BECKET.

Flannery O’Connor on Bad Catholic Novels

“Poorly written novels - no matter how pious and edifying the behavior of the characters  -are not good in themselves and are therefore not really edifying.  Now a statement like this creates problems.  An individual may be highly edified by a sorry novel because he doesn’t know any better.  We have plenty of examples in this world of poor things being used for good purposes.  God can make any indifferent thing, as well as evil itself, an instrument for good; but I submit that to do this is the business of God and not of any human being.

“A good example of a very indifferent novel being used for some good purpose is The Foundling, by Cardinal Spellman.  It’s nobody’s business to judge Cardinal Spellman except as a novelist, and as a novelist he’s a bit short.  You do have the satisfaction of knowing that if you buy a copy of The Foundling, you are helping the orphans to whom the proceeds go; and afterwards you can always use the book as a doorstop.  But what you owe yourself here is to know that what you are helping are the orphans and not the standards of Catholic letters in this country.  Which you prefer to do, if it must be a matter of choice, is up to you.”

Haha.  That’s why I absolutely love Flannery O’Connor