Father Andrew Greeley — whose novels and essays I’ve read for years — and who helped me come to terms with my ideas about Christianity – died today. I never made it to Chicago to meet him, one of the few authors I’ve ever really wanted to meet. More than any minister or preacher I’ve ever listened to or read, Father Greeley made me believe in the humanity of Christ and the paternal love of a creator, and he made faith real, human, accepting of all, and yes — erotic. The world is a sadder place without this author and priest.
Dr. James Rovira is higher education professional with twenty years experience in the field in teaching, administration, and advising roles. He is also an interdisciplinary scholar and writer whose works include fiction, poetry, and scholarship exploring the intersections of literature and philosophy, literature and psychology, literary theory, and music and literature.. His books include Women in Rock, Women in Romanticism (Routledge, 2023); David Bowie and Romanticism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022); Writing for College and Beyond (a first-year composition textbook (Lulu 2019)); Reading as Democracy in Crisis: Interpretation, Theory, History (Lexington Books 2019); Rock and Romanticism: Blake, Wordsworth, and Rock from Dylan to U2 (Lexington Books, 2018); Rock and Romanticism: Post-Punk, Goth, and Metal as Dark Romanticisms (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018); and Blake and Kierkegaard: Creation and Anxiety (Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2010). See his website at jamesrovira.com for details.
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8 thoughts on “Requiescat in Pace, Andrew Greeley”
Great tributes, Eileen and T.M. Thanks for posting.
I met Fr. Greeley when I was a college student in the 60’s. I am now in my late 60’s. I am a theologian, counselor, and counselor educator. He has influenced every phase of my life. He was one of the first to teach me that ministry is about faith, not religion and that religion does not have the corner on faith. Faith is About our capacity for intentional relatedness and churches are tools to help us grapple with the forces that impact those relationships. I owe him and others of his time much. They paid big prices!
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The Philosophy of Contemporary Song 
Great tributes, Eileen and T.M. Thanks for posting.
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I met Fr. Greeley when I was a college student in the 60’s. I am now in my late 60’s. I am a theologian, counselor, and counselor educator. He has influenced every phase of my life. He was one of the first to teach me that ministry is about faith, not religion and that religion does not have the corner on faith. Faith is About our capacity for intentional relatedness and churches are tools to help us grapple with the forces that impact those relationships. I owe him and others of his time much. They paid big prices!
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He will be missed–His Joshua series of books have an honored place on my bookshelves–God Bless Fr. Andrew Greeley
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A simple and beautiful tribute.
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Thanks, Paul.
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His face looks kind.
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I think he was a kind person…
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