There are only two constants in this world, change and death. If one avoids property and income (or the long arm of the law), you may be able to escape taxes.
Catholics who grew up at the zenith of the Church Triumphant may have a hard time dealing with the obvious fact that even the Catholic Church changes. The "one, holy, catholic and apostolic" church has a human history and like other human histories, it has conflicts and controversies. This is as true in Milwaukee as in the world at large. The Catholic Church in Milwaukee has more than 150 years of controversy in its bag, many of these issues -- like the recent St. John's Cathedral renovation -- have had national implications.
Early on, a Milwaukee priest carried a detailed list of complaints about the treatment of German Catholics in Milwaukee by Irish Catholics (and newly arrived Italian Catholics received a similarly hostile welcome). He called for a National Catholic German Diocese. While nothing was done about this, the Vatican decided to start investigating the Catholic Church in America. Pope Leo XIII issued an encyclical (a letter to be read and implemented by the Church as a whole) condemning what he called "Americanism," a theory that U. S. Catholics had become more American than Roman.
The Irish insisted that they didn't understand what he was talking about but Archbishop Katzer of Milwaukee took up cudgels against the Irish. This pious disagreement is still not quite settled. After a strong wave of Polish immigration, the Poles resolved some serious internal disagreements and claimed that the Germans under the powerful Archbishop Messmer were dominating them. They spoke out for the Polish everywhere and asked for equal treatment and the appointment of at least one Polish bishop. The eventual resolution called for alternate German and Irish archbishops with a Polish or Slavic auxiliary bishop, a very Roman compromise.
During the Great Depression, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Stritch offered Milwaukee Catholics a simple slogan, "As long as we have two pennies in our pockets, one belongs to the poor." He started a regular collection that became the Archbishop's Stewardship Appeal. This was the envy of all the Bishops for years until other such collections were started.
When the Vietnam War reached its height, many cities saw organized protest groups. Milwaukee had protests led by priests who poured blood on draft cards in front of a federal building. During the Civil Rights struggle, Fr. Groppi led marches for 200 consecutive days to protest the closed housing policies of the city even as some Catholics picketed the Archbishop's home demanding that Archbishop Cousins silence Fr. Groppi and stop the marches. He never did.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Meyer, a Milwaukee native who served as Milwaukee's Archbishop, representing Chicago and all Americans, stood strong on the floor of the Second Vatican Council speaking for several days with power and clarity insisting that the universal Catholic Church accept the doctrine of religious liberty for all people everywhere. The Council did.
The appointment of Archbishop Weakland stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy starting with The St. Thomas More Education Association, which complained loud and long about all manner of things before finally running out of steam. Even as this group fell apart or dissolved, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) began a loud series of protests with organized letter-writing campaigns focused on bullying Rome into taking action.
When population shifts and a serious shortage of priests mandated painful consolidation of parishes and the building of new parishes, there was great pain and anguish among priests and people. Sustained efforts to encourage parishes and people to merge or cooperate in joint efforts to increase attendance and decrease expenses died for lack of participation. After repeated efforts and extended consultation, the Archbishop initiated the grim process with as much positive input as he could get. Needless to say, the negative input has been louder and more sustained than the healthy combinations and new parishes that should sustain the archdiocese into the future.
Recently, the crowds of people around the Cathedral of St. John on Sunday mornings could see stalwart pickets, in good weather and bad, protesting the remodeling project. One has to admire people so dedicated that they are willing to put their bodies on the line for their cause. Protesters who provided money to mount a serious effort to stop the project through legal maneuvers directed at the Vatican began a far more annoying protest. The grounds for their protest are worth examining. Allow me to outline the arguments:
- The cathedral has been adequate for many years, and the changes would destroy the art and architecture of an historical landmark. Opponents claim they were never asked for their input, despite numerous meetings designed to welcome input and answer questions.
- Moving the altar to meet the liturgical requirements laid down by Vatican II would make the worship service in the Cathedral more Protestant than Catholic and violate the rules laid down by the Church.
- The money required for this project has been looted from the people and parishes that have been merged or closed and could otherwise be used to keep people happy in their own long-established parishes.
- All the remaining parishes will be bled dry to complete the current Archbishop's pet project just in time for him to retire and leave the new Archbishop and everybody else to tie up the loose ends and raise money for necessary expenses that the Cathedral project might have paid for.
Now, let's examine each argument:
The first objection ignores the fact that the present Cathedral is the second building on the site and has been extensively remodeled with redecoration, the addition of the present tower and stained glass windows. A fire in 1935 gutted the present building and the interior. That reconstruction preserved the exterior but changed the interior from dark and cluttered German Gothic to an interesting and surprising Romanesque. Unless one looks closely at the urns and scallop shells on the tower, the arched windows and peaked roof lead one to expect a Gothic interior so the current mélange is rather a shock. The huge Baldachin (kind of a giant umbrella over the altar on pillars) was a last-minute addition before wartime priorities put an end to construction. The ravages of time and the use of asbestos in the last remodeling require significant structural changes.
The altar has been moved already in an effort to comply with the mandate of Vatican II but a remodeling offers provision for more seating closer to the altar and provides the chance to more fully comply with the wishes of the Liturgical directives of Vatican II. St. Peter's Basilica, the mother church, has the same placement of the altar as St. John's will have. Is St. Peter's a Protestant building? Does it matter? We are all God's people, let's worship close to one another.
In response to item two, no money from any of the consolidation or closing of parishes will go to the Cathedral Project. Any such suggestions are misinformed or malicious. Good try though. Besides, the donations made to the Church become the property of the Church and may be used at the discretion of the Archbishop. Indeed, each parish is organized as a corporation with a total of five corporate officers. The CEO is the archbishop and he controls two additional votes so every parish is owned by the Archdiocese in the name of the Archdiocese.
In spite of all the protests and efforts to block the project including spending money on a Canon lawyer stationed in Rome, the project has not been seriously delayed (that would have cost more money for breaches of contracts). Never refer anything to Rome, it gives them the chance to say no. Archbishop Weakland has undertaken the considerable task of remodeling and fund raising in order to leave no major work unfinished. He will provide his successor with a Cathedral that is liturgically and canonically correct and that provides facilities for community outreach to the downtown area as well as providing liturgies, concerts, and lectures. At Mass on June 17 the Archbishop said this, "after my trip to Rome, I've never been more convinced of the Cathedral project."
It would not surprise me if the option for the poor were what gives protestors the biggest heartburn. Buildings are being remodeled to provide shelter for battered women and children. The remodeling will also provide health facilities and facilities for the poor to wash and eat as well. It is important for the principal Church of the Archdiocese to set an example of exercising the option for the poor and becoming a true partner with the community. We need to keep Cardinal Stritch's maxim about the two pennies clearly in mind, lest we succumb to the selfishness of the me-first mood of much of America.
Many of the protests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have been outrageous or bold, angry or holy. The responses tended to be the same. But Archbishop Weakland surpresses the angry and the holy within himself. He adds a new tactic -- applying pressure -- that runs contrary to the accepted style. He forces the holy to confront the mind and the angry to face intelligence, all with a little of the prophetic and common sense thrown in.
For more information on the renovation project, visit www.cathedralproject.org.
