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Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not the Divine

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June 7, 2003 E-mail story Print

RELIGION

Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not theDivine

Some parishioners at a Catholic church in North Hollywood fear that remodeling plans could be too

extreme for their taste.

Tim e s H e a d l in e

Judge Won't Unseal

Peterson Autopsy Re

Getting the Cows to

State Joins Hearst R

Negotiations on

Development Rights

Two Killed as Plane

Crashes, Burns in

Apartment Building

The Care He Has Giv

Returns to Ailing Prie

By Patricia Ward Biederman, Times Staff Writer

A schism is splitting the faithful at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church a rift

not over doctrine, but architecture.

A small but vocal group at the majestic North Hollywood church is trying to block

changes that they say would transform its cathedral-like interior into a modern

worship space. They fear that St. Charles' pastor, the Rev. Robert Gallagher, is

bent on changing the old-fashioned church into something more akin to the new

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.

Gallagher has said that St. Charles does not need renovation. It needs repairs,

upgrades to its acoustics, completion of its dome and other improvements. No

radical changes are imminent, he said, pointing out that no funds have yet been

raised.

Unconvinced, the 40 active members of the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation

Guild recently marched and prayed outside the church. Last year, the guild

collected 1,000 signatures on an anti-renovation petition.

In its mission statement, the group calls for keeping the interior of the church much

as it is, with pews facing the main altar at the front of the church, private

confessionals, and the current side altars, statues, Stations of the Cross and baptismal font.

In addition, the guild asks that the Blessed Sacrament be removed from a chapel and "restored to its plac

honor in the tabernacle behind the altar."

The pastor took the protesters to task in a recent church bulletin, noting that most of them are not parish

It is insulting, he wrote, to suggest that the church's traditional trappings are what attracts parishioners: "

faithful Catholics would be worshipping along with us in whatever Church building was provided."

The protesters, he added, "should be ashamed of intentionally misconstruing what they have heard andmisleading the most vulnerable among us" about plans to alter the church interior.

The clash in North Hollywood is not an isolated phenomenon. Across North America in recent years, gr

have rallied against modernization of traditional-style churches.

In 1999, preservationists blocked alterations to the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception i

Guelph, Ontario, Canada. In 2000, anti-renovation forces hired a canon lawyer to oppose major alteratio

St. John Cathedral in Milwaukee.

The disputes often reflect differences over liturgical practice as well as aesthetics. Supporters of many c

trends in church architecture, such as placing the altar in the midst of the congregation rather than in fro

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Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not the Divine

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rows of pews, say they embody the ideas of the Second Vatican Council. Held between 1962 and 1965,

council introduced a series of reforms to Roman Catholic practice, many of which were designed to incr

participation by the laity.

But modern church architecture was not mandated by the council, said Steve Diggins, the 45-year-old fi

editor who heads the preservation guild.

On Sundays, Diggins drives to St. Charles from his home in Burbank. "One of the reasons people come

Charles Borromeo is they are so unhappy with renovations at their own local church," he said.

"We support Vatican II," said Diggins. "This is not a debate over doctrine We are not connected with thLatin Mass people," he said, referring to dissenting Catholics who continue to hear Mass in Latin and re

the Second Vatican Council in other ways.

Diggins, who minored in theology at Loyola Marymount College, said that he thinks the "zeitgeist of th

is a factor in plans to change St. Charles. And he notes that since the renovation flap began, some parish

regulars eager for incense and other traditional "smells and bells" associated with Catholic ritual have le

Charles for nearby St. Ann Melkite Church, a Byzantine-style church of the Greek Catholic rite.

Diggins and fellow guild members say they treasure St. Charles because the church, as it is now, suppor

their faith. Its dark beauty, its hush, the way the eyes of the faithful are drawn to the large crucifix all

them turn their thoughts to Christ's redemptive sacrifice, they say.

Jay Willis of North Hollywood said that making major changes in the church "really stabs at the core of

belief."

St. Charles named for a 16th-century Catholic reformer who wrote extensively on ecclesiastical desig

was designed by J. Earl Trudeau, an architect from Alhambra, and is noted for its artful Stations of the C

and the majestic carved canopy, or baldacchino, over the main altar.

In an interview, Gallagher said St. Charles "is not a modern building. It's a Spanish baroque building. W

have no intention of changing the look and the warmth of the building."

That said, Gallagher acknowledged that some features of the interior would likely change in the near fut

Any significant alterations must be approved by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and his liturgy committee, said.

If he failed to propose some reconfiguration, Gallagher said, the archdiocesan committee would probabl

"What have you done to rearrange the worship area in line with the Second Vatican Council?"

Jim Drollinger, one of half a dozen members of the art and architecture committee appointed by Gallagh

study possible changes, said he is "very much for" certain modifications to the interior. But, he said, he

the preservationists have misconstrued the extent of proposed changes.

"We're literally talking about coming up with a slightly different arrangement of the sanctuary area that'

reflective of current liturgical practice," he said. "In no way will we be changing the style of dcor that w

so in love with here."

Despite such assurances, the anti-renovation forces fear that radical change is imminent.

"Their feelings are very real to them, but we don't just make changes in our church based on people's

feelings," said Gallagher.

As for the guild, it is encouraging supporters to write to Rome to express their opposition to major altera

"We're praying," said Diggins, "and we'll continue to fight."

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.

Click here for article licensing and reprint options

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Church Renovation Plans Don't Ring True

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June 14, 2003 E-mail story Print

LETTERS TO THE TIMES

Church Renovation Plans Don't Ring True

Tim e s H e a d lin e s

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I am a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic

Church. I like the church just the way it is. "Congregation

Divided Over Design but Not the Divine" (June 7)

quotes the Rev. Robert Gallagher saying it is "insulting"

to suggest that the church's traditional design is what

attracts worshipers. When my family moved we chose St.

Charles precisely for its traditional look and feel. Walking

in, one feels a connection to previous generations of

worshipers in this sacred space. What no one is talking

about is exactly who would pay for the remodeling. At my

former parish, after construction was approved, eachfamily was "asked" for a minimum of $2,600 for the

million-dollar sanctuary. The parishioners lost control of

the result.

Why is it suddenly necessary to change the worship space

when Vatican II happened over 40 years ago? Will

European cathedrals be compelled to renovate? Contrary

to what Gallagher says "we don't just make changes based on people's feelings"

maybe a man of God should consider them. Vatican II reminded us that priests are the

servants of the church. Perhaps what needs renovating is not the building but the

pastor.

Brydon Baker

Toluca Lake

*

Gallagher stated that the L.A. Archdiocese would ask, "What have you done to

rearrange the worship area in line with the Second Vatican Council?" If the Second

Vatican Council requires changing all the churches, why has it not changed St. Peter's

Basilica in Rome or Notre Dame in Paris? They are destroying all the beautiful

churches in our country for no reason. St. Charles Borromeo is the most beautiful

building in the whole San Fernando Valley.

Francesca Moreno

North Hollywood

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