Mission accomplished: 
They did compromise however; four steps instead of the proposed three steps into the sanctuary. Give them nine steps and they'll only take four. We need to bring Almighty God down to our level.
Posted on 11/01/2004 3:00:14 PM PST by AskStPhilomena
The Ad Hoc Committe to Save the Cathedral Basilica is a group of concerned Catholics from the Covington diocese who are attempting to publicize the proposed plans to destroy the sacred and beautiful sanctuary of the Assumption Cathedral. What you can do!
1. Read the articles below (click on the links) to understand what it is that the bishop and the architect are attempting to do to this historic edifice.
2. Pray for Bishop Robert W. Muench, the clergy and members of the Cathedral Steering Committee, that they will preserve and protect our Catholic heritage displayed so beautifully in our sanctuary.
3. Write a letter to Bishop Muench and respectfully express your views about saving the sanctuary (The Catholic Center, PO Box 18548, Erlanger, KY 41018.
4. Make a donation to the Committee so that more people can be notified (can be sent to Ad Hoc Committee, 106 Bivouac Pt. Ft Thomas Ky 41075.)
If you would like more information or if you would like to receive one of our beautiful "Save Our Sanctuary" bumper stickers, email us at: skunath@fuse.net or contact one of the Committee directors at the phone numbers listed below.
Board Members
Stan Barczak, (606) 485-6905 Jim Turton, (606) 363-1899 John J. Summe, (606) 341-2836 Arthur M. Kunath, (606) 781-8010
The Renovation Plans Stained glass windows will be restored, mosaics repaired, walls cleaned, kneelers reinstalled, pews repaired—these are the items outlined in a fundraising newsletter and video released to parishes in the Diocese of Covington regarding the "preservation, restoration and refurbishment" of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, the mother church of northern Kentucky. Yet after the first in a series of four public meetings held at the basilica in September, rumors began to circulate that there was more to the $4.7 million project than advertised. Some even suggested in letters to the editor of the local newspapers that the sanctuary of the century-old Gothic-style edifice might be dismantled.
Consequently, well over a hundred concerned members of the diocese, with varying degrees of incredulity, turned out at the second public meeting to hear architect Bill Brown present schemes ‘A’ through ‘G.’ The rumors not only proved to be true, but were rather mild compared to the eight plans that were presented that evening.
The architect's proposals The items listed below are a part of the proposed changes to the Cathedral basilica of the Assumption in Covington. None is required by the Vatican COuncil, by the NCCB, the Pope, the Magisterium, canon law, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, etc. Yet the following changes are falsely being presented as Church mandates (for more information on this topic see The Renovation Manipulation)
Constructing a full-immersion baptismal font in the central aisle of the nave Dismantling and removing the baldachino (the canopy over the high altar) Removing the life-size crucifix from above the altar Removing some or all of the hand-carved oak woodworking from the sanctuary Rearranging pews or replacing some pews with "flexible" seating Moving the altar forward into the "midst of the congregation" Arranging the seating on three or four sides of the altar Reducing the sanctuary elevation from nine steps to three
This type of wreckovation plan is all too typical. There is deceit - very bold and obvious deceipt involved.
Anyone with a brain and a calculator can figure out that it does not cost 4.7 million dollars to clean & paint the church, put protective lexan on stained glass, recover kneelers,restore mosaics, repair pews, etc. We Catholics are far too trusting!
The plans for this wreckovation, as the article explains, are to recongifure the church to reflect a new ecclesiology - the "priesthood of the people" (which is not contained in tradition), and the concept of Eucharist as a communal action, dependant upon the communal effort of the gathered assembly.
Understood in this light, all of this type of wreckovation goes far beyond destruction of priceless works of art, and a bastardized sense of architectural worthiness.
It is criminal - not merely in the srtistic/architectural sense of loss or destruction, but in the sense of the spiritual.
For it represents an expression of very un-Catholic ecclesiology and worship.
Mission accomplished: They did compromise however; four steps instead of the proposed three steps into the sanctuary. Give them nine steps and they'll only take four. We need to bring Almighty God down to our level.
Yep, this is what the 'new' v2 church....the 'novelty' church is all about. Show biz pazazz, base pounding rock percussion, and a pyrotechnic display taking place at what used to be the Offertory of a Holy Mass.
Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.
Saint Pius X, pray for us.
Saint Padre Pio pray for us.
What a lovely place for liturgy..................or even a little pagan sacrifice!
Question? Do you - or anybody else - have a picture of what this building looked like before the Huns, Vandals, and Druids attacked it?
It looks like they took the old 'housing' around the crucifix and used it (sans crucifix) as 'housing' for the bishop's chair (see the two smaller chairs aside of it in the new pic) - or am I missing something?
It's amazing that the parishioners don't balk at the money found and spent on unnecessary renovations when it could have gone to the poor and hungry.
September 25, 2004
My dear Friends in Christ:
As recently as last December, in his Apostolic Letter Spiritus et Sponsa, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, once again pledged himself and the Church to a continued commitment to the liturgical renewal which followed from the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (December 4, 1963). The Holy Father’s conclusion to this Apostolic Letter gives us a clear insight into the great pastoral importance which the Pope attaches to the liturgy and its renewal. He concludes:
“The promulgation of the Constitution on the Liturgy marked a stage of fundamental importance in the life of the Church for the promotion and development of the Liturgy. It is in the Liturgy that the Church, enlivened by the breath of the Spirit, lives her mission as ‘sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men’, and finds the most exalted expression of her mystical reality. In the Lord Jesus and in his Spirit, the whole of Christian existence becomes ‘a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’, genuine ‘spiritual worship’ (Rom 12:1). The mystery brought about in the Liturgy is truly great. It opens a glimpse of Heaven on earth, and the perennial hymn of praise rises from the community of believers in unison with the hymn of heavenly Jerusalem: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest!’.
Nobody could doubt that Pope John Paul II is truly a “Catholic” soul, a man of vision with a shepherd’s heart. The young seem to intuit this wherever and whenever they encounter him. As a shepherd, the Holy Father is concerned for the pastoral good of all the Faithful without exception. This includes those “who feel attached to some previous liturgical and disciplinary form of the Latin tradition.” (Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, 5c) With regard to these Catholics, the Holy Father wished “to facilitate their ecclesial communion by means of the necessary measures to guarantee respect for their rightful aspirations.” (ibid.) In this regard, the Holy Father “grants to diocesan bishops the possibility of using an indult whereby priests and faithful, who shall be expressly indicated in the letter of request to be presented to their own bishop, may be able to celebrate Mass by using the Roman Missal according to the 1962 edition, i.e., the so-called “Tridentine rite.” (From the Indult, Quatuor Abhinc Annos) Use of this indult has conditions including that it be made publicly clear beyond all ambiguity that those priests and faithful to whom the indult is granted in no way share the positions of those who call in question the legitimacy and doctrinal exactitude of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970.
When I first came to Covington as your Bishop there were some few requests for the regular offering of the 1962 Rite of Mass. I took these under advisement. Recently, I have again been approached by a group of dedicated Catholics who wish to have the Mass celebrated in the 1962 Rite. There are currently a number of people who travel each week outside our Diocese to do so. At the same time, it has come to my attention that there are plans afoot for the building of a traditionalist church to be staffed by priests who are in formal schism with the Catholic Church.
After discussion with the Deans of our Diocese, it is my intention to permit the offering of Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962 on Sundays and Holy days in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. I do this in response to the requests that have been made of me from Catholics who prefer the older forms so that they may have access to them.
Our Church is Catholic which means that it is universal. As such, we respond to the needs of all our Faithful as best we can.
The first Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962 will be celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2:00 p.m. I will be the celebrant of this first Mass. This Mass will subsequently be celebrated every Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica at 12:15 p.m.
Assuring you of a remembrance in my prayers and asking for a remembrance in your prayers, I am
Yours devotedly in the Lord,
Most Reverend Roger J. Foys, D. D.
Bishop of Covington
Quite a large Picnic Table, they must be expecting a large crowd.
Well I like the older way better. But it could have been worse. It really doesn't look so so bad. Full-immersion baptismal fonts are usually red flags, though. I know theres nothing particularly unorthodox about full immersion, but it usually goes hand in hand with other less acceptable things.
I agree with what you have said. But would somebody pleeeeease tell me how in heaven's name you can say a Tridentine mass on that picnic table????
That there is no altar rail wil probably indicate that communion will be administered standing........or if kneeling were to be allowed, it would be with great physcial difficulty. Since most of us here are well over 18.......I wanna see y'all try to kneel on the marble floor, wait for the priest to adminsiter communion, and then try to get up......without falling down, and with your dinity intact!?!?!?!
Where is the concern for the aged, infirm, those who walk with some difficulty (or a cane), or who simply have bad knees? The altar rail also acted as a means for many (most people to be able to physically kneel and rise without physical injury.
Of course, the obvious implication is that you are not supposed to kneel..............
But the Tridentine Mass (or any Mass, for that matter) can be, and has been, offered on a rock in the wilderness.
"But the Tridentine Mass (or any Mass, for that matter) can be, and has been, offered on a rock in the wilderness."
Hey!!! That's my line! No stealing.....(laughing)!
Agreed - and I fully realize that a priest can say the Tridentine mass on that altar (just faced the other way)....but the structure of this new arrangement, aside from its subdry weirdness, and pagan appearance, makes performance of that mass more difficult. Look at the physical distances from the altar to the sedila (chair), etc. And where the heck is the Tabernacle?????
**Where is the crucifix? **
Good question!
These past 5 years I have assisted at Mass (Novus Ordo, very reverent, proper, orthodox, etc.) in a middle school cafeteria. The experience has been an eye-opener and an attitude adjuster. The Mass sanctifies its surroundings.
Which is not to say that I approve of wreckovation, or new construction, which is ugly, pagan, etc.
Now I have finally seen all of the before/after pictures, so I know what the Blessed Sacrament chapel looks like (though I am a little fuzzy as to its location).
I agree with what you are saying that it could be a slap in the face.
AS an interesting aside, in St. Patrick's Cathedral(NYC) in 1942 the High Altar was replaced, and a new altar constructed under a magnificent bronze baldachino, which exists today. This was done by Cardinal Spellman.
Now to the best of my memory - and this goes back to the early 60s, prior to Vatican II - there was NOT a tabernacle on the high altar. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, since 1942, the Sacrament was NEVER reserved on the high altar, as there was NO tabernacle there! Instead, it was reserved in the tabernacle of the Sacred Heart altar - a side altar to the right of the sanctuary.
They also began the distrubution of Holy Communion (in the Tridentine Mass) in those days while the Our Father was being recited. I personally witnessed this.
If I am wrong (which I strongly doubt), someone please disprove me. I am presently searching for the architects drawings and photos of this arrangement from the 40s.
So much for the orthodoxy of Spellman!
I've heard both good and bad about Spellman, but I don't think you can criticize him for having a separate Blessed Sacrament chapel in St. Patrick's cathedral. That was normal practice for such a large cathedral, especially when you had a walk-around altar, even before Vatican II. It would be only prudent to have a smaller, more secure location for the reserved Sacrament when the main area of the church is a major tourist attraction, many of which tourists would not even be Catholics.
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