ARTICLES

St. Vincent's Is Next

Gay-Friendly Priest Leads Renovation

By Robert Kumpel

Among the latest casualties of the diocese's liturgical destruction is St. Vincent de Paul parish in Mission Hills. Cloaked in a fundraising drive to renovate the parish school as well as the church, the current plan calls for a trendy baptismal pool near the entrance and removing the tabernacle from its current place on the side altar to a reservation chapel, making it invisible to all except those who venture into the chapel or sit near the front of the church.

Anthony Romano, 43, is a parishioner of St. Vincent's. "I know there are others who feel the same way I do. The parish has been conducting fundraising activities -- there's some sort of fundraising contractor or organization that they've been retained to help them raise the money. It's a two-phase renovation plan, with one part being the construction of a building for the school. That's needed and it's a good idea. It's an old school, tight and cramped. This will give them a place to eat and some shady spots -- things like that. Part of the strategy of the fundraising is that all the registered families were invited to attend a presentation. When they showed us a map of what the renovated church would look like, I noticed that the tabernacle was taken from its spot. If you look down the aisle now, the tabernacle is not in the middle, but to the right of the altar. They want to put it in a chapel that will be constructed in the north wing."

"The presence of Christ in the tabernacle is the thing that makes a church a holy place. If you don't have that ... I mean you teach your children to genuflect and show all the respect to the altar, but if Christ is not there, what's the point? Other people share that sentiment because it's the truth."

Built in 1968 and "re-decorated" in the 80s, the church has been ridiculed for its New-Agey "crayola" windows (recently replaced with real stained glass). The pews are not especially comfortable, and part of the plan is to buy new ones and move the bathrooms. But Romano says moving the tabernacle is unnecessary. "The only thing left from the finger-painted windows era is the picture above the altar, which is the worst one of all. I believe the renovation includes getting rid of that and putting the big crucifix back. But driving home from the meeting, we said, we're happy to support the school construction, but why should a huge amount of money be spent on the church when the church is fine? We get these missionaries who don't even have floors in their church, let alone the necessities.

"The renovation is unnecessary, but if they have to do it, they should leave the tabernacle alone. In fact, I would like to see it in the middle. I go to two other churches, Our Lady of the Rosary and the Mission. They're both historical churches, and it would be harder to get those changed. I also go to St. Elizabeth's in Julian -- I grew up there -- and the father there, Father Walsh, moved the tabernacle from the side back to the center."

Like other recent renovations, the diocese is counting on weak or silent opposition to its plans. "A lot of parishioners feel the same way I do. In fact, I spoke up at the presentation in opposition, and a couple of others spoke up too. When the meeting was over, many others came up to me and said, 'We think you're right and we feel the same way, but we didn't want to say anything.'"

A source from the diocese says that the plans in place are by no means final; however this is a common tactic used to allay the fears of parishioners. "The liturgical consultant, Father Gerry O'Donnell, has much more input to make at this stage. All the energy right now is going into the school. The parish has an adoration room near the vestibule, and they've been using it for nearly 20 years. One of the liturgical expectations is that the tabernacle not be so far away from the sanctuary. The adoration room has a monstrance in it right now. They have to comply with the liturgical guidelines."

The choice of Father O'Donnell as the liturgical consultant is a cause of concern for some parishioners. As pastor of St. Luke's in El Cajon, Father O'Donnell refused to take a stand against the Grossmont School Board's designation of "sexual orientation" as a basis for multicultural study and minority designation, even when nearby St. Peter's Chaldean Rite Church did. When the U.S. Bishops asked Catholics to participate in Respect Life Sunday in 1997, O'Donnell instead lead a contingent from St. Luke's to the San Diego AIDS walk to benefit organizations that sponsor condom distribution and mock chastity.

Another diocesan source says that Father O'Donnell is not likely to respect the architectural integrity of the church's original design. "He's part of the liturgical establishment. He believes in 'worship space' -- that is, starkness for worship space and having the tabernacle in a separate location."

A practicing attorney, Romano is not fooled by the strategy of "consensus building" used to silence parishioners opposed to modernist renovations. "One of the ways that people deal with conflict is to say, 'We'll have another meeting and have a guy come and talk about it.' or 'It's not set in stone.' But when we asked why this was happening, the message was that this is required by the bishop. They said, 'It's a requirement of the bishop in order to get the money or permission whatever; the bishop requires that this be done.'"

Romano is willing to rally the opposition forces, but is watching carefully to see what tactic the diocese will employ next. He is also reading Michael Rose's The Renovation Manipulation to understand what the diocese is doing. "They're taking pledges right now. The pledge time is a few weeks. It's been explained to me that the school renovation will be first, and the church will come after. Which is fine, because the school renovation is necessary, and the other is not. It must be a marketing idea to link the two, so that one seems important -- the church one -- and if it's linked to the school, people are much more likely to support it. But the reality is that the church one is not necessary. But a lot of people have come up to me and told me that they support me and feel the same way. After I read this book, maybe there is something that can be done."

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