In November, the Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the iconic, and bankrupt, Crystal Cathedral for $57 million.
I have to admit that hearing this news brought a mixed bag of feelings for me. I am first saddened for the congregation of the Crystal Cathedral, who had placed their trust in the administration of their place of worship, and we're rudely awakened by misuse of funds and a general corruption from their spiritual leaders.
Secondly, I am disappointed in the choice of buying the church by the Catholic diocese. I am not a big fan of the architecture, and there will need to be some extensive renovations and maintanence of the building in order to utilize it for liturgical functions and maintain upkeep. It's a huge green house, people! The a/c bills alone are bound to be astronomical!!
But ultimately, I have to say, I'm sorta happy. Finally, after loss upon loss of our own sacred spaces to other religions, museums, bombings, and urban renewal projects, the Catholic Church has turned the tables. I think Bishop Tod Brown said it best in a news report when asked about whether he knew of anything like this happening before:
"No, I don't know, but I do know that during the Reformation, a lot of huge Catholic Cathedrals became Protestant Cathedrals."
Say what you will about the building; I think this entire affair goes great distances in showing the longevity and integrity of the Catholic Faith.
I am absolutely thrilled that the Diocese of Orange County got that building. That church was spiritually dead 10 years ago and has been continually getting worse - which was proven by it's bankruptcy. Every time I have gone I had a sad, sick feeling about how the Spirit was not in that place. Almost as if they were void of anything spiritual. It really is a sad story. Many in that church were lost sheep looking for hope and I never felt that church had any sense of hope because they were continuously demanding of your money. The "clergy" (if you can call them that) were glorified - even to the point of being literally elevated above the rest of the choir and congregation, and it was a cold place. I'm hoping the DOC can change that.
ReplyDeleteI understand your reluctance on the architecture, as I am one of those that enjoys the traditional french gothic and medieval stylings of many Catholic and Episcopal Cathedrals. But for California it is much less important to have that style, and possibly more important to *not* have that type of architecture. Most churches of any denomination in CA are low church looking (at least on the outside) because more people are likely to visit the church if it isn't quite so "church-like" (if that makes sense). California faith is much different than faith in the midwest (or much of the rest of the country). People don't go to church out of obligation, tradition or political and social pressure in California like they do in the midwest. If you go to church in California, that action means something. Most Catholic churches look just like Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Shawnee does, very unassuming.
Also, LA's climate is such that A/C and heat are not used nearly as much as it would be in either Oklahoma or Indiana. It stays a temperate 60-70 with not much humidity year round. So the bills should stay down!