Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not the Divine

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Hi, SDiggins June 7, 2003 E-mail story Print

RELIGION

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Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not the
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• Rentals Some parishioners at a Catholic church in North Hollywood fear that remodeling plans could be too
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By Patricia Ward Biederman, Times Staff Writer
Art, Theater, Night Life Times Headlines
Movies, Music, TV, Dining A schism is splitting the faithful at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church — a rift
not over doctrine, but architecture. Judge Won't Unseal
Peterson Autopsy Results
A small but vocal group at the majestic North Hollywood church is trying to block Getting the Cows to Cool It
The State
Inland Empire
changes that they say would transform its cathedral-like interior into a modern
Los Angeles worship space. They fear that St. Charles' pastor, the Rev. Robert Gallagher, is State Joins Hearst Ranch
Orange County bent on changing the old-fashioned church into something more akin to the new Negotiations on
The Valley Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. Development Rights
Ventura County
Two Killed as Plane
Columns Gallagher has said that St. Charles does not need renovation. It needs repairs,
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Crashes, Burns in
upgrades to its acoustics, completion of its dome and other improvements. No Apartment Building
Steve Lopez
Patt Morrison radical changes are imminent, he said, pointing out that no funds have yet been
raised. The Care He Has Given
George Skelton
Returns to Ailing Priest
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Good Turns Unconvinced, the 40 active members of the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation more >
Inside Politics Guild recently marched and prayed outside the church. Last year, the guild
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collected 1,000 signatures on an anti-renovation petition.
In the Classroom
Surroundings
On the Law
In its mission statement, the group calls for keeping the interior of the church much
Out There as it is, with pews facing the main altar at the front of the church, private
Community Papers confessionals, and the current side altars, statues, Stations of the Cross and baptismal font.
Burbank Leader
Claremont-Upland In addition, the guild asks that the Blessed Sacrament be removed from a chapel and "restored to its place of
Voice honor in the tabernacle behind the altar."
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Daily Pilot
Huntington Beach
The pastor took the protesters to task in a recent church bulletin, noting that most of them are not parishioners.
Independent It is insulting, he wrote, to suggest that the church's traditional trappings are what attracts parishioners: "Those
News-Press faithful Catholics would be worshipping along with us in whatever Church building was provided."
Rancho Cucamonga
Voice The protesters, he added, "should be ashamed of intentionally misconstruing what they have heard and
misleading the most vulnerable among us" about plans to alter the church interior.
The World
The Nation The clash in North Hollywood is not an isolated phenomenon. Across North America in recent years, groups
California / Local have rallied against modernization of traditional-style churches.
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In 1999, preservationists blocked alterations to the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in
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Guelph, Ontario, Canada. In 2000, anti-renovation forces hired a canon lawyer to oppose major alterations to
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St. John Cathedral in Milwaukee.
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The disputes often reflect differences over liturgical practice as well as aesthetics. Supporters of many current
trends in church architecture, such as placing the altar in the midst of the congregation rather than in front of

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-religst.charles7jun07,1,2495229.story?coll=la-headlines-california (1 of 3) [6/7/2003 12:33:34 AM]

Congregation Divided Over Design -- but Not the Divine

Arts & Entertainment rows of pews, say they embody the ideas of the Second Vatican Council. Held between 1962 and 1965, the
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council introduced a series of reforms to Roman Catholic practice, many of which were designed to increase
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Columns participation by the laity.
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Environment But modern church architecture was not mandated by the council, said Steve Diggins, the 45-year-old film
Food editor who heads the preservation guild.
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Highway 1 On Sundays, Diggins drives to St. Charles from his home in Burbank. "One of the reasons people come to St.
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Charles Borromeo is they are so unhappy with renovations at their own local church," he said.
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Obituaries "We support Vatican II," said Diggins. "This is not a debate over doctrine We are not connected with the
Real Estate Latin Mass people," he said, referring to dissenting Catholics who continue to hear Mass in Latin and reject
Religion the Second Vatican Council in other ways.
Science & Medicine
Sunday Opinion Diggins, who minored in theology at Loyola Marymount College, said that he thinks the "zeitgeist of the '60s"
Technology
is a factor in plans to change St. Charles. And he notes that since the renovation flap began, some parish
Times Poll
Week in Focus regulars eager for incense and other traditional "smells and bells" associated with Catholic ritual have left St.
For the Record Charles for nearby St. Ann Melkite Church, a Byzantine-style church of the Greek Catholic rite.
Editions
Print Edition Diggins and fellow guild members say they treasure St. Charles because the church, as it is now, supports
National (PDF) their faith. Its dark beauty, its hush, the way the eyes of the faithful are drawn to the large crucifix — all help
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them turn their thoughts to Christ's redemptive sacrifice, they say.
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Sweepstakes Jay Willis of North Hollywood said that making major changes in the church "really stabs at the core of our
Crossword belief."
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Lottery St. Charles — named for a 16th-century Catholic reformer who wrote extensively on ecclesiastical design —
Traffic was designed by J. Earl Trudeau, an architect from Alhambra, and is noted for its artful Stations of the Cross
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and the majestic carved canopy, or baldacchino, over the main altar.
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Enter Keyword(s): In an interview, Gallagher said St. Charles "is not a modern building. It's a Spanish baroque building. We
have no intention of changing the look and the warmth of the building."
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That said, Gallagher acknowledged that some features of the interior would likely change in the near future.
Any significant alterations must be approved by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and his liturgy committee, he
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Home Delivery If he failed to propose some reconfiguration, Gallagher said, the archdiocesan committee would probably ask:
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"What have you done to rearrange the worship area in line with the Second Vatican Council?"
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Additional Subscription Jim Drollinger, one of half a dozen members of the art and architecture committee appointed by Gallagher to
Information & FAQs study possible changes, said he is "very much for" certain modifications to the interior. But, he said, he thinks
the preservationists have misconstrued the extent of proposed changes.

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"We're literally talking about coming up with a slightly different arrangement of the sanctuary area that's
• Cars reflective of current liturgical practice," he said. "In no way will we be changing the style of décor that we're
• Homes so in love with here."
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"Their feelings are very real to them, but we don't just make changes in our church based on people's
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feelings," said Gallagher.
LA Times Initiatives
Times in Education
Reading by 9 As for the guild, it is encouraging supporters to write to Rome to express their opposition to major alterations:
LA Times Books "We're praying," said Diggins, "and we'll continue to fight."
LA Times Family Fund
Times-Mirror Foundation If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.
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