On March 14, 2005, I watched with horror and sadness as St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by fire. My family had ties to this magnificent edifice for over 100 years.
On June 10, 2007, I participated in the pomp and circumstances of a procession led by Bishop Robert Morlino from St. Patrick Church on East Main Street to the Capitol steps and finally to West Main Street and the parking lot of a gutted St. Raphael Cathedral
There, to applause and tears of joy, Bishop Morlino announced the cathedral would be rebuilt on the existing site, incorporating its iconic steeple.
Now, the bishop says instead of replacing our cathedral, he's embarking on plans to build a 14-story multi-purpose building on the UW campus.
Has Bishop Morlino ever considered a career in politics? Apparently it's not just the Lord who giveth and taketh away.
- John McDermott, Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
Background, New Catholic Center to be built on campus
5 comments:
Supporting the fundraising and building of St. Paul's on campus is not mutually exclusive with building a Cathedral. Bishop Morlino is only doing what he always said the priorities of the diocese were .... the young people, the future of the Church. It doesn't mean he is doing this "instead" of attempting to build a Cathedral, only placing it as a priority. I hope Mr. McDermott has been busy fundraising for the Cathedral himself. His constructive efforts would go much further than publically attacking his spiritual father in a secular newspaper.
I agree anonymous. People in the La Crosse diocese still "hate" the Guadalupe Shrine because they feel the money should have been spent elsewhere(feeding the poor, schools, etc). They seem to forget that people donate money for worthy causes, and in this case its up to the St Raphael's to effectively solicit donations.
As we know from the last year, Bishop Morlino and the Diocese of Madison have no money to contribute to St. Paul's on campus, or to a Cathedral.
There is a need for both. Bishop Morlino is right to support both.
The project at St. Paul's has an advantage: It is both a church and a student housing building. The income from the student housing will help pay for the project.
The Cathedral will have to be built entirely from donations. The present economy makes it financially prudent to do the St. Paul's project first.
Meanwhile, St. Paul's is growing very fast, and even producing vocations for priesthood and religious life. The future of our diocese demands that the needs of St. Paul's should be addressed quickly.
Has anyone been in the current St. Pauls? I have never seen it. The outside looks uninviting to say the least.
I attend St Paul's. The church was redone around 1970 all in concrete in a style known as "brutalist" architecture, of which it is apparently a notable example. The chapel setup is not very ideal liturgically nor distinctively Catholic looking and it is visually very stark, like a bunker some people say, in addition to looking a little dingy a few decades later. I have a natural liking for the chapel in its simplicity but I'm one of the few.
St Paul's is working hard to raise funds for the new building and has had some large donations. They probably have a few million in the bank. It's not the diocese raising funds, it's the pastor Fr Nielsen and his staff.
I agree, it's not constructive to talk as if the two major building projects are mutually exclusive or to be angry with Bishop Morlino for counting St Paul's and the formation of young Catholics a serious priority. I do not see any major fundraising effort for St Raphael's right now. There's a desire for it, there are hopes for it, it will be built some day, but it seems to be on the backburner.
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