The 3,000-seat Crystal Cathedral would provide the Orange Diocese a place of worship for far less than the estimated cost of a Santa Ana project.
Posted on 07/07/2011 1:57:19 PM PDT by NYer
A new and intriguing prospect for the Crystal Cathedral emerged Wednesday when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange said it was considering buying the bankrupt church in Garden Grove and converting it to a Catholic cathedral.
The announcement by Orange Bishop Tod Brown came one day after Chapman University made a $46-million bid for the 40-acre site. The Crystal Cathedral had earlier reached a tentative agreement for a sale and lease-back deal with a real estate developer, subject to approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kwan.
A sale to the Catholic Church would solve a longstanding problem for the Orange Diocese, which has no central cathedral for its 1.2-million parishioners. It has been planning for more than a decade to build a new, 2,500-seat cathedral in Santa Ana, but has gotten only as far as hiring an architect.
The Crystal Cathedral, designed by the late Philip Johnson, would provide an instant, 3,000-seat architectural landmark at roughly half the $100 million that was previously estimated for the Santa Ana project.
Such a deal, however, presumably would mean the end of the Crystal Cathedral Ministry's tenure on the site — a hard pill for the founding pastor, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, and the church board to swallow. The bids by both Chapman University and the real estate developer, Greenlaw Partners, would allow Crystal Cathedral ministries to lease back portions of the site, including the cathedral itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Outside the Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday, volunteer gardener Fred Schwartz said many of the people with long ties to the Schuller ministry would be disheartened by its conversion to a Catholic church.
As Archbishop Sheen once stated: "There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church."
In my RC diocese, several of our churches, built with monies raised by immigrants, have been sold to Evangelical churches. As christians, we rejoice that these churches are still being used to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
At least it would be used to worship God, and not some man made dogma that Schuller peddles.
Why disheartened? Install the One True Church and more people will come. Also, huge need to renovate and take away that museum looking framework and actually make it look like a Church. This is a great move.
I hope the Diocese doesn;t get the thing. It is NOT a Catholic church. It can’t be a Catholic Church.It can be a modernist pseudo Catholic vicarious Protestant church but not a Catholic church.
NYER I hear about it one of them turn out be Chapman university which own by KOCE Channel 50 here in OC it PBS station that same station that almost got sold to Daystar network it reach agreement carry Daystar on of his sub channel like on Channel 50.3
That back story
Sheesh, what an ugly structure! I don’t think it will attract many Catholics to worship in such a gaudy environment.
The Church should reconsider before wasting its money on that building.
But then again, I am not a Californian Catholic so I do not know what turns them off or on in terms of a place for worship.
Can you cite specifics, real specifics not the Boettner, LaHaye, made up cr@p.
I hope if it’s sold, it will be to one of Christian denominations. Not to Muslims who will convert it to a grand mosque.
It’s best to keep the church in the family of God. I’d hate to see it become as Mosque.
Really? Can you be more specific?
The “Crystal Cathedral” isn’t a cathedral, since the denomination has no bishops. The Catholic Church could turn it into a real cathedral.
Ichabod.
The "Crystal Cathedral" would at least be far more beautiful than Our Lady of the Angels, the headquarters for the Los Angeles diocese, which is an ugly and atrocious eyesore. 
Our Lady of the Angels
Why couldn’t it become a Catholic Church? The Roman Pantheon was converted to a church.
Does the RCC teach God’s Word is The FINAL Authority?
You’ve already been answered on many other threads where you appear to be trying to start an argument or tear down the Catholic Church, where many of your fellow FReepers worship.
I’d like to know what your aim is, in bringing off-topic querulous questions to a thread.
Are you trying to start a fight? Are you trying to convert other CHRISTIANS to your cult? You can find the answers you are seeking, BTW, in the online Catholic Catechism—if you are seeking answers and not trying to denigrate someone else.
I suppose you could level it and start from the ground. The Pantheon was first of all a substantial building. Its masonry construction when stripped of ornament and idols was useful for anything. This monstrosity would require much more financial input for modification than the alternative building a new cathedral would cost to be anything but a garish distraction. Of course the Modernists- those who are entertainment oriented wannabe protestants are surely thrilled with the prospect.
Our Lady of the Angels is truly a monstrosity. It could not even be justified as “art” except as matched with the masterpiece made from elephant dung.
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