The "uglification" of a church

[CaoimhinPConnell]

I’m in Milwaukee for a business visit (in and out) – and my hotel is situated by two RC Churches; Old St. Mary’s and St John the Evangelist, Cathedral.  St. John’s is kept locked up and a peek inside reveals why –embarrassment.

The structure has been gutted of holiness, and the interior has been transformed into a theatrical circus.  The old alter has been gutted and in the ciborium, a circular “alter” has been erected; above which is an hideous monstrosity insulting the Corpus –ugly to look at, and uglier to behold. It may be a wonderful glorification of the human “artist” but it is an insult to any one with taste, and surely a testament of the lack of honor and holiness of the individual who approved such an abomination.

What a terrible pity – I suppose, but don’t know for sure, the trappings are a fitting reflection of the actions that occur within.  BTW – I found out that Police Officers are NOT welcome!  Apparently Cops are much to profane by virtue of their profession to enter into the structure. 

Oh my! I hope they kept all the bits, so that one day, they may be lovelingly restored to their rightful place of beauty and holiness, to the honor and glory of God.

And then, maybe even police officers will be welcome to enter once again.

[DrBombay]

Police officers not welcome?  What??  Do they post a sign on the door or something?

[The_Harlequin_King]

How does a church keep coppers, or any other uniformed person, from coming inside to worship? That doesn't make sense even for the most liberal of churches.

[Might_4_Right]

That wreckovation was the work of Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who felt the renovation brought the cathedral into the modern "post-conciliar" era. The good Catholics of Milwaukee tried in vain to stop him.

[Antonius Josephus]

Yeah--cops not welcome? That's new to me, but I suppose nothing really surprises me.

Wisconsin is insane for having uglified churches. Pulaski's Assumption of the Blessed Mother church once had a beautiful traditional reredos and altar rail; after VII, it was all torn out and a very stark NO altar and tabernacle put in its place. The sad thing is that it is not the worst church I've seen in Wisconsin--not by far. There's one up here in Gillett that is shaped like an octagon and which I refuse to even acknowledge the existence of. There is no priest in residence, but there is Mass on Sundays; I shudder to think that the nun there is the "celebrant"...

Thankfully, Wisconsin also has a Traditionalist presence, such as the ICKSP chapel in Green Bay whose doorstep I darken each week, Madison and Milwaukee both have the SSPX, and Milwaukee also has the ICKSP to boot, and this is not to mention other locations for each in the state, as well as diocesan TLMs.

But I digress. Suffice it to say that all too many churches around here make me twitchy.

[Pheo]

I'm not finding any particular anti-cop sentiments on their website.  Lots of rah rah Vatican II stuff (e.g. 2012 Vatican II Awards), but that's not unexpected.

The spirit of Vatican II called for a wreckovation, and a wreckovation is what Weakland offered it.

[CollegeCatholic]

The glory and grandeur of my hometown's cathedral. 

Words can't really express what was lost when +Weakland destroyed it in the early 2000s.

[Adeodatus01]

Police officers not welcome?  What??  Do they post a sign on the door or something?

I'd like to know about this, too. Or is it a "no firearms" thing?

Wreckovation is a grave matter. I hate to think of how much of the wealth of paupers was squandered when all the beautiful (and expensive) churches were, at further great expense, aesthetically demolished.

[Antonius Josephus]

Wreckovation is a grave matter. I hate to think of how much of the wealth of paupers was squandered when all the beautiful (and expensive) churches were, at further great expense, aesthetically demolished.

Indeed; no one ever talks about how much was sacrificed by poor Catholics back in the day in order to have those beautiful altars and rails and so forth. People seem to assume that all that finery was just shipped over from the Vatican when a new church was built, but that's not the case.

[Might_4_Right]

The structure has been gutted of holiness, and the interior has been transformed into a theatrical circus.  The old alter has been gutted and in the ciborium, a circular “alter” has been erected; above which is an hideous monstrosity insulting the Corpus –ugly to look at, and uglier to behold. It may be a wonderful glorification of the human “artist” but it is an insult to any one with taste, and surely a testament of the lack of honor and holiness of the individual who approved such an abomination.