Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Today The Power and the Glory is well read and respected in Catholic circles, but fourteen years after its release, the Holy Office of the Catholic Church—Greene's own Church!—condemned the book on the grounds that it disparaged the priesthood. Can a book really be condemned to hell? Greene refused to make the changes the Church demanded, and good thing he did. Pope John Paul VI later told him to ignore the condemnation. Straight from the Pope's mouth! (Source.)
Rumor has it that Greene fled to Mexico not merely to document anti-clerical persecution, but to escape the lawyers of film star Shirley Temple, who were pursuing him for libel. Nobody messes with Shirley. (Source.)
Graham Greene was recruited by MI6. That's right: he was a spy. Cue the James Bond theme. (Source.)
A troubled man, Greene regularly played Russian roulette. Like, real Russian roulette. (Source.)