Sure, so Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown thinks he scored a coup by purchasing the Crystal Cathedral from the Schuller clan. But the move isn't being universally celebrated by conservative Catholics, many whom long derided the Crystal Cathedral as the antithesis of Catholic church beauty and whom are now understandably aghast that the building will now be the seat of Orange County Catholicism.
One of those critics, however, is an important one: the Vatican.
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In an article appearing in the Italian daily La Stampa, the paper's “Vatican Insider” column noted that Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship felt it was “very urgent” to crack down on recent American Catholic practices to erect what the paper called “garage-style churches” that were “avant-garde constructions that look like anything but a church.” Tellingly, accompanying the article was a picture of the Crystal Cathedral.
Will Pope Benedict XVI make Brownie destroy the Crystal Cathedral and erect something more majestic? Will he at the very least give Brownie a tongue-lashing for going against orthodoxy? Regardless, this is another example of how clueless Brownie ultimately is. Pissing off your bosses? Heckuva job, Brownie!
