Ugly as Sin: why they changed our churches from sacred places to meeting spaces and how we can change them back again.

Ugly as Sin Why they changed our churches from sacred places to meeting spaces and how we can change them back again EDITED BY Michael S. Rose PUBLISHED BY Sophia Institute Press, 2002, ISBN: 1928832369, Hardcover, pp. 236, $24.95 CAN

Michael Rose is an architect and also the editor of St. Joseph Messenger and St. Catherine Review. The book begins with the proper role of architecture in a Catholic church. Here the three primary requirements are verticality, permanence, and continuity. A church must raise the eyes, and thus the heart, up to God; it must be built to last, transcending time and culture; it must manifest the permanence of our faith.

The author then guides a pilgrim in a walk around the typical parts of the traditional Catholic church, explaining the role (and consequently the structure and place) of the altar, the altar rail, the baldachin, the baptistry, the confessional, the facade, the gallery, the lectern, the narthex, the nave, the portal, the pulpit, the reredos, the rose window, the sanctuary, the tabernacle, etc. And he deals with the artistic objects in the church: statues, paintings, Stations of the Cross, the large Crucifix, stained-glass windows, music, etc.

The account of how Catholics ever decided to turn our churches into meeting spaces instead of sacred places is almost unbelievable. The starting-point was the theories of Edward Sovik, a Lutheran architect who didn't believe in the Real Presence and whose theories for some unknown reasons were adopted by many Catholic architects, or at least persons calling themselves "liturgical design consultants". Sovik favoured having a church that could serve as many other things, such as an auditorium or a gymnasium, and recommended using movable chairs rather than pews, putting the tabernacle in a room of its own, avoiding religious art works, not having a sanctuary as a place distinct from the nave, not using the Crucifix, etc., etc.

Catholics in charge of building or remodelling a church were led to believe that these new ideas stemmed from the Second Vatican Council, when actually the Council said nothing about them; and also led to believe that a work Environment and Art in Catholic Worship published by a committee of the American bishops was actually published by the Bishops' National Conference.

It is amazing how much architectural damage can be caused, and indeed has been caused, by even one person. And the number of persons involved in damaging churches in the United States and Canada has very great.

Of course the faith of Catholics is very much affected by the architecture of their church. A properly constructed church leads the faithful to God. And a badly constructed church can weaken the faith of the faithful. Bad construction or bad renovation can result from bad architecture but can also result from bad theology.

The author of this book finally tells how a great deal can be done in the immediate future for churches being built or renovated. New churches can be built properly. Some churches badly renovated can be renovated properly anew. Some certainly cannot, but might be turned into parish halls, or schools, and replaced by a new church. And many detailed suggestions are given as to what improvements should be made. Traditional art objects, many of which were simply discarded, should be replaced. And, most important of all, the tabernacle must be located behind the altar.

Many helpful resources are listed: Church documents, journals, books, internet names and addresses, and recommended architects and artists in North America, Europe, and Asia. And there is also a glossary of church architectural terms.

FR. LEONARD KENNEDY C.S.B.