





































Ecclesial Futures
2025 – Volume 6 – Issue 2

127
Ecclesial Futures – DOI: 10.54195/ef25096

B O O K  r E V I E W

DOI: 10.54195/ef25096

Mong, Ambrose. 2025. Treasure in Earthen 
Vessels: The Portrayal of Priests in Fact and 
Fiction

Eugene, OR: Cascade Books
ISBN: 9798385215751

Reviewed by Andre Joseph Theng

Mong’s latest volume examines the figure of the Catholic priest. Being a priest 
himself working in Hong Kong, it is no surprise that Mong is afforded a personal 
and deep understanding of the priesthood, including their foibles, imperfections, 
but also of their heroism and sanctity. Roman Catholic priests all around the world 
are united firstly by their promises (or in the case of religious priests, vows) of chas-
tity, poverty, and obedience. Their distinctive way of life renders them a fascinating 
subject both in fact and fiction – Mong’s volume thus examines seven cases, basically 
equally divided into real-life examples and ones in literary texts.

It is certainly a timely intervention, and Mong’s introduction provides insight into 
his motivations, namely, the negative press surrounding Catholic priests in recent 
years due to sexual or financial misconduct. Mong writes: “While we cannot ignore 
these evil deeds, we must remember that these wayward clerics do not represent 
the entire priesthood” (xii). He seeks to complexify the person of the priest beyond 
one-dimensional stereotypes associated with wrongdoing and irrelevance. The 
theme of complex figures certainly shines through in each of the chapters, much 
to Mong’s credit. Each of these stories will prove to be particularly interesting for 
readers learning about them for the first time, but certainly also the juxtaposition of 
these characters in a single volume will provide food for thought on how they might 
relate to each other, and what they tell us about priests more generally.

The first chapter examines two Chinese bishops, Ignatius Kung and Aloysius 
Jin Luxian, who lived in similar times but whose differing responses to persecution 
by Communist authorities proved controversial. Both Kung and Jin were arrested 
in 1955; Kung refused to lead the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and was a 
staunch critic of the Communist regime, retaining a hardline stance throughout his 
life. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was held in solitary confinement 



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for many years. In contrast, Jin chose a more conciliatory position and engaged with 
Communist authorities to “keep Catholicism alive in China” (12). His cooperation with 
Communist leaders following his 1982 release from prison allowed him success in 
reestablishing the church in Shanghai. These differing choices towards engaging with 
anti-Christian civil leaders remain a much relevant question in the present day, both 
in China and elsewhere. In the Chinese context, the controversial 2018 Vatican–China 
“deal”, or provisional agreement, has proved contentious; its implementation might 
well have impacted Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s papacy chances at the 2025 conclave as 
he is widely thought to be the architect of the deal.

The second and third chapters examine Pedro Arrupe, SJ, and Oscar Romero 
respectively. Arrupe was a long-time Superior General of the Society of Jesus who 
steered the Jesuits through the changes of Vatican II. The chapter largely focuses 
on the person of Arrupe, and how his experience in his youth and in Japan during 
the Second World War and the atomic explosion in Hiroshima shaped his leadership 
later in life. Mong highlights how Arrupe’s focus on the poor and marginalized influ-
enced Francis’ papacy, which was characterized by a great concern for social justice 
and issues. Especially moving is Mong’s reflections on the final years of Arrupe’s life, 
when a stroke rendered him paralysed but during which time also “displayed an 
indomitable spirit” (35). Today there is an active cause for his canonization, and in 
November 2024 the case was formally moved to the Vatican marking a step closer 
towards Beatification.

Chapter  3’s examination of Oscar Romero bears comparison to those in the 
preceding two chapters, with Romero, an El Salvadoran bishop who was gunned 
down whilst saying mass, displaying shades of the stories of the Bishops in China 
and of Arrupe. Like Jin and Kung, Romero worked amidst a difficult political context 
marked by state repression and civil war, and like Arrupe, displayed a close affinity 
for the marginalized. Especially insightful is the highlighting of Romero’s own trans-
formation as he was initially considered a moderate figure keen to “maintain good 
relations with the government than to serve the needs of the people” (41). Yet his 
experience as bishop caused him to actively speak up for the sufferings of the people, 
defending activist priests and he courageously accompanied his flock. Romero’s life 
demonstrates a response to poverty not just of the material kind, but also how “the 
root of poverty is injustice, which is the refusal to love” (38).

The volume comes to life in the next four chapters, each featuring figures of 
priests from works of fiction, who are all complex characters in their own right. 
Prior to becoming a priest, Mong studied English Literature to a postgraduate level 
and worked as a secondary school teacher, and his careful literary analysis shines 
through in these chapters filled with pedagogical clarity and analytical insight. His 
affinity with these characters causes us to consider them alongside the historical 
figures earlier discussed, and indeed, their complexity renders such comparison 



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worthwhile. These chapters remind me of other texts which stand at the intersection 
of literature and theology, for example, the work of Luke Bell OSB, monk of Quarr 
Abbey, who, like Mong, was also a student and teacher of English literature. In 2024, 
Pope Francis wrote a letter on the role of literature on priestly formation (Francis 
2024), where he recalled his experience as a literature teacher at a Jesuit school in 
Santa Fe. Francis wrote: “literature is thus a ‘path’ to helping shepherds of souls enter 
into a fruitful dialogue with the culture of their time” whilst highlighting the many 
benefits of reading widely. “This approach to literature, which makes us sensitive to 
the mystery of other persons, teaches us how to touch their hearts.”

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop and 
Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory respectively. Cather’s characters Jean 
Latour and Joseph Valliant are closely based on the historical Jean-Baptiste Lamy, 
the first archbishop of Santa Fe, and his vicar general, Joseph Machebeuf. We imme-
diately see here the relationship between “fact” and “fiction”, as works of fiction draw 
from historical figures. The ambivalence of Cather’s Latour is illustrated by his hard 
work in evangelizing in a missional context but who also sought to leave a legacy 
of his own in a not altogether selfless way, building a Romanesque Cathedral that 
he hoped would become his legacy long after his death. His struggles as a priest 
are further illustrated by the depression and doubt he experienced as a result of a 
feeling of the ineffectiveness of his apostolate. Yet in other instances, such as a care-
free motorcycle ride with a friend, we see how the priest comes to terms with his 
person and his life. A pattern of an increased openness to Grace is observed, as well 
as an openness to a greater generosity in interpreting doctrine in his ministry.

An increased openness is similarly observed in the “Whisky Priest” in Greene’s 
The Power and Glory. Also set in Mexico, Greene’s characters were distinctly imperfect 
and flawed, and the “whisky priest” is no exception: often drunk, he is lazy and had 
fathered a child. Yet Greene emphasizes the office of the priest, where the ontolog-
ical nature of ordination renders his sacraments effective regardless of his personal 
failings: ex opere operato. Greene finds merit in the flawed characters, complexi-
fying figures who would otherwise be easily dismissed as “bad priests”. The “whisky 
priest”, who has an allegorical quality due to being unnamed, is keenly aware and 
guilty of his own shortcomings and remains faithful to his ministry.

Finally, Chapter 7’s discussion of Shusaku Endo’s Silence, since made into a 2016 
film by Martin Scorsese, narrates the life of a Portuguese Jesuit, Father Sebastian 
Rodrigues, who ministers in Japan amidst Christian persecution in the mid-seven-
teenth century. Christians were forced to apostatize by stepping on a bronze figure of 
Christ known as a fumie. It is here that Mong brings fresh insight to understanding the 
dilemma associated with such an act, radically suggesting that stepping on the figure 
is in fact an affirmation of faith, comparing Rodrigues to the apostle Peter – “Like Peter, 
the priest understands the teachings of Jesus more deeply after his denial” (126). Mong 



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suggests: “Rodrigues’s stepping on the fumie is an affirmation of faith in a forgiving 
God”, arguing that there is a nuance to the momentary “misstep” of the priest, and that 
a more generous interpretation would in fact point to God’s mercy and grace, despite 
his silence. Mong explores this theme more fully in a separate article (Mong 2025), in 
the process also making a distinction between masculine and feminine faces of Christ.

In his conclusion, Mong writes about a dear former superior whom he looked up 
to greatly, the late Father Bonifacio Garcia Solis OP, four-term superior of the Rosary 
Province of the Order of Preachers. The heroic qualities with which Mong associ-
ates Solis will not be unfamiliar to most people who have known priests themselves, 
especially in a personal capacity. In parts of the world where there are so few priests 
ministering to large congregations, it can be difficult to develop a nuanced view of 
the person of the priest especially when viewed only from afar, or in the context 
of ministry or sacraments. Yet some of us who have had the privilege of knowing 
priests more personally will immediately identify with the ambivalent qualities that 
Mong consistently describes in this book, priests who are deeply faithful but who 
are also often imperfect, disagreeable, and who struggle greatly. This will be true 
even in peacetime, let alone the many challenging contexts that the protagonists of 
these chapters feature in. This volume is thus in essence, a loving ode to the Catholic 
priest, priests whom we know (“our” priests), and is movingly personal and reflec-
tive. One point I would have liked to have seen better explored is a more explicit and 
consistent comparison of the different characters studied here, especially between 
the historical and fictitious examples. At the same time, Pope Francis in his letter 
describes an experience of literature as a “training in discernment”, sensitizing us to 
“the relationship between forms of expression and meaning”. It is perhaps left to us 
to make these links for ourselves. Finally, the volume leaves us to pray for and give 
thanks for the priests who work tirelessly in the vineyard of the Lord for the salvation 
of souls, giving wholly of themselves, “warts and all”.

About the Reviewer
Andre Joseph Theng completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, writing about 
Catholic social media from a sociolinguistic perspective. He is interested in media 
representations of Catholicism, especially in digital contexts. 
Contact: andre.theng@ed.ac.uk

References
Francis. 2024. Letter on the Role of Literature in Formation, 17 July. Available at: https://www.

vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240717-lettera-ruolo-letter-
atura-formazione.html.

Mong, Ambrose. 2025. “Apostate or Apostle?: Apostasy as Conversion in Shusaku Endo, 
Silence”, in The Way 64 (1): 29–42.

mailto:andre.theng@ed.ac.uk
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240717-lettera-ruolo-letteratura-formazione.html
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240717-lettera-ruolo-letteratura-formazione.html
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240717-lettera-ruolo-letteratura-formazione.html



