The following comes from an August 8 story in the Orange County Register.
A group of Catholic leaders from around the world toured Wednesday the future largest Catholic cathedral in the United States: Christ Cathedral.
They saw possibilities everywhere.
There’s the vast infrastructure set up to televise the world-wide “Hour of Power” television program from the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which sold its campus in January to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in a court-ordered bankruptcy case.
The diocese is considering how it can tap into that model and possibly televise its sermons and programs.
There’s the spot where the Rev. Robert H. Schuller addressed congregants inside and outside his first Garden Grove Community Church, now the Arboretum at the Crystal Cathedral. Schuller built a balcony and installed speakers to address congregants sitting in their cars. Catholics are exploring how to incorporate new technology, perhaps with smart phones or iPads, to reach parishioners outside….
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C., called it a “great opportunity for evangelization.”
“It’s mind-boggling,” said Archbishop Daniel Cronin of Connecticut.
Hank Evers, director of development and communications for the Orange Catholic Foundation, said…. “We can create here the most significant Catholic cultural center in the world outside of the Vatican.”
The religious leaders are in town to attend a convention of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization. The diocese invited them to tour the campus this week.
“It’s an overwhelming structure,” Wuerl said. “Beautiful, uplifting, inspiring. The great Catholic tradition can be experienced here, made to come alive here. That opens a lot of possibilities.”
As they toured the campus, visited its buildings, listened to the pipe organ – one of the largest in the world – the visitors heard from local Catholic leaders who want to tap into their future new Cathedral to welcome back Catholics who are not affiliated as well as the millions of visitors who arrive to visit Disneyland and other attractions.
Orange County has 1.2 million Catholics and about 20 percent are affiliated with a church, said Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod Brown….
For the original story, click here.
Awed? Odd!
Where have these Bishops been hiding? Don’t they know about GREED yet? Beware Bishops your reputation isn’t cleared up yet…..A few good Bishops among you can’t speak for all of you, esp. the ONES that turned there back on the “SCANDELS” that attacked their and our church and still may be ongoing!!! Just BEWARE of false gods like money, power, material weath! What does pomp and gaudiness have to do with sacred scripture?
Thank you Ann. Sadly, this sounds very familiar. How shameful that priorities are backwards. Why is a flamboyantly gaudy looking building treated with more awe and respect? While bishop of Pitttsburgh, Cardinal Wuerl sold off St. John the Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, that was built in 1907. The *Historic Church* was turned into a brew pub. “The churches stained glass windows and support columns have remained in tact and the pews cut down and used for seating. ON the former altar, behind a ten foot wall of clear glass, stand stainless steel kettles used for making the beer.”
Also, where was Cardinal Wuerl’s praise and support for Father Guarzino, a faithful priest who had his priorities in order by showing the awe and respect due to the Blessed Sacrament? Is this backslapping visit to the Diocese of Orange County Calif. just more of the same?
I’m sure not all will agree with my conclusion, but St. John the Baptist is in an area where there were ethnically-based parish churches built for overlapping Catholic congregations only a few blocks apart. I was stunned by the number of nicely-built Catholic churches within a tiny geographic area. Given demographic changes, let alone the difficulty of staffing these parishes with a sufficient number of priests, it would be impossible to keep them open now or in the future. So rather than being demolished, which would be tragic, the church building was preserved. And, significantly, the beer at Church Brew Works is quite good. You just have to resist the instinctive impulse to genuflect towards the brewing tanks. Obviously a better solution would be to offer these historic churches for dismantling and relocation to growing areas of the country, as has been done just a few times. But if you have to repurpose a church building, you could do a lot worse than a microbrewery.
I’ll be a believer that it’s a catholic cathedral when I see a main altar and a tabernacle there on and a red lamp beside the tabernacle. I would like to see a sign,audio,video telling all these many tourists and visitors that the red lamp signifies that Jesus Christ,Body,Blood,Soul,Divinity resides in that tabernacle.
Maryanne, you mean the Bishops or the Cathedral?
I’ve heard that the Crystal Cathedral is lovely, but if the interior of the cathedral looks like that shown in the photo in this article, it is ugly, more like a warehouse than a Catholic church. In case of an earthquake during Mass, that church would be come a huge crystal coffin.
I could see the cathedral from my hotel room when I went to Disneyland last month. It is impressive! I would have gone if i knew when and if it was open. Just think of how busy the Catholic services have been during the Olympic Games with all of the visiting athletes and others. Now just throw in a game with the Anaheim Angles and you’ll have a heavenly vacation.
while rome burns!!!!
Until the US Bishops actively and publically promote the reading of the CCC, they can purchase all the buildings they want, and it will not Save Souls, even though art can be uplifting.
All things must be done with the intention to Save Souls.
If your Bishop does not have a prominent link to the CCC on his Diocese web site, ask him to do so.
If your Bishop does not require a link to the CCC on each of his parish web sites, ask him to do so.
Help fight heresy, schism, relativism and secularism in your own Diocese.
Dude, you got a proper hammer to hit that nail.. on ze head…
how about restoring all the feasts to their proper places.. and not make em all external solemnities…
It’s mind boggling all right. I don’t see how it could be adapted to Catholic worship. Actually, from the pictures I have seen of it, I don’t see how it could be adapted to any kind of worship. Gaudy is the word.
I smell money being begged nationwide. What a TYPICAL “HOLLYWOOD” IDEA. It was purchased for a song but keep watching the lavish improvements and the appeals for finalncing.
Happily, the adaptability and suitability of Christ Cathedral is a question that has already been adjudicated by the Catholic Church: to wit, in the affirmative. Entirely expectably, this judgment on the Church’s part took place prior to the recent (relatively inexpensive) purchase of this well known and already beloved Garden Grove monument by the Catholic Diocese of Orange. Such however is the architectural sweep of the Johnson/Burgee design of this venue that it turns out, in fine, to be the traditional Latin Mass, and just this Mass, that recommends itself as the most suitable, the most salient, and the most liturgically effectual Liturgy available to the Diocese for use within Christ Cathedral’s grand ambit. For this reason, I recommend — but given the interest already extant, I do not think I need to do so in any strong sense — that the Diocese of Orange make use of the Latin Mass experience of a Costa Mesa parish known as St. John the Baptist Church, located on Baker Street. The traditional Latin Mass at this Baker Street parish is a veritable showing-forth (“monstrance” in Latin parlance) of the beauty and splendor of the Liturgy of the Mass of the Ages.
John F. Maguire,
Even the choir at St. John the Baptist church has it’s priorities in order. How kind of you though to recognize the “Latin Mass experience,” as well as the choir from St. John the Baptist Church in Costa Mesa Ca.
John, Faithful Catholics at St. John the Baptist are still *waiting to experience* the seeing of the Tabernacle in a prominent position located in the main body of the Church. Bishop Tod Brown had instructed that the Tabernacle be placed in a “separate location”. People are often searching for the Jesus (TheTabernacle.)
John, Will you also recommend hiding Jesus, (The Tabernacle) in the new Cathedral?
I’ve used the word *monstrance* in its broad sense in my post at August 13–10:24 AM, to wit, *monstrance* taken as meaning: to be shown forth. See generally John Paul II, “Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Eucharist,” address delivered in Spanish at the 45th International Eucharistic Congress, Seville, Spain, June 1993 (“…I hope that the fruit of this Congress results in the establishment of perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in all parishes and Christian communities throughtout the world”).
John Maguire, Since some people are such fans of finding loopholes, and not listening to our Popes, how about you using “the broadest sense” such as being able to actually *SEE* the “monstrance” that is still being “shown forth” from a hidden closet.
I am glad to see two people so zealous for our Lord in the Eucharist.
My favorite comment….“It’s mind-boggling,” said Archbishop Daniel Cronin of Connecticut.
Although, “It’s an overwhelming structure,” Wuerl said……That opens a lot of possibilities,” is certainly a close second.
Nevertheless, the cathedral of a diocese is where the ‘seat’ or chair from which the Bishop of the diocese is to proclaim the truths of the Faith. It should reflect, no pun intended, the richness of Catholicism and revealed truths that the Bishop is to proclaim and uphold. Conducive to prayer, a Catholic Cathedral should enable the senses of the souls that enter to find the Faith expressed in its structure, its art, in its expression of Christ and His Church. In a true sense the cathedral itself should teach.
Bishop Wuerl is correct in saying that it opens a lot of possibilities, I just don’t see how teaching the Catholic faith is one.
It may serve well as a decoy for those hostile to the Church, and as a gathering place for Catholic fodder who have no clue what the Catholic faith is, but follow the glitter. This makes it much better elsewhere for worship.
They are just beginning the remodeling. Give it time, people. Many Catholics took part in the construction of the original Chrystal Cathedral. My husband was one of them. I am so glad it is now in the hands of the Church.
I for one are glad that this thing as bad as it is remained in Christian hands. Now I love traditional Catholic Architecture like St.. Thomas Moore and everyone else.. but bwoy, it would have been horrible for such a prominent Christian monument to fall into secular hands…
I like reading Cal Cat, but there so much negative people on this comments sections it makes me sick to read. Could you image what non-Catholic think when they read all the negative comments? If you have nothing good to say do say anything and perhaps you offer up some prayers… Pray that it would be a holy place where people can worship, pray and feel the presents of God. With all the money that has been saved think about all the great thinks that we can do….
I believe that bible would back up what I’m saying here:
St. James 4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.
Psalms 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.
Esphesians 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
St. Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Titus 3:2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.
Let pray that we can see the Good in what God is doing in Orange County.
There is nothing wrong with this place as long as its dedicated and consecrated properly. The Big question is, will Jesus come with his Angles and during mass over there?
Mmmm? Will he? You tell me. Yes its Novus Ordo heaven, and I hate that, but man, Jesus still shows up ay Novus Ordo Masses. Its still a very valid mass, just like the traditine mass.
I hate the Novus Ordo and all the ugly vestments and ‘ministers’.. running around with the holy Eucharist everywhere and all the performances and the clapping as the next guy on the pew from SSPX, but I cannot deny the validity of that mass as truly being mass… so, there you have it..
And if given a choice between SSPX and this novus ordo heaven, I Would go to this heaven, because where peter is there is Christ and his Church…
Jesus Christ knew from all time and before the Crystal Cathedral was built that it would become the largest Cathedral in America. He also knew who would grumble about it.
He did not know who would grumble about it. That would negate our free will.
God is all-knowing.
I’m pretty far away (on the East Coast) and never been to the former Crystal Cathedral (now Christ Cathedral) but have been following the reports and posts on this site about the diocese purchase of this building for it’s new cathedral. One question comes to mind. I thought Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Western Hemisphere were all required to face east towards Jerusalem and be in the shape of a Roman Cross. Does this building meet those two qualifications?
The tradition (note the lower case “t”) was to build churches so that the people faced east. This is a tradition that is maintained in the Byzantine churches (both Catholic and Orthodox) today. However, if a church was purchased that did not face east, the area where the altar/holy table is was simply labeled “liturgical east.”
This tradition in the West was dropped simply because it was not always possible to build a church facing east. This was due to either the layout of the property or, in some cases, the local restrictions.
Deacon Ed
Perhaps we should stand back from time to time and ask the basic question – what constitutes a proper Catholic Cathedral? From what I know about the subject (limited to say the least) it doesn’t require much. I should have an altar, it should have a place for people to gather, it should have an ambo, it should have a tabernacle and it should have a cathedra from whence the Bishop teaches. That’s all. It doesn’t have to have a particular architectural style, it doesn’t have to have a middle aisle. It doesn’t have to be old looking. It is simply a place to meet and worship Christ and a seat for the Bishop. Anything more is frosting.
Spoken like a true relic of Vatican 2, thank God your time has passed…
When the Crystal Cathedral is re-dedicated and open-housed/open-churched for business as expected there will be a big gala event like no other in the diocese of Orange. In the spirit of ecumenism, Episcopal invitations will likely go out to many, politicians, catholics and protestants alike. I hope that no Hindu priestess from Bombay shows up to mark the “Tilac,” the sign of the adorers of the pagan goddess Shiva as on February 2, 1986 to “syncretize” aspects between the two religions.
Maybe I’m living too far in the past but my gut reaction leads me to believe that the purchase of the Chrystal Cathedral with all its past history and imagery is a retreat from tradition. Why didn’t the Bishop connect with the laity before making so crucial a decision? I believe the majority of Catholics would not have chosen the Crystal Cathedral as their central house of worship because it’s not genuinely our own. We need to build a future Basilica in Southern California that represents our revered traditions, and that is a child of our own Catholic faith within the bounds of our own unique heritage shaped by 2000 years of the one true Catholic Church. Moreover, if there are 1.2 million Catholics in the Orange County Diocese and if only 20 percent are affiliated with a church, doesn’t that say something about our direction over the last three decades? Writers for Life