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Sunday, January 3, 2021

THIS IS AN AUSTRIAN SEMINARY CHAPEL; NICE, NO? NO!

 From the "I Am Fed Up With Ugly Churches" Facebook page, comes this beauty. 

The law of prayer is the law of belief. I think we can extend that "truism" to architecture. The law of architecture is the law of belief.

Don't look at the crucifix. Pretend it isn't there. This chapel could be Presbyterian or Church of Christ but certainly not Catholic as it is stripped of Catholic sensibilities. It is Protestant theology, or worse yet, post-Catholicism. 

Look at the crucifix. It is meant to look like that. There is an explanation, but I don't buy it. The artist is snickering that he was able to sell this post-Catholic piece of "art" to a seminary who actually installed it in their seminary chapel. His form of blasphemy, their form of spirituality.

The biggest problem with this is that this chapel is forming future priests for Austria. It isn't just some wayward congregation into post-Catholicism. It is post-Catholicism preparing for future priests in that schismatic institution.  

And in Austria of all places which has some of the most beautiful Catholic Churches in the world, all built on the theology prevalent before Vatican II. Tell me that the Church hasn't been cooked like a frog in the crock pot of "let's re-imagine the Church and make it something unrecognizable as Catholic." And by Church, I mean Church, but it could also mean church.



20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Father,
I wouldn’t insult Protestants. Also, it is not only post-Catholic but post-Christian.

Anonymous said...

With this chapel and other chapels like it, it is like some Churchman has chosen a person who is a science fiction writer or artist, who has great skill in depicting a God-free and Theology-free future imaginary world, to design their church or chapel for them.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

In this country, there seems to be a desire to renovate churches that were reckovated in the 1970's and newer churches seem to have classical lines.

But so much of European architecture for churches seems so sterile and brutalistic. I don't get it. Pre-Vatican II architecture allowed for a great deal of possibilities for the building, but the sanctuary had strict guidelines. The altar had to be elevated by at least three steps from the main floor of the sanctuary which had to be at least one step higher than the nave. There had to be an altar railing and the altar itself had strict guidelines for candles, crucifix and tabernacle. Even the placement of some statuary were under rules. If the Sacred Heart was placed in the Church it would be to the Gospel side of the Church and Mary's statue to the Epistle side, but if no Sacred Heart statue, Mary was on the gospel side and Joseph on the Epistle side, etc.

Anonymous said...

Sorry this is off topic but I have recently discovered the hilarious, satirical Catholic blog:

ecclesandbosco.blogspot.com

There is a very funny 29 December post on recent apostolic exhortations -

This post includes discussion on the encyclical about the environment "O SOLE MIO" and that other masterpiece AMOROUS LASCIVIA.

Anonymous said...

Is this a joke picture? That can’t be real.

Anonymous said...

Father, Austria and Gernany were lost to the Church over the last 60 years.Some of the worst theology from the Post-Concilliar era sprang from the German speaking church. The current list of heterodox Clergy of all ranks,and the practice of the Faith at local levels is utterly appalling.Recent comments from the German Bishops suggest a schism is not unlikely.

Anonymous said...

Yes, an insult to protestants worldwide. It is sterile, cold, empty, and appears to be part of a surgical suite or maybe butcher shop, easy to hose out any wine spilled or crumbs dropped.

Anonymous said...

I think this might be what you could call abstract minimalist architecture with echoes of the Bauhaus. It certainly is a design of an extreme Vatican II mentality, and dare I say it is almost certainly "Jesuit." Like the others that have commented, I am not a big fan of this trend. I have seen it before. It actually makes me yawn. Its boring. While some might refer to it as modern, the art movements that it has its origins in are at least 75-years old. Today's true modern church architecture is more a rendition of classic Church architecture filtered through the eyes of contemporary Catholic artists.

Anonymous said...

How horrible. No wonder they don't have any seminarians. They don't believe.

About twenty years ago, when my father died, the church he and my mother belonged to had a similar arrangement. The altar was on the left side of the sanctuary, the pulpit on the right side and the chair for the priest was in the center. It was so off and theologically incorrect. It was an annoyance and a distraction.
When my mother died, we had the funeral at a different church.

Anonymous said...

Here is more from the "Party of Science:"

In Congress we are now saying “Amen and Awomen" as if Amen is a gendered word. I can't wait for Father Bean and Anonymous 2 to defend this idiocy from their "intellectual and elite" Party

John Nolan said...

Don't be too disparaging regarding German and Austrian Catholicism. It has deep roots in the culture of the people. On Frohnleichnam (Corpus Xi) which is a national holiday, I have witnessed Bl. Sacrament processions in boats on the lakes in Austria. On Whit Monday in a Bavarian village all the traffic was stopped for a procession during which Benediction was given several times, the locals putting out decorated home-made altars outside their houses.

The Kirchensteuer enables parishes to afford musical resources which would be the envy of France or the US. This means proper Catholic music and Latin (which the Germans have no hang-ups about, the juxtaposition of Latin and the vernacular being something that pre-dated Vatican II).

If you want decent liturgy and music, Sunday morning in Munich will leave you spoilt for choice.

The question of admitting non-Catholic spouses to Holy Communion split the German episcopate, partly on geographical grounds. Cardinal Woelki of Cologne was strongly against, as was the Archbishop of Bamberg, and (significantly) the bishops of Marx's own province of Munich-Freising. The CDF eventually ruled against the practice, so it was a victory for the orthodox German bishops.

Anonymous said...

Given the German Church plummeting numbers of sacramental attendees including priests/confession, plummeting numbers of those who hold perrenial teachings as true, etc, and the USA rowing strongly that direction, it still is all style and no substance, the Germans superior to us in only maintaining style. Flocks do not gather and grow where only phonies rule.

Both churches would be greatly helped by saintly, holy bishops and priests showing flocks how it is REALLY done and guiding flocks to same dedication to love of God, where even the humblest church would far more alive than the most magnificent and moribund museum edifice. Which is why I generally avoid the fashion critique posts here, BUT, that chapel is a sterile faith killer if there ever was one.

Anonymous said...

Romulus Augustus here, do the Germans and Austrians do this on purpose??>

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

I would like to give the Germanic bishops the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps by aping the secular trends of society, they believe they will keep Catholics, disaffected Catholics will return, progressive Catholics will stay and a post Christian populace will return. Of course it is lunacy!

They keep hammering away at creating a post- Catholic Church with the same results, an indication of delusion and mental illness.

Of course the only solution is that of Pope Benedict. Renewal in continuity, clarity in teaching and a viable option to the current cultural post-Christian malaise. Of course, Jesus Christ must be at the center with traditional Masses and Ordinary Form Masses celebrated reverently with kneeling for Holy Communion. Eucharistic adoration and other Eucharistic piety is a necessity for people to know that Jesus loves them in a most personal way and they can respond by eagerly wanting to know, love and serve Jesus Christ in this life and liver in heaven happily with him.

If that doesn’t work, at least there will be a smaller but faithful Bride for the Lord to bring to heaven at the Second Coming.

Anonymous said...

The German Church and people have had for entire existence a very strong will to power, both individually and collectively. I come from German stock both sides of family, and feel free to make the observation, no people seem more inclined to "bow-up" with a comment along the lines of "but why should I? This is STUPID," than are Germanic people. Who then, conversely, work collectively and dutifully to all manner of mayhem. They also made very fine knights and defenders of the Faith when it seemed in best interests.

Anonymous said...

I read somewhere that modern church architecture is still trendy in Europe because they didn't have the level of destruction to pre-Vatican II spaces and over-saturation of ugly church architecture after the council that the United States had. In many parts of Europe, the churches are often ancient and highly-respected works of architecture, at times protected by the secular government from remuddling (plus a lot of treasured buildings had to be rebuilt and restored after WWII - I imagine that loss and expense wouldn't inspire the people to trash it all again a mere twenty years later). As a result, modern Church design might still have the novel appeal it had to Americans a half century ago.

Anonymous said...

By Atticus, at Fr Hunwicke’s blog:

“Good morning, good morning!” the
celebrant said
As he flung wide his arms at the start
of the Mass
(Though most of his flock were still
soundly abed
Having given up church when he
brought in guitars)
“He’s a cheery old card”, grunted Simon
to Sandy
As the priest blithely eulogised Luther
and Gandhi.

But he did for them both both with his ars
celebrandi....

John Nolan said...

Siegfried Sassoon was being grossly unfair to Great War generals but the clever parody of his poem is all too accurate.

Anonymous said...

What the Hell is that?

John Nolan said...

Anonymous and similar ignoramuses:

'Good morning, good morning!' the General said,
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the lads that he smiled at are most of 'em dead,
And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

'He's a cheery old card' muttered Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack.