The Priest is unnamed for the entire novel. Usually when a character is unnamed, the author is trying to project that the character is an honest representation of all of us. This is especially evident with the Priest who reaches the low of all lows, showing moral weakness whilst teaching others a higher standard. He drinks alcohol and goes against clerical celibacy to foster a child. Clearly, he has his shortcomings. At the end, the Priest acquires extreme holiness when he is recognized as a martyr after being executed.
The Whisky Priest
The Lieutenant is a staunch opponent to the Catholic Church and is the Priest's pursuer.The ruthless methods he employs in pursuit of the Priest are comparable to that of cruel world dictators as he took innocent hostages from every town and executed them if they did not give any information about the Priest. This is particularly hard for readers to read. But the Lieutenant is not a one-dimensional character as his decency is revealed in the latter stages of the play. The Lieutenant, after catching the man whom he hated so much, could not muster up any hatred for the Priest. He is certainly someone empathetic and capable of change. He also, like the Priest remains unnamed through the course of the text indicating that he too is a representation of human nature. Grahame Greene is showing two sides to human nature through these two characters: the flawed nature that makes mistakes but is good at heart and also the determined essence that will do anything to achieve goals but who is also good at heart.
Lieutenant
Mr Tench is the Englishman living in Mexico unhappily and working as a dentist. His wife has left him and his life is rather empty and vacant. He is filled with a low-level hatred for Mexico but can't leave because despite being a dentist, he struggles financially. He isn't religious, but his emptiness grows when the Priest is executed.