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BY JERRY DAVICH
jdavich@nwitimes.com
219.933.3376 | Friday, January 21, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
Supporters for the pending sainthood of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen are expected to stage a protest today outside the Catholic priest's cathedral in Rochester, N.Y.
The group is upset that Sheen's Sacred Heart Cathedral has been "historically vandalized" by church officials with the Diocese of Rochester, which serves 12 counties.
The cathedral, where Sheen served from 1966 to 1969, has undergone a major renovation, including a new granite altar, stained glass windows and other upgrades. A sold-out reopening celebration is scheduled for this afternoon.
Critics say the cathedral has been "stripped, disfigured and severely secularized," with much of its Catholic identity eliminated. And several of Sheen-related mementoes and relics have been removed, such as his altar, pulpit, confessional and tabernacle.
"It now looks more like a performing arts center," said John Hastings, a board member of the Sacred Heart Preservation Committee in Rochester.
Sheen, an Illinois native who died 25 years ago, is on track to become the first American-born male saint in the Catholic Church.
Highland resident Gregg Ladd, who co-founded the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, said Diocese of Rochester officials are going against strict orders from the Vatican.
"This is like an art museum selling or removing famous paintings," Ladd said. "Where are Sheen's items? Where is the money going from their sale?"
Diocese of Rochester Bishop Matthew Clark did not return phone calls for comment. Diocese spokesman Doug Mandelaro said he would not be able to compile answers to critics' questions until after today's event.
However, in a December issue of The Catholic Courier, the diocese's weekly newspaper, Clark wrote: "Elements preserved from cathedral prior to renovation also will adorn the Eucharistic chapel."
Though today's reopening takes place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the renovations have caused a serious divide in the diocese, Ladd said.
Hastings said more than 7,000 Rochester Catholics and neighbors signed a petition opposing the changes. He also said the renovation project has been tied up in litigation for more than a year, and Sheen's niece, Joan Cunningham Sheen, is against the project.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Ill., a city 20 miles east of Peoria, where he was ordained as a priest in 1919 at the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.
Sheen's sainthood cause gets recent push
The cause for beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen received a significant push last month when hundreds of supporters gathered for a memorial Mass at St. Patrick's cathedral in New York on the 25th anniversary of his death.
The faithful hope the Mass will re-energize the canonization process, making Sheen, an Illinois native, the first American-born male saint in the Catholic Church.
Sheen, who died in 1979 in Manhattan at the age of 84, was considered one of the leading American Catholics of the 20th century. In the 1950s, he was deemed a high media priest with his hit television show "Life is Worth Living."
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