Free Republic

It says "Mass" outside. But it's a Rock concert on the inside. This thief's pastoral initiative doesn't serve the youth, rather it serves the blathering of the official Bishops, providing them a diversion from the shattering glass of their Olde Liberal Church destruction.

When my father, AIA architect Thomas C. Nickels, designed our new parish church, Saints Philip and James in Exton, Pennsylvania, it was understood that he would adhere to the three natural laws of church architecture—verticality, permanence and iconography. These were the years before the Second Vatican Council when Catholic churches had not yet discovered churches-in-the-round, hot tub baptismals, or suspended-from-the-ceiling UFO crucifixes, the only major ‘sacred object’ accent in an otherwise blank, Walter Gropius-inspired “starting from zero” church interior that could easily double as a high school gymnasium or work out room. So, my father designed this very conventional looking...

CMR readers who know Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral might be interested in this historic photo from the Mass held there for the famous 1926 International Eucharistic Congress (click image for larger view). The extraordinary decorations include not only the banners, the draped fabrics and swags of flowers, but also the turning of the front rows of pews in choir arrangement. The photo also shows many of the features of the cathedral before its renovation in 1969, including the stone pulpitm, the high altar and some of the murals. Holy Name as it exists today is shown below.

St. Malachy’s church in Tehachapi is indicative of what's going on around this country and throughout the church, says one not-so-pleased writer Christopher Zehnder in the California Catholic Daily. The sanctuary of St. Malachy's with its plain, white-marblish, free-standing altar is separated from the nave by an altar rail, and behind the altar sits the tabernacle, unmoved from where it was placed over 40 years ago. Christ in the Blessed Sacrament commands the attention of those who enter the church. He is the focal point, drawing the eyes of worshippers, as is His right, to Himself. Sounds nice, right? Wait....

WARRENSBURG -- After a long winter of services in a nearby funeral parlor and the local Presbyterian church, parishioners found something both ancient and modern when they walked into the newly renovated and reopened chapel of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church for an evening prayer service in late May. The widened building retained its lofty, high-ceiling feel, and the familiar stained-glass windows let in softening evening light. But instead of two tidy rows of long wooden pews facing the front of the church, rings of cushioned chairs circle a gleaming wooden altar set right in the center of the chapel. No...

On Easter Sunday, two huge video screens will project praise hymns in this Catholic church as the rock 'n' roll choir leads the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. The priest will consecrate the Eucharist from a lowered altar that brings him closer to his people. Flowering dogwood branches will encircle the church's baptismal font, now an immersion pool in the center aisle surrounded by four gurgling fountains. Holy Family Catholic Parish Community in Inverness is marking its own rebirth this weekend, opening a $1.4 million renovated sanctuary to its 12,000 parishioners that embraces many elements of the Protestant evangelical movement.

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...

The Passion of Christ is being re-enacted before our eyes. I refer not to Mel Gibson’s recent cinematic offering, but of the present state of the Mystical Body of Christ: the One, True, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. In Boston, at the last Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, a statue of Our Lady fell over––by itself––after which Mass the doors of the century-old parish church closed forever. It was as if this symbol of Mary had fainted at the symbolic passion of the Mystical Body of Christ. As I have argued before, the plan to radically downsize...

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, the 1907 Harlem landmark that closed last year because of low membership, will be torn down, and a home for the elderly will be built in its place, church officials said yesterday. The Archdiocese of New York said it was planning a 57-unit building on the site of the church, which closed last summer after it could no longer afford to pay for repairs. A spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, said he did not know when the church would be demolished, but said construction on the new building would begin late next year. The...

So said St. Basil the Great to a politician of his day. The Arian Emperor Valens had sent the Prefect Modestus to get Basil, by threats or promises, into communion with the heretics. When the smooth words and promises had no effect, Modestus changed his approach. Let us listen in on the conversation: Modestus: Basil, what dost thou mean by opposing so great an emperor, whom all obey? Art thou under no apprehensions of feeling the effects of the power we are armed with? Basil: To what does this power extend? Modestus: To confiscation of goods, banishment, tortures, and death....

Visitors to the noon Sunday Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Boston's South End might be forgiven for thinking time travel is possible. Women and girls wear mantillas -- a lightweight lace -- to cover their heads. Only men are allowed in the sanctuary, the area hard by the altar. The priest faces east, just as the worshipers do, so for much of the service only his back is visible as he quietly mouths ancient prayers in Latin. When the time comes for the homily, the priest climbs the steps into a pulpit -- rarely seen in Catholic churches today...

You’ve described quite well the implementation of the new religion that is being imposed on us. I have come to view the past 38 years as the spiritual equivalent of the Ukrainian Famine of the 1930s. Look to the example of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and you’ll see what will be happening in the immediate future in Boston and elsewhere. The sex abuse scandals will serve as a pretext. “Restructuring” (“realignment” in New York, “reconfiguration” in Boston) is used to divert attention from the raping and sodomizing of children and an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of structural changes...

The great G. K. Chesterton, ever the soul of childlike wonder, once said that of all the things he wondered at, he wondered most at those who wonder not at all. We can only guess what he would have made of the whole wonder-free Vatican II experiment, with its arriviste contempt toward not only traditional Catholicism but also great sacred music, glorious liturgy, majestic sculpture and architecture, and graceful translations of holy writ. Indeed, to find anything to match Vatican II’s sheer Philistine hostility to the beauty of the Lord’s house and the place where His glory dwelleth, Chesterton would...