The view of the Catholic Church, was that "the latter element" -- that is, human wretchedness -- had appeared "to carry the day" in a way that did injury "to certain priestly characters and even to the priesthood itself." Moreover, the novel portrayed a state of affairs so "paradoxical" and "erroneous" that it would disconcert "unenlightened persons" who formed "the majority of the readers." Summary and Conclusion

Greene was not disconcerted by the view of the Church and simply remarked that he did not own the copyright and therefore could do nothing to change what was already written. The following quote from the work is quite poignant and after having read about the life of Greene can just as easily be assigned to come from within him as from within the mind of the nameless priest in the novel:

What a fool he had been to think that he was strong enough to stay when others fled. What an impossible fellow I am,...

It seemed to him at that moment, that it would have been quite easy to have been a saint. It would only have needed a little self-restraint and a little courage. He felt like someone who had missed happiness by seconds at an appointed place. He knew now that at the end there was only one thing that counted -- to be a saint." (Graham Greene: "The Power and the Glory")
After his writing of this powerful and controversial work in which he explored his deepest spiritual self he wrote other less powerful and less controversial works and lived until the year of 1991 where passed peaceably away on the French Villa.

Works Cited

Schlosser, Stephen (nd) "Altogether Adverse" - American Magazine Issue 388. Online available at http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?articleTypeID=1&text ID=2311&issueID=388

Greeneland (2005) Online available at http://www.amywelborn.com/greene/greene.html.

Graham Greene "The Power and the Glory" Online available at http://members.tripod.com/~greeneland/power.htm

Graham Green's "The Power and the Glory"