Cries went up for Baraka’s resignation. He refused. The whole thing got ugly.

It’s interesting, then, that –- as best as I could tell –- not an eyebrow was raised during the Pope’s recent visit to New York, whose official writer is on record as a virulent critic of the papacy.

Or at least the previous pope.

A few weeks ago, acclaimed author Mary Gordon, who has written many fiction as well as non-fiction books about the Irish, Catholics and other aspects of ethnic American life, was given the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit, making her New York’s official state author. None other than disgraced former Governor Eliot Spitzer bestowed the honor upon Gordon.

In 2001, Commonweal magazine writer Paul Baumann wrote, “When it comes to Catholic bashing — and especially pope bashing — the novelist Mary Gordon is in a class of her own.”

Baumann then quotes Gordon, “I think we need to remember that John Paul II is a consummate actor and a media expert. I think he’s a dangerous figure. I think he’s done an enormous amount of harm.”

Now, this is sort of a touchy area. It’s fine to criticize aspects of church doctrine, even papal decisions. But when done by an author who supposedly represents a state which happens to have one of America’s largest Catholic populations -– and which just welcomed the Pope –- well, that’s a somewhat more serious matter.

But maybe it’s a sign of progress. Maybe it shows the Irish and other Catholics can debate these things without getting hysterical. And maybe we can go about the business of making sure other ethnic groups eventually reach that same level.

After all, just this month, brilliant young writer Junot Diaz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brie, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Set among the Dominican Americans of New Jersey, the book explores the inner life of a chubby teen who doesn’t fit in among his macho friends.

There are many things to applaud in Diaz’ victory. He certainly is one of the most interesting novelists working today. Plus, he is writing about an immigrant community Americans don’t know much about.

Irish American writing great Pete Hamill called the Pulitzer win “a triumph of the entire immigrant deal.” He added, “Yes, every last Dominican should cheer, here and in the home island. But so should every descendant of Irish, Jewish, Italian and other immigrants, every child of separation from the Old Country, every kid whose family broke with the past and came here to make something new. Including literature.”

Diaz himself has stated publicly that big literary awards should go to more diverse writers.

“Memo to Pulitzer: It was about time, hombre!” the Daily News noted in a profile. Diaz himself then said “the literary establishment ‘should be embarrassed’ he’s only the second Latino writer to snatch it.”

“Two Latinos in a hundred years? Mmmh. I don’t think the problem is with us as writers. It seems like the problem is with them as judges.”

Fair point. It almost made me a little ashamed to be Irish.

After all, we churn out authors (not to mention newspaper columnists) at an alarming rate. The many, many Pulitzer Prize winning novels the Irish have produced should attest to that.

Just how many Irish Catholics have won the Pulitzer Prize?

Um, that would be three. One more than the Latinos. William Kennedy’s Ironweed in 1984, John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces in 1981 and Edwin O’Connor’s oft-forgotten priest novel The Edge of Sadness in 1962.

If you broaden your definition of “Irish novel” to include Gone with the Wind and works by John Steinbeck, I guess that changes things a bit.

But it begs the question — just how far have Irish Catholics really come?

Far enough to bash the pope, it seems. The Dominicans should be so lucky someday.

(Contact Tom tomdeignan@verizon.net.)