Being and Becoming: The Memoir of a Former Catholic Priest

How does one go from being a fervent Catholic to becoming a religious agnostic? This is the story of Walter Keady’s odyssey, travailing from a conservative Catholic upbringing in Ireland when ‘the whole country was a monastery,’ through his agitating for right-wing religious policies that culminated in his decision to become a priest, through his missionary career in Brazil while Vatican II awakened the Catholic world from slumber, to his loss of religious faith stemming from issues like birth control and celibacy. Keady tells his story with extraordinary honesty, without sparing either himself or the religious milieu that shaped his life. His recounting of battles with sex and celibacy is central and poignant.