Resumo de The Power And The Glory

The Power and the Glory follows a priest in hiding, the last survivor of the suppression of the Church by the Mexican government. This novel is the result of a commission which sent Greene to Mexico in 1938; the purpose of which being to investigate the anti-Catholic persecution taking place at the time. On the one hand it seems surprising that a country so steeped in religion and superstition would even be carrying out such a witch-hunt; however, the increased presence of military dictatorships throughout the Central American region (coupled with a withdrawal of US investment following the Depression) had left Mexico in an unstable position by the late 1930s. Rich in language and context though this book may be, one of the most interesting issues raised by its conclusion must be: is it possible to ever create a secular state? And is it desirable?

In its manifesto, the Movement for a Secular Europe talks about the repression of religious customs as essential to guarantee individual and collective liberty. It is a common aim of most societies being re-built from scratch: the post-revolution ?laicite? laws in France, the destruction of the churches by Lenin, even Mussolini?s earliest manifestoes. Graham Greene suggests through this novel that organised religion, especially the Catholic Church, cannot be destroyed by force (indifference is the only thing powerful enough for that). A mother telling her children any story symbolises its lasting power and continuing importance: in this case the stories are of Mexican heroes who refused to give up their faith. As this particular woman?s husband points out, even the priests she considers immoral and wayward would become martyrs in her stories once captured and shot. The anti-clerical movement, characterised by the novel?s petty, cruel, nameless officials, is thus shown throughout to be counterproductive. People cannot adapt to life without the Church, and crave the right to make confession to a priest. The characters of the priests are more fully developed than the administrators and police officers, their flaws and humanity exposed. The failings of the clergy and religious sentiment in general are shown alongside the brutality of the government. As much as any writer who has converted (Dryden, for example, who is quoted by Greene in the dedication of this book), the author understood the strength Catholicism or any other persuasive religion has over one?s mind.

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