A spokesperson for the Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois said Tuesday that the Fr. Andrew Greeley remains in critical condition after a freak taxi accident last Friday.
The Chicago priest, sociologist and best-selling novelist suffered head injuries from a fall after stepping out of a taxi about 3:30 p.m. Friday at a transportation stop in Rosemont, Illinois. A part of his clothing got caught on the door as the driver pulled away, according to published reports in various newspapers.
Greeley, 80, was reported to have fractured his skull and left orbital bone near his eye. Friends reported he suffered internal bleeding in the skull.
Greeley was reportedly leaving a speaking engagement at an academic conference.
He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where doctors used CT scans and installed a device in his skull to monitor pressure on his brain.
Reports stated that several of his nieces, nephews and fellow priests gathered at the hospital over the weekend.
The hospital spokesperson said there has been no change in his condition, which she termed as "critical."
Greeley, a Catholic sociologist, has written more than 120 books, including dozens of novels.
He has had many honors and awards bestowed upon him. His many novels often deal with romances, including details of sexual encounters, typically written with underpinnings of a theology.
Greeley's first work of fiction to become a major commercial success was The Cardinal Sins (1981). He then put out the Passover Trilogy: Thy Brother's Wife (1982), Ascent into Hell (1983), and Lord of the Dance (1984). After that, he wrote on average a minimum of two novels per year.
Income generated from the sale of his books has been used to fund many charitable organizations.
For example, in 1986, Greeley established a $1 million Catholic inner-city School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago Archdiocese with a minority student body of more than 50 percent.
