Card. Mahony's Other Cathedral: "Saved, But Degraded"<br>The Rescue of St. Vibiana's Cathedral

Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission ^ | December, 2000 | Maggie Garcia

[Desdemona]

Oops. Forgot to flag you on #20. Sorry.

[Sock]

I’ve had a belly full of this liberal and his apologists like dimwitted S. Hand et al.

[Sock]

Anyone wish to conjecture a guess as to which (if any) liturgical change he was referring to? I do recall reading somewhere that a mad rush by several bishops occurred during that time frame, to "renovate" or "build" cathedrals. Here in Albany, NY, the bishop raised monies to "restore" the cathedral.

I have a theory but I don’t want to look like a nut by posting all of it. I’ll say this much, when our faithful John Paul II passes (God grant him many years), that’s when the party will really get started for the modernists. In the transition period (even after the election) the rats will do what they’ve wanted to do for years starting with women deacons. The uprising will be lead by Hollywood Rog and his leftest pals throughout the world.

Will it cause the schism we've been waiting for?
I’m afraid so.(imho)

[yendu bwam]

There seem to be so many in our Church who wish to fog over, hide, cover and replace anything that was traditional and good and holy. So many traditions and temples that invited us to holiness and thoughtfulness and contemplation and reverence are being deliberately ripped away. When we're done, we'll be standing next to the Unitarians, in their perfectly utilitarian 'church.'

[Desdemona]

"Last year the Archdiocese announced a $5.7 fundraising affair to "restore" the 262-year-old church"

"Restoration" was the word used in my parish and I pitched enough fits, I think i convinced a few people that there was no restoration going on.

"Warnings from laymen about the possibility of radical alterations have been met with considerable irritation by cathedral rector Father David Garcia, who publicly charged his critics in the city’s Express News of "a campaign of distortion and misinformation." In a classic posture of denial routinely assumed by those overseeing church renovations, Fr. Garcia has maintained that the historic architecture of San Fernando Cathedral will be preserved and restored. "We’re rearranging furniture, not modernizing the Church," "

Yeah, right. Classic indeed. They've got a PR manual. Has to be. I thought Fr. D just chose the wrong word. Nope. Somewhere there's a written program. This is a national campaign. And the people whohave the "whatever Father wants" paradigm are falling into a trap.

"The U.S. bishops are in the midst of preparing a statement on church architecture (tentatively called Domus Dei), to be discussed and possibly voted on at that bishops’ national meeting in November of 2000. Likewise, the Vatican is preparing to release the third edition of the Roman Missal. Both documents are likely to contradict some of renovation design features highly favored by the archi-liturgical establishment."

What was the outcome of this? This was about the time Rigali ordered all the Tabernacles back to the foot of the Crucifix.

Darn it, I am really loaded up this semester, or I'd jump on this as a project - correct all notions about Vosko. This is crisis and is going to take a massive effort to discredit the movement. But, I think it's possible, if nothing else, to stop the destruction.

[yendu bwam]

The muliple deceptions of Cardinal Mahoney and his determination to destroy this traditional church are emblematic of what has been going on for forty years--the ransacking of Catholic ure from top to bottom. It is not just Catholic architecture that has been affected, but its doctrines, its theology, its prayer-life, its ization process, its sacraments, its religious institutions, its family life, its priesthood, its seminaries, its catechesis, its liturgy. Nothing has been left as it was--and the present Pope has not lifted a finger for more than twenty years to halt the demolition. It is a tragedy of such magnitude that it is beyond saying. It is comparable, I think, to the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. Like the Jews who mourned that loss, we will ourselves mourn our own spiritual losses for the next few thousand years.

You took the words out of my mouth - and made them better. I also mourn.

[NYer]

I have a theory but I don’t want to look like a nut by posting all of it

Actually I found it after I posted the question. See my post #19.

[Sock]

It looks like they have this well thought out.

Albany is no small city. You will be able to find an orthodox Catholic Church regardless.

[Desdemona]

Uh, I don't think so. It ain't going to be easy, but the modernists will be outed. All over, not just in the church modernism is starting to fall apart. It'll happen, but it will be painful.

Mahoney and Vosko are the most egregious, but as they die off, the modernists will take the worst of it with them. It's going to be expensive to, literally, restore the church, but it was not completely destroyed to begin with.

[Desdemona]

"It looks like they have this well thought out."

Thought out? I bet, and I'm seriously willing to lay money, that if any of us were to walk into any of the offices of the bishops and priests guily here, we would find a series of three ring binders, probably white, outlining how to be a Pied Piper and convince a diocese they need this. Probably labelled "How to Answer Questions at a Press Conference" "How to Present Plans to a Congregation" "Liturgy - As It Was in the Beginning, Is Now and Will Be in the Future" subtitled, "Whether Rome Likes it or Not" and a directory of the black books from the seminary days. Then probably architectural sketchings of "Desired Looks" or something that stupid.

Yep. It's thought out alright. And I bet ther's not one reference from scripture in any of it.

[Sock]

All over, not just in the church modernism is starting to fall apart.

Get real! You call the $200 million ego trip in LA a tribute to orthodoxy?

The issue is once they have the opportunity (and the power) to implement changes in the Church regarding discipline and morals, the schism begins.

There are plenty (10s of millions) of poorly educated Catholics who would love for the Church to modify its stand on contraception. There are plenty of poorly educated Catholics who would love for the Church to modify its stand on women’s ordination.

Here’s the deal, join the Reformed Catholic Church and have it your way. Hollywood Rog will get a slick PR firm to market it and watch what happens.

[Desdemona]

Sock, it'll be over the day Rog and Co. try to formally split with Rome. That seems to be where this is headed.

As for the poor education, that problem is going to take decades to fix. And it would be better if it would start with exposing these guys for the frauds they are.

Unfortunately, I'm in a sleepy diocese and this has all just gone over people's heads.

As for joining the "Reformed Catholic Church," I just left it.

Now, the real way to deal with this is check the rage and calmly expose them. If you can't deal with that, please leave your hysterical gyrations somewhere else when addressing me. Thank you.

[Sock]

If you can't deal with that, please leave your hysterical gyrations somewhere else when addressing me.

LOL. Looks like you can dish it out but you can’t take it, Sweet Cheeks.

Go practice your arpeggios and leave the discussion to the adults, Maestro/a .

[Desdemona]

I wonder how everyone seems to know I have sweet cheeks.

[Sock]

Who's everyone?

I'm jealous. ;)

[maryz]

Many have been wondering why, over the past year or so, the church renovation business appears to have mushroomed. It is not so much because the need of repairs has suddenly become urgent as because the renovation environment may soon drastically change.

Let's hope it changes for the better.

And I do want to say that, whatever Cardinal Law's faults -- and they are grave and public -- at least he hasn't inflicted any "renovation" on us.

[maryz]

Will it cause the schism we've been waiting for?
I’m afraid so.(imho)

Look on the bright side -- maybe the world will end before that! ;-)

[MarMema]

Now that was a beautiful place, and indeed worthy of God.
How sad....

[Salvation]

On June 3, 1996, Cardinal Mahony held a press conference after the restraining order was issued. Press accounts at the time describe the cardinal as being extremely upset at the halting of the demolition. When he gave reporters a tour of the cathedral he insisted that they wear hard hats and sign waivers dismissing the archdiocese from liability before he let them into the press conference. Rubin said that the press were put under incredible pressure by the "harshness of the statements made by the cardinal at the press conference: 'It is ironic that their victory is meaningless. The old cathedral will remain forever closed and it will continue to deteriorate over the years. No one will ever be allowed in there ever again and it will stand as a shameful testament to a small group of obstructionists in the city of Los Angeles."

Banshee attack! What a jerk Mahony is! (And I really want to use other words!)

[Salvation]

The cardinal lost his appeal and the case was sent back to the trial court.

If only it all could have ended there and the St. Vibiana Cathedral be rebuilt.