An Alley in Chicago: The Ministry of a City Priest

THis book wasn't exactly the edition I was looking for, but it only had a new foreward and last chapter. It was received in good condition.

I picked this book up to scan it, and didn't go to bed until I'd finished it. I knew Fr. Jack Egan, and in fact didn't like him all that well...personally, we just didn't hit it off. But that didn't stop me from admiring him. This is the life of a priest but, even more, it is a stunning picture of mid-twentieth century Chicago, when questions of social justice and the role of the laity woke up the Catholic church and spread across the country. While the focus is on the Church, it embraces city government, the Universities of Notre Dame and DePaul, flames sparked by the assassination of Martin Luther King, the urban renewal ideas of Saul Alinski, and the shames of redlining. Weaving it all together is Fr. Egan, Chicago in his blood, the Church in his heart. He opened windows for Cathoics even before John XXIII and Vatican II. His ceaseless work with lay groups, the poor, and the place of women in the church was all too often thwarted by the ingrained politics of both church and city. As most of us do, he made mistakes, some of his most ambitious programs failed, and when Egan died a few years ago, he was still not convinced he'd done enough. And he hadn't, of course - but he had done all any human being could do. The fight will go on, probably far beyond the lives of any of us who knew him. But Jack Egan was one who lit the fires and his light will still lead the way for our children and grandchildren. This is a good story about a good man, his city and his church and the times when they both warmed and broke his heart.