PUZZLE PIECE

I want to thank you for publishing Father Peter Liuzzi's review of Homosexuality-Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice by Father Gerald Coleman, S.S. (May 12). The reviewer identifies extremists who, on the one side, only condemn homosexuality and, on the other side, who only see it as sacrosanct and beyond the reaches of the Magesterium and traditional morality.

Father Liuzzi noted that the foreword to the book by Los Angeles Cardinal Mahony points out Gabriel Marceau's distinction between puzzle and mystery. If homosexuality is seen as a problem, we're likely to come up with overly neat solutions. But if it's seen as one of the mysteries of life, easy answers are not admissible.

Thanks, Cardinal Mahony, for the admonishment on better thinking. Thanks to the Register for publishing Father Liuzzi's review.

Mack Manning Chicago, Illinois

L.A. STORY

Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony recently was quoted as calling St. Vibiana's the “worst or second worst” cathedral in the world. Eager to swing the wrecking ball on his cathedral, the cardinal has gone out of his way to disparage a church built at great sacrifice by the Catholics of Los Angeles and their neighbors of other faiths.

As the battle over the cathedral escalates we are told by the cardinal's supporters that the cathedral is unworthy of preservation because it is not an example of great architecture, but only a copy of a church in Spain. Since 1876, when St. Vibiana's was erected, numerous larger and more beautiful buildings have been constructed in the city. Yet that does not diminish the importance of St. Vibiana's or its unique role in the development of Los Angeles. Jesuit Father Michael Engh of Loyola Marymount University, who is president of the Los Angeles City Historical Society, tells us in his 1992 book Frontier Faiths that the construction of St. Vibiana's was made possible by hundreds of contributions from all segments of society: rich and poor, Catholics, Protestants and Jews. When completed, the baroque cathedral stood in grand contrast to the city's humble adobe and frame structures. Architecturally speaking, St. Vibiana's began the transformation of Los Angeles from an unsophisticated pueblo to a cosmopolitan city with a variety of architectural styles.

If the cathedral has grown dingy and unattractive in recent years, it is not because it lacks architectural merit or historical significance. It is because Cardinal Mahony has neglected to provide proper maintenance. The cardinal and his supporters have amassed $45 million in commitments to replace St. Vibiana's. But could not a small fraction of that money have been raised over the years to keep the present cathedral safe and attractive? The last time St. Vibiana's underwent major renovation was 25 years ago, simply to bring it into conformity with liturgical fashions of that time. Since then, it appears that the cathedral has been allowed to deteriorate in anticipation of the day when it could be knocked down.

Now in a huff because the Los Angeles Conservancy and others oppose his plan, the cardinal announces that if he can't level St. Vibiana's and build a huge cathedral-conference complex on the site, he will take this $45 million project to a more appreciative community in the San Fernando or San Gabriel valleys. All this has taught us much more about Cardinal Mahony and the city's political leadership than it has about St. Vibiana's.

J.L. Nichols Desert Hot Springs, California

TOP DRAWER

This comes as an embarrassing confession of my gross oversightedness in taking the Register's‘new look’ for granted. The format is super! The color photos add realism and attractiveness to your pages. The “news in brief” is a real eye catcher. I really like the “Pope's week” section. Creating that feature was a stroke of genius. The whole publication has a freshness and appeal to it. Whoever you hired to do the job sure knew what he/she was doing.

I can see the art of printing has come a long way since the time of the linotype machine and platen press. I would bet much of the layout, editing, etc., etc., is done on or with a computer and peripherals. The finished work (look) is top drawer quality from the word “Go.”

Aubert Lemrise Peru, Illinois

OPEN LETTER

The following is an open letter to the coalition that calls itself “We Are Church” :

Popular opinion has never been the basis for teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you conduct sociological research, or cite those who do, as a basis for faith and morals, you fail to consider that there are millions of Americans today who classify themselves as “Catholics,” but who have neither in-depth knowledge nor any interest to find out what the Catholic Church actually teaches. They get most of their information on the Church from sources— like the secular news industry—that are alien to and biased against the Church. Many depend on the Church to get married or to bury a departed relative, or attend Mass only on Christmas or Easter. But that's where it ends. Perhaps the majority of Catholics polled would favor the radical changes you seek, but the majority of these same respondents also (according to similar research) accept egregious doctrinal errors—that the Eucharist is a symbol, not Christ's body, for example. Many, if not most, of the Catholics whose opinions you cite follow such patterns of behavior. To present them as “the Church” is not representative. If, however, research focused on those Catholics who regularly attend Mass, the numbers might be reversed.

It would appear you do not consider Scripture, tradition or the saints of the Church worthy of consultation or consideration. I ask you to consider that Christ never conducted referendums of crowds as a basis for doctrine, and neither did Ss. Paul, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas or any of Christ's vicars, from St. Peter to John Paul II, or any of the saints, martyrs or confessors.

Those Churches—like the mainline Protestant bodies—which have already taken the route along which you seek to lead the Catholic Church are in dismal shape today. The few religious bodies who are gaining ground today are not the liberalized mainline bodies with their “at your convenience” watered-down Gospel, but rather those groups who are strict on their followers and challenging to society—for example, evangelical Protestant groups, Mormons, and Roman Catholics. Churches gain when they challenge popular culture; they self-destruct when they imitate it.

You are not the Church. You are a comparatively small part of it, and I would humbly ask you to consider in your hearts if you truly are even that. The Church is the majority of confessing Christians throughout history, beginning at Pentecost and continuing despite numerous persecutions and corruptions to the present day. The Church is the Body of Christ spread out over every country on the planet. It also includes a large “cloud of witnesses” in Heaven. And for you to claim on behalf of American Catholics in the 1990s—or for those in Western Europe who have conducted similar referendums— that you are the Church is, frankly, myopic and arrogant.

Larry Carstens Arleta, California

CORRECTION:

Space editing of Father Peter Stravinskas’ recent reflections on the movie Priest (June 18) led, the author notes, to an unfortunate distortion of his views, which has alarmed some readers. In the original text Father Stravinskas made it clear that “in no way do I wish any reader to assume that that I am diminishing the significance of the homosexual ‘ acting out’ in the priesthood; the teaching and discipline of the Church are clear—celibacy obviates any kind of genital activity [heterosexual or homosexual]. However, that was not the main point of the film, just the hook on which to hang the real centerpiece….”