Humanae Vitae accounts for an insignificant part of that loss, although progressive iconoclasts prepared a progressive laity for the let-down of Humanae Vitae in the lives of laity leading them to think that the Church's moral doctrines based on Scripture and natural law would be changed. (I fear there will be another let-down caused by the same aging progressive cabal as it concerns some of the silly things they think will occur on Pope Francis watch and of course won't.)
But back to iconoclastic "wreckovations" of churches, euphemistically called "renovations." Many church buildings today through the wise leadership of pastors who listen to the pain of parishioners whose beautiful churches were destroyed by unthinking, iconoclastic priests in the 1960's and 70's are restoring these churches back to their beauty. One such church is in Brooklyn, New York.
Take a look at what it was prior to the iconoclasm that was forced on it by dictatorial progressives:
The first video has a wonderful iconoclastic moment of the original iconoclasm! It is delicious! However, and evidently, a deceased Sister of Mercy designed this travesty foisted upon this Church in the 1970's and she evidently gets revenge on the priest who is spearheading the restoration. This part of the video, which should be on America's Funniest Home Videos is at the end and it is truly funny!
This video tells the rest of the story of iconoclasm to restored, reform of the reform, icon!
20 comments:
The long process of recovery from invasion and pillage continues. I would say what happened here and elsewhere in the Latin Church was even worse than the iconoclasm of the ancient world, since not just images but whole interiors were torn down and discarded for the sake of Modernism. Thanks be to God there's hope for recovery from this sort of sacrilege.
I honestly don't know what's worse, the visual and emotional damage done to Catholics who liked their churches just the way they were or the needless expense of this barbaric destruction. I've witnessed many beautiful churches transformed into existential palaces of nothingness and it is terribly depressing. Every Catholic should be armed with Michael Rose's excellent book, The Renovation Manipulation.
Women are often accused of unnecessarily redecorating, moving the furniture around. It is probably unjust to single out the fair sex for such criticism. Some men are known to like to rearrange furniture also.
It is my suspicion the re-decorators are unhappy with themselves, their surroundings and what they represent. The high altars must be demolished because if it remains it begs the question: Why we have turned our backs on it?
On the whole, the new ugliness in architecture is symbolic of what is felt internally: a confusion about who we are, who God is for us, and uncertainty or a radically new idea about what building is for.
Art and architecture are outer reflections of an inner condition. Frightening, no?
This is, really and truly, wonderful, and it makes me hopeful that more wreckovated churches might be restored. The de-wreckovation—similarly colossal—of St. Mary's in Fennimore, WI was recently completed also.
Additionally, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu is undergoing significant restoration right now. At some point in the 90s, I believe it was, the cathedral was badly wrecked (and it made me sad every time I was inside it). The high altar and Tabernacle were covered by a screen, a table altar was placed in the center of the church, and the pews were made to face inward toward each other and toward said altar. But now, thank God, the pews are being arranged correctly once again, the altar will go up front, and the screen covering the high altar will come down. I don't know how trustworthy this is, but there are rumors that plans exist to have the Extraordinary Form offered once the renovation is complete. It's possible Bishop Silva (Honolulu's bishop) will himself offer it, since he knows how to, but hey, they are just rumors.
So if your church architecture is archaic, cold, unwelcoming, cluttered, .....?
Glory to God in the highest! I feel so happy for that parish. This story made my day.
Anonymous,
I suppose you find the post-Conciliar CRAP that is, thankfully, being torn down is "up-to-date", "warm", "welcoming" and "uncluttered"? Geeez!
"Art and architecture are outer reflections of an inner condition.
If your church is "archaic, cold, unwelcoming, cluttered..."
I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want an "inner condition" that reflects the ugliness of what was done to that church after the Council . . .
Anonymous, You don't know much about architecture, do you…or theology…LOL!
Gene - They are your words...
Fund Raiser Idea: Let people pay $100 for five minutes with a sledge hammer and those weird old Sco-fi demi arches. They could pay for the new altar rail...
Weird old Sci-fi demi arches as "outer reflections of an inner condition" . . . I'm sorry, my "inner condition" is that I feel out of place in the weird old Sci-fi church of Star Trek/Lost in Space modernism. Give me an old unwreckovated pre-Conciliar church building where I can attend the ROMAN Rite (in either form)--not a church that looks like the Jupiter II or the Starship Enterprise!
Church buildings and rites should reflect traditional beliefs and piety and should not be a deliberate and studied attempt to remake a 2,000 year old Church.
"Church buildings and rites should reflect traditional beliefs and piety and should not be a deliberate and studied attempt to remake a 2,000 year old Church."
Spot on, sir. I wish more understood this.
Old > new
The catechism of beauty attracts because beauty points towards Beauty Himself.
The worst example in the universe:
http://www.stmarysrockledge.org/church-and-grounds/
And, believe it or not, it's here on earth.
Scroll down to the last photo--of the "Beam me up, Scottie" Eucharistic chapel. I'd almost be afraid to go in there.
The church structure should inspire us with reverence and thoughts of the Grandeur and Majesty of God. It should complement an inform the Liturgy and even be in a certain sense liturgical itself.
When looking at ancient Cathedrals, one can get the sense that the bricks, wood mortar and glass which were combined into an impressive structure, together represent praise from the creature to the Creator.
How sad that in too many cases in our modern church buildings this is not the case.
George, not everyone is inspired by the same thing(s).
Am I the only one who thinks (and thought back then) that when these wreckovations were done back in the 70's that those in charge were just testing us to see if we'd still come to church if beautiful works of art were replaced by ugly, plain, modernistic Sci-fi-inspired crap?
I can just imagine them saying, "we're getting rid of all these treasures that past generations sacrificed to build and we're going to destroy all that stuff (to make it harder to go back) and replace it with this plain cheap looking stuff just to emphasize that we're a "poor" church and to see if you will still come to Mass..."
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