try to cast doubts on the study.” He
defends the survey methods and justifies the choice of Chicago, with which
he has a love affair, for his sampling. And it wouldn’t be Greeley if it did
not include lines like this: “The current bench of bishops is terrified of
research which, because the men sitting on the bench (most of whom should
have been left back in the locker room) have learned to expect nothing but
bad news from research. . . It does not matter that much of the research
reports good news.” The bad news of the last two years is Greeley’s
debilitating injury. The good news appears along with mixed data in what he
found and for what he argues in this book and, better yet, that the book
could appear at all.

*References*

* *

Andrew Greeley, *Chicago** Catholics and the Struggles within Their
Church *(New Jersey: Transaction, 2010).

*Martin E. Marty’s* biography, current projects, publications, and contact
information can be found at www.illuminos.com.

———-

*Sightings* comes from the Martin Marty
Center<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/>at the University of
Chicago Divinity School.

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*Sightings* welcomes submissions of 500 to 750 words in length that seek to
illuminate and interpret the intersections of religion and politics, art,
science, business and education. Previous
columns<http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/>give
a good indication of the topical range and tone for acceptable essays.
The editor also encourages new approaches to current issues and events.

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Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the author
of the column, *Sightings*, and the Martin Marty Center at the University of
Chicago Divinity School.