James Kavanaugh
Encyclopedia
James J. Kavanaugh was a former Catholic priest, known for his controversial 1967 bestseller (A Modern Priest Looks at His Outdated Church) calling for reform in the church.
He later wrote bestselling books of poetry
He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan
in 1928, the fourth of seven sons of an Irish Catholic family. He entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Grand Rapids at age 15, was ordained at the age of 26 in 1954, earned a doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and served as a parish priest in Lansing and Flint, Michigan
.
His book A Modern Priest Looks at His Outdated Church, which called for Church reforms on issues such as birth control, divorce, premarital sex and celibacy for priests
was published in 1967; it is held in over 1,000 worldCat libraries. It was reviewed by The London Times and Time and quickly became a national bestseller, reaching the top position on the New York Times bestseller list; among the over-all non-fiction bestsellers for 1967, it came in 5th. It was soon translated into French and German. The Chicago Tribune called it "the book that would first make him famous" The New York Times reviewer called it "a personal cry of anguish that goes to the heart of the troubles plaguing the Catholic Church." The author expected a practical impact on the church: "I was naive enough to think that Modern Priest would turn things around in the Church and that I could still stay in the priesthood" he told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1984. "I had no idea the book would have the impact it did. The Look magazine bought the serial rights and Kavanaugh made the rounds of talk shows including Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."
He had previously written an essay for the Saturday Evening Posts "Speaking Out" page under the pseudonym Father Stephen Nash, titled "I am a Priest and I Want to Marry." The article reportedly generated "Speaking Out's" heaviest reader response. The "Dear Abby" advice columnist Abigail Van Buren, wrote him a brief letter saying "I've received hundreds of thousands of letters but this is the first fan letter I've ever written" he said.
Kavanaugh left the priesthood several months after his book's publication, resigning formally on the stage at Notre Dame University where he was delivering a speech to a large audience who greeted him with a standing ovation. At one point he ripped off his collar threw it on the ground stamped on it and said 'I will never wear this again!'” In an interview with The LA Times in 1985, he explained that midway through his talk at Notre Dame "I got carried away. . . . The Church had done a lot of damage to people's personal lives and I felt compelled to say so”. He joined the Human Relations Institute in La Jolla, California, and married Patricia J. Walden, a nurse, on December 16, 1967 in an Episcopalian ceremony. His bishop, the Most Rev. Alexander Zaleski of the Lansing Roman Catholic Diocese, termed him a "disobedient priest"
In the early 1970s he published his first book of poetry the bestselling There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves held in over 500 WorldCat libraries. He followed this with more than two dozen books including works of poetry nonfiction and allegories ("Celebrate the Sun: A Love Story" and A Village Called Harmony—A Fable) He wrote the two novels(A Coward for Them All and The Celibates); The latter was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times
He later wrote bestselling books of poetry
He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
in 1928, the fourth of seven sons of an Irish Catholic family. He entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Grand Rapids at age 15, was ordained at the age of 26 in 1954, earned a doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and served as a parish priest in Lansing and Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
.
His book A Modern Priest Looks at His Outdated Church, which called for Church reforms on issues such as birth control, divorce, premarital sex and celibacy for priests
Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which, in some Churches, only unmarried men are, as a rule, to be ordained to the priesthood. The same discipline holds in some other Churches for ordination to the episcopate....
was published in 1967; it is held in over 1,000 worldCat libraries. It was reviewed by The London Times and Time and quickly became a national bestseller, reaching the top position on the New York Times bestseller list; among the over-all non-fiction bestsellers for 1967, it came in 5th. It was soon translated into French and German. The Chicago Tribune called it "the book that would first make him famous" The New York Times reviewer called it "a personal cry of anguish that goes to the heart of the troubles plaguing the Catholic Church." The author expected a practical impact on the church: "I was naive enough to think that Modern Priest would turn things around in the Church and that I could still stay in the priesthood" he told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1984. "I had no idea the book would have the impact it did. The Look magazine bought the serial rights and Kavanaugh made the rounds of talk shows including Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."
He had previously written an essay for the Saturday Evening Posts "Speaking Out" page under the pseudonym Father Stephen Nash, titled "I am a Priest and I Want to Marry." The article reportedly generated "Speaking Out's" heaviest reader response. The "Dear Abby" advice columnist Abigail Van Buren, wrote him a brief letter saying "I've received hundreds of thousands of letters but this is the first fan letter I've ever written" he said.
Kavanaugh left the priesthood several months after his book's publication, resigning formally on the stage at Notre Dame University where he was delivering a speech to a large audience who greeted him with a standing ovation. At one point he ripped off his collar threw it on the ground stamped on it and said 'I will never wear this again!'” In an interview with The LA Times in 1985, he explained that midway through his talk at Notre Dame "I got carried away. . . . The Church had done a lot of damage to people's personal lives and I felt compelled to say so”. He joined the Human Relations Institute in La Jolla, California, and married Patricia J. Walden, a nurse, on December 16, 1967 in an Episcopalian ceremony. His bishop, the Most Rev. Alexander Zaleski of the Lansing Roman Catholic Diocese, termed him a "disobedient priest"
In the early 1970s he published his first book of poetry the bestselling There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves held in over 500 WorldCat libraries. He followed this with more than two dozen books including works of poetry nonfiction and allegories ("Celebrate the Sun: A Love Story" and A Village Called Harmony—A Fable) He wrote the two novels(A Coward for Them All and The Celibates); The latter was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times