Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky, before and after:
Of course Michael Winters of the National Chismatic Reporter (NCR) is an ideologue and supports much of the heresies spewed forth by the paper for which he works. It would do him well to apply for the a job at the other more centered based NCR to save his soul.
But I agree with what he wrote this morning about the Louisville Cathedral and pastoral renewal or renovation in parish churches although he needs to keep in mind that anyone of any persuasion can take care of the poor and even an atheist can do so better than many social activist Catholics. Concern for the poor is not specifically a Catholic action. But the Catholic Mass is which is meant to be the means of grace by which God saves the sinner (to include those who aren’t social workers and have an aversion to it).
Perhaps Michael Winters does not know this. And, he might want to check out St. Joseph Church in Macon and its marvelous renovation/restoration and the social outreach programs there, such as DePaul USA's “Daybreak” to assist the homeless during the day and Family Advancement Ministries that assists poor families, formerly called “Mother and Child Ministries” as well as a very active St. Vincent de Paul ministry completely lay run and even before Vatican II, as well as its pro-life ministry of the Saint Maximilian Kolbe Center. None of these would be possible if not for the Religious and laity and those who financially supported these ministries to include the institutional parish's budget.
Restoration and Tradition are not the enemies of care for the poor and encouraging the laity to take their role in this regard!
This is Winter’s take on renovating a parish which to him means the people too. A disclaimer from me, Archbishop Thomas McDonough went to Louisville from our Diocese in the early 70’s. He confirmed me in the Extraordinary Form Confirmation Rite in Augusta in 1962 but back then it was the Ordinary Form:
The cathedral in Louisville experienced a renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s under the leadership of legendary pastor Fr. Ron Knott, Archbishop Thomas Kelly and the Cathedral Heritage Foundation, now the Center for Interfaith Relations. It was not so much a renovation of the cathedral, still less a "restoration," the word preferred by traditionalists wanting to turn the clock back. It was a revitalization, fully in line with the vision of Vatican II that the church should be a sacrament in the world. They understood the primary goal was not merely repointing bricks but bringing new life to the ministries housed in the parish, serving the needs of Louisville's inner city. Under Knott's leadership, the parish community at the cathedral grew from 150 households to 1,350 households in just under 12 years, while launching a variety of ministries to the city's poor and marginalized.
2 comments:
I would like to turn the clock back to a time when Catholicism was a powerful force for good, a strong majority of Catholics believed what the Church taught and attended Mass. Obviously Winters is pleased with less Catholics to do good, non-believing Catholics and pathetic numbers of Catholics attending Mass. He will really be thrilled when the clock moves forward even further!
What is interesting about guys like Winters, he could have cared less about the money that was expended to wreckovate our Churches or buying new vestments so the priest would look "humble."
Another failing of people like him is that he does not seem to realize that these restorations/renovations provide work to the ordinary working men and women. That tells you how clueless people like Winters are.
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