One of the most influential Catholic thinkers and writers of our time, priest, sociologist, author and journalist Father Andrew Greeley has attracted a worldwide parish through his 50 bestsellers and more than 20 million books sold.

Poised on the edge of the on-going debate over religion and ethics, Greeley stimulates discussion of neglected issues and often anticipates social trends. A professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, he focuses his research on pivotal issues facing the Catholic Church, including the celibacy of priests, religious imagination and the sexual behavior of Catholics. His weekly columns for the Chicago Sun-Times have included such titles as “America’s Disease is Greed” and “A Dove in Good Company” (on the Iraq war).
 
Greeley’s bestselling novels include Cardinal Sins, White Smoke, The Bishop in the West Wing, September Song and Irish Stew. “All of my novels are one way or another about God,” says Greeley. “You can invite people into the world of the story and captivate them. Then they go back to their lives with an illumination about possibilities they haven’t seen before.”

Greeley’s novels have stirred both praise and criticism. “Father Greeley has given great attention to the role of imagination in the life of faith,” says Archbishop Cardinal Francis George. “What he is doing is re-evangelizing the imagination, using fiction to express the mysteries of the faith.”
 

Incredible...I can think of no better speaker with whom we could have started off our lecture series.

Miami University

Greeley has written over 100 non-fiction books and countless articles on the Church, the priesthood and relationships. These include The Making of the Popes, The Catholic Imagination, How to Save the Catholic Church, The Book of Love and his bestselling memoir, Confessions of a Parish Priest.

In Spring 2004 Greeley celebrated 50 years as a priest and released three books: Priests: A Calling in Crisis; The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins and the Second Vatican Council; and a novel, The Priestly Sins, which Publishers Weekly called “a must-read” for anyone interested in the ongoing controversy in the Catholic Church. Throughout his priesthood, he has unflinchingly urged his beloved Church to become more responsive to evolving concerns of Catholics everywhere.

In The Making of the Pope (2005), Greeley, ABC's on-site consultant in Rome during the Vatican conclave, addresses the questions behind the headlines and identifies the concerns about the Catholic Church's future role in the U.S. and around the world that the new pontiff will need to confront.

A frequent contributor to such publications as The New York Times and The National Catholic Reporter, Greeley is known for his mischievous Irish wit and trenchant commentary. He is regularly interviewed on national radio and television.

In 1986 Greeley established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, which provides financial support for minority students. Described by The Los Angeles Times as “a master of the human heart,” Greeley has inspired thousands to reconnect with their beliefs.