ARTICLES
June 2002 ARTICLES
Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
That Would Be Against the Rules
Compassionate Listening at St. Charles Borromeo
By F. Michael Forrester
Beautiful, immaculate, brilliant, peaceful, magnificent, transcendent. These are just some of the adjectives used to describe St. Charles Borromeo church, North Hollywood, by parishioners at the fifth meeting to discuss the church's renovation campaign. An announcement in the Palm Sunday bulletin had announced an April 10 "listening session" for parish members to "openly express their views on Church renovation." About 200 St. Charles parishioners attended the listening session to do just that.
"Are these plans to refurbish? Or are they in fact plans to remodel?" asked Dr. Joseph Gonzalez, the first to speak at the listening session. Gonzalez is the official spokesman for the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation Guild, which opposes the renovation. "No one is here to discuss whether the restrooms need attention," he continued, "or if a second coat of paint might be needed. The reason we are here is b..." [ring ring]. "Thank you!" bellowed the smiling facilitator Sister Paulina, whom the pastor, Father Gallagher, had introduced as having "a lot of experience with these sorts of things." Sister Paulina had begun the evening's session by stating, "those who attended the recent Speak Up Sessions in the archdiocese will be familiar with how this evening is to proceed. There are rules." Among these rules was a two-minute limit for each speaker; at the end of two minutes, a bell would ring and the speaker would be asked to take his seat.
During the prior four meetings called to discuss the renovation of the parish church, parishioners had been unable to voice their concerns formally. The meetings had featured several different lectures concerning the possible renovation of St. Charles, covering such topics as liturgy, interior design, and renovation. The first session, "Imaging the Possibilities for St. Charles Borromeo Church," was presented by the highly controversial Father Richard Vosko. (See "Vain, Vapid, Fatuous, Inane, and Patronizing," March 2002 Mission.)
Father Gallagher has referred to these sessions as "a process of education." However, with the invited speakers all representing the same school of thought -- that the altar should be in the center of the congregation, the tabernacle in a room distinct from the main body of the church, and a full-body immersion style baptismal font situated prominently at the entrance -- many of the parish members have grown progressively terrified. Indeed, many had a lot more to express than their allotted two minutes could afford.
In flagrant violation of one of the rules promulgated by Sister Paulina "this is not a poll, it is a Listening Session; there is no need to repeat what someone else has said"), almost every speaker echoed the sentiment of the speaker before him. The most popular phrase of the evening, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," was often repeated, accompanied by a string of superlatives extolling the church in its current state, and passionate pleas for it to be left untouched. Of particular concern was the baptismal font. Many expressed dismay that St. Charles might soon be housing a "jacuzzi," a "$35,000 hot tub," and/or a "walk-in spa" at the entrance of their church.
"This is an awesome church," said one teenaged parishioner at the listening session. "This is the sort of church I bring my friends to, and they say, 'Wow!' This is the sort of church that nowadays you only see in movies. I haven't been able to attend the last four sessions on account of schoolwork, but from what I've heard -- I don't like it. Why? Why? Why are we changing it?"
"This church," said another, "houses a lot of 'renovation refugees,' people whose local parishes have been renovated in precisely the way these last four sessions have been intimating."
Father Gallagher has repeatedly insisted in both the parish bulletin and in person that "there is no set agenda as to any changes that we will make in our church," but he has always added, "some changes will be made." What these changes are, however, remains secret.
"The origin and source of the tensions in this parish," said one parishioner, "is the refusal of the pastor to let anyone know what is going on. All these vague talks and farcical listening sessions are a waste of time. Tell us what you are going to do, and then let's discuss those things." "While it is obvious that something is afoot, Father Bob won't say what," said another parishioner. "What the parish is exhibiting is fear: fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of being out of control."
This "fear" has taken its form in the establishment of the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation Guild. Aware of the horror stories of church renovations (often termed "wreckovations") in this archdiocese and throughout the country, the Guild is making sure that its voice is heard. Situated outside of the church every Sunday, the Guild sets up a table, displays signs, recites the rosary, and hands out buttons that read, "Save St. Charles." Armed to the teeth which such books as Renovation Manipulation, by Michael Rose, and the Sixteen Documents of Vatican II with Commentaries by the Council Fathers, the Guild is prepared to instruct (and take on) those who disagree with their stance on Church teachings. The Guild has so far gathered a list of over 1,000 signatures in their support, and has successfully obtained coverage of their campaign in the secular media. The April 1, 2002 Los Angeles Times recently featured an article entitled, "Church Protesters Standing on Tradition." The Guild has posted its own website (st-charlesborromeo.com) which, apart from providing relevant links and images of "renovated" churches, announces the Guild's mission statement.
"We're not asking for a lot," said one guild member; "we just don't want anything torn out or destroyed."
In the course of the listening session, several of the parishioners forsook the chance to express their views on renovations and, instead, drew attention to the changes already made. Larry Carstens, one of the founding members of the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation Guild, was one such parishioner. "Permeated throughout the last several meetings has been the emphasis on Christ's presence in the people," said Carstens. "That is good. That is true. But Christ is not perfectly present in His people as He is perfectly present in the Eucharist. We've heard a lot of people tonight express concern that the Eucharist has been moved to a side chapel, wishing it to be put back in its place of honor, behind the altar. I hope the authorities will listen to this voice of Christ in His people, and do what He wants."
One of the last parishioners to speak was utterly unconvinced that the listening session would affect anything. "There's a name for this," he said, "and it's called Midwestern Porridge. A nod here, a ring of the bell there, 'yes, yes,' and then they go and do what they were going to do anyway. I'm neither to the left nor to the right of this issue. I just can't stand being handled. And these people here," pointing to members of the parish committee and the pastor, "are handling you. Don't let yourself be handled. When..." [ring ring] "Thank you!" bellowed Sister Paulina, with a fixed smile. "I'm not done," rejoined the speaker. "You, you there," pointing to a parishioner in the pews, "have you taken your two minutes? Can I have them?" Before anyone heard the parishioner's response, Sister Paulina leaned into the mic and said, "That would be against the rules."
Father Gallagher, who has refused repeated requests to meet with the Guild and allegedly dismissed three parish workers from their positions on account of their association with the Guild (a lector, an usher and a Eucharistic Minister), did not return my calls.
For more information on the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation Guild, or to offer your support, please email: info@st-charlesborromeo.org, or visit st-charlesborromeo.com