St. Patrick’s Church decision could bring tears and sadness
By Letter to the Editor on March 26, 2021.
Editor:
read the news about the Apostolic Signatura’s decision in relation to St. Patrick’s in Lethbridge, and the letter from Josephine Aristone, with interest.
With Catholic churches closing across the country for financial and pastoral reasons, and likely to be moreso at an even quicker rate in a post-Covid world, I agree with Josephine’s comment, although perhaps not her sentiment: “it will be interesting to see what ensues from this edict.”
I suspect the results of this decision, in the long term, will bring more tears and sadness in the future, unfortunately. I suspect that not all of these tears will flow from Church administration who made the initial decisions about St. Patrick’s.
This decision may have disastrous consequences for the dioceses of Western Canada who are already under the financial squeeze (especially some of the northern ones). I would just urge caution with the “wheels of justice,” as the previous author celebrated. Sometimes they keep turning in ways not expected.
I do hope the best for all involved. However, the church’s administration has not exactly been “top shelf” in their performance in dealing with its internal issues (including this one), and many of the church’s grassroots movements have not exactly been the healthiest for the broader Catholic community (also including this one).
All of this to say, having previously been seminarian for the Catholic church, and a Canadian Armed Forces Catholic chaplain, these increasingly acrimonious internal bruhahas within the church confirm my decision to convert to Zen Buddhism.
Aaron Roth
Edmonton
-1
While you paint a gloomy picture; you fail to acknowledge that St. Patrick’s church is among the most beautiful churches in all of Canada and certainly *the* most beautiful in all of southern Alberta. That alone should be celebrated and not taken for granted. While we can pray and connect with ‘god’ anywhere, the experience of being surrounded by beautiful architecture, hand crafted stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings and all the wonderful craftsmanship plays a role in elevating the consciousness be a part of the beauty of life as no mega modern Costco-like church can. I’m glad to hear the church is going to remain open and I certainly hope it will be open to the public during specified hours throughout the day so people can take a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. Immersing oneself for even a few minutes in prayer and meditation surrounded by beauty can refresh the soul like nothing else.