17 September 2004
Pre-empting the Buddhists in the sanctuary
by Scott Noto 
In late autumn 2001, the restoration of the Basilica of St. Adalbert began. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the grand church dates back to 1907, constructed in the heart of a thriving Polish neighborhood on the city’s west side—an area that once teemed with so many Catholics that two other churches are located within a few blocks of the basilica. Today, that area is fondly known as "Steepletown." St. Adalbert’s was raised to the status of basilica in 1979 by Pope John Paul II, the only church in Michigan to receive such a designation. In a city where many Catholic churches have undergone denuding renovations over the past forty years--example:there is not one Catholic church in Grand Rapids that still retains a communion rail--this restoration would prove to be a daunting task. The parish, once home to 1,100 families, today only averages about 1,200 members, with weekly contributions averaging about $8,500. Despite the dedication of its parishioners, the repairs needed to restore the basilica were so extensive that a $2.1 million fundraising drive was launched. Since 1913 the oxidized copper domes of St. Adalbert’s have served as the focal point of the city’s west side, an area comprised primarily of residential units and old factories, many of which are now abandoned. The two lesser domes of the basilica cap the façade’s twin belltowers, while the central dome opens up to the mosaic walls of the church’s interior, and facilitates the triumphant sound of the church’s organ. Underneath the central dome, a baldacchino with marble columns covers the main altar and the tabernacle, in front of a large crucifix of Christ. Few familiar with the basilica would argue that it is, as its status suggests, the most beautiful Catholic church in western Michigan. Thus, many area Catholics have contributed to the restoration effort and the work has continued steadily since the fundraising drive was announced. Currently, the church’s façade is under scaffolding. But restoring a treasure such as the Basilica of St. Adalbert proved to be daunting in more ways than one, the least of which involved the repair of its limestone walls. On February 10, 2004, the Basilica of St. Adalbert hosted a concert by a group of Buddhist Monks from India, who were on a fundraising tour of the United States. The concert was sponsored by TIBETMichigan, an organization dedicated to the political and religious cause of Tibet. Before the concert began, a number of signs and placards reading "Free Tibet" and "Release the Panchean Lama" were displayed in front of the high altar, before being removed to allow the seven Buddhist monks to begin their chant as they stood in front of the tabernacle shoulder to shoulder. Just as the concert was to begin, a restoration effort of another sort was made: a group of about 200 people from the Society of St. Pius X interjected. The traditionalist group was from a nearby church, St. Margaret Mary (not in communion with Rome). Its pastor, Father Michael McMahon, wearing a traditional cassock, was mistakenly invited to the church’s podium by the concert’s organizer. With a pamphlet proclaiming the "glory of the restoration" in hand, he proceeded to proclaim a restoration of his own: "we are going to do here what the basilica was made for, and that is to pray Catholics prayers." The group then began to chant the Credo and pray the rosary, to the confusion of the attendees, the organizer, and the monks themselves. The parish pastor, Fr. Tom DeYoung eventually intervened and called the police, who later arrived along with the local news media. Articles the following day ran headlines about the "disruption," drawing comment from the now late Kevin Britt, then bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, who released a statement supporting the presence of the monks in the basilica: "In Pope John Paul II’s commitment to peace and justice, the Holy Father has championed ecumenical and interreligious dialogue." This past July a local district judge awarded the monks the sum of $316.22 in a default judgment against Father McMahon’s group. Glenn Freeman of TIBETMichigan explained that his organization "wanted them to realize what they did was wrong" and went so far as to suggest that the group’s disruption of the concert constituted a hate crime. A few weeks ago, on August 10, a district judge vacated the judgment on grounds that Father McMahon was out of the country when the summons arrived in his mailbox. The case is now allowed to proceed to trial. This fact, however, unlike the incident itself and the awarding of the default judgment, did not make the local news. As a Catholic resident of the Grand Rapid area, my personal interest in this story may resonate with a sharper pitch than others. But this is a story that affects Catholicism—and Catholics—on so many levels that, in many ways, it cuts to the core of the Faith itself. It is the sounds of the Credo and of praying the rosary, by a potentially schismatic group, in a treasure of a Catholic basilica adorned with political statements and a tabernacle hidden behind seven Buddhist monks, their presence sanctioned by the basilica’s pastor and the local Catholic bishop. A spokeswoman for the monks told the local news that their message was unity, not disunity, yet the only sounds that can be heard when these notes are all played together can scarcely be called harmonious. First, the idea that a Catholic church—a basilica, no less—home to the daily sacrifice of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament--would be used as a platform for a political statement should be sufficient to awaken even the most indifferent Catholic in the pew. But, to what is he awakened? If he is like me, he may sense that something is amiss. He may mentally question the use of a Catholic church for such an event. He may feel it is sacrilegious. But then, his pastor tells him otherwise. His bishop tells him that such is necessary; that today, Catholicism stands not for sacred truth and Tradition but "ecumenism" and "interreligious dialogue." No wonder then, that the man in the pew sits there, silent, resigned to indifference. For there is seemingly no other course to take. He may desire to rise up himself and protest what is occurring in his Church, but he looks to the leaders of the protest and knows that something is odd: that what he hears—the Credo and the rosary—is distinctly Catholic, but is being proclaimed from Catholics whose church is not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church; in fact, a group whose founder was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II. When all these notes are played together, a sound so contemptible results that, even as his sense of harmony has been callused by one-too-many awful liturgies, he is still able to innately recognize that the sound is atonal and disruptive, and not Catholic—a sound that fills a basilica like St. Adalbert’s, but not the sound which its Polish founders, its former priests, and its Church intended. Pope John Paul II declared this the year of the Eucharist. Hopefully, this will indeed be taken to heart, and the tabernacle inside the beautiful Basilica of St. Adalbert will never again be blocked from sight by political signs and a row of Buddhist monks. The monks have their own message, no doubt; but there are many other viable forums where they can proclaim it. When walls crumble, worn down by years of water seeping into the cracks of the Church, it is indeed time for restoration. But restoration entails more than plaster and mortar. Email editor: editor@cruxnews.com © 2004 Cruxnews.com. All Rights Reserved. |
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