2002 LETTERS
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Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

APRIL 2002 LETTERS

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I applaud the efforts of News Notes to report and expose the church renovation movement underway in San Diego [see "Let's Downplay Christ" and "Bait and Switch," March 2002]. The February 6 meeting held at Sacred Heart in Ocean Beach left no doubt in my mind that the "renovation" consultants are really focused on getting "Jesus and signs of Jesus" removed from Catholic churches, more than anything else.

The sparse turnout allowed the few parishioners in attendance to be polled on the status of their own church's "remodeling plans." The mixed response did not seem to dampen the spirits of the renovation group, who seemed overjoyed with their new church makeover.

One frustration voiced by the "renovators" was the small size of the church, which did not allow a table of worship to be located in the center of the church; thus parishioners would be left with the "Axis," otherwise known as the center aisle. Parishioners of larger churches that still have an "Axis," take note.

My own young children express great interest in visiting Catholic Churches that offer small alcoves for prayer (which they use), statues, pictures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph or other saints. Such visible signs remind them of God and generate curiosity on their part to learn more about Jesus and the saints. It seems the "renovators" are working overtime to end this experience. Why?

Parishioners who don't want a New Age church makeover need to wake up: the "renovators" are here, they have "their" plan, and every Catholic Church is on their radar screen. I suggest reading Michael Rose's book, The Renovation Manipulation. He writes, "A parish can expect to lose up to 20% of its parishioners after a renovation."

Our Lord Jesus says, "Any sound tree bears good fruit while a decayed tree bears bad fruit. You can tell a tree by its fruit."

John Giery
San Diego


VOTER GUIDE SAVED TIME

While my wife and I appreciate your thought-provoking stories regarding our local church diocese, the most useful news enclosed last issue was the '02 Christian Coalition Voter Guide. It arrived just in time to be used for the Primary election.

It's about time we have seen this guide. It reveals a candidate's true feelings about the most important legal and moral issues facing us today. Those candidates who refused to participate in the survey might just as well have said that our opinions will not be counted if they make decisions dictating how our tax dollars will be spent.

What surprised us most were the questions put to the candidates. In just ten-fifteen minutes we knew who was whoring their votes to special interest groups which want to both restrict our personal Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and force their warped ideals upon our public institutions and families.

The guide saved us much time in deciding who we would vote for.

Jerry and Jayne Deibert
La Mesa


IMAGINE CALLING GOD STATIC!

Why would anyone want to obscure or hide away the Lord our God and His tabernacle? I can only think of one reason: hatred of Him. Those of us who love our Lord want to see Him honored, adored, praised, and worshiped as He deserves.

For hundreds of years our Lord and His tabernacle were ever-present on the altar of sacrifice. When in the 70s the tabernacle was taken off the main altar, the Church nosedived into loss of the Faith and the loss of millions of Catholics. Whole countries lost the Faith. Italy is no longer listed as a Catholic country! I have read where our Lord's enemies have called Him in His tabernacle a "static presence." Imagine that. Calling God static!

Our churches are being more and more protestantized. We can not let this go on. The tabernacle must be positioned in the most prominent place in the church where it can be seen by all. Anyone walking into the church should be able to recognize right away that they are in a Catholic church and in the presence of the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church concurs with #1181, #1183, and #1379.

The demon and his followers have won great victories, and it is high time the faithful fight back. The more His enemies hate and irreverence our Lord, the more we have to love, honor, adore, praise, worship, and reverence Him.

Elizabeth DeCristofaro
St. Mary's parishioner, Escondido


COMPILE A LIST

After reading much about the child molestation, pornography, and pedophile problems that the diocese of Boston (and others) have had with many priests, I wondered whether anyone had ever traced the priests back to the seminaries where they were ordained and to the people that approved their admittance.

I think it would be interesting to do the following:

1. Compile a list of all the priests in this country that have had any of the above problems during the last 30 or 35 years and break them down into the seminaries where each was ordained.

2. Compile a second list that would contain only the names from the first list that had been refused admission from one of the orthodox seminaries.

3. Compile a third list that would contain the names of those who had been refused admission by one of the seminaries in the first list but who had been accepted by and is either still studying for the priesthood or has been ordained.

4. Compile a fourth list that would contain the names of those who had been refused by one of the seminaries in the first list but had not pursued a possible vocation any further.

This I believe, without a doubt, would identify the major sources of the problem and support a corrective. A complete list is probably not possible, but even a partial list should be enough.

B.B.
Kensington

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