The desecration of a sacred place
The demolition of Glad Tidings Tabernacle Church on West 33rd Street, a Romanesque Revival building completed in 1868, has been happening quietly for a few months, under the cover of scaffolding. But today, we bore witness to what is left of this sacred space, which will in a blink of an eye become a hotel. As we took these photos, two young women reacted in horror and indignation at the destruction, asking me, "Wasn't this a church?" I was almost embarrassed to tell them it was. This is what we do to our churches in today's New York.
-- Rolando Pujol
Comments (1)
As we took these photos, two young women reacted in horror and indignation at the destruction, asking me, "Wasn't this a church?" I was almost embarrassed to tell them it was. This is what we do to our churches in today's New York.
Wrong! This is what WE do to our churches in today's New York when we stop believing in God, and don't even bother to show up on Sundays, and go to Sunday brunch with our postmodern hip friends, or sit around reading the NY Times. It's easy to criticize Cardinal Egan for closing down churches, but this criticism often masks another agenda. If those two young women had such "horror and indignation at the destruction", the best response to them would have been, "When's the last time you've attended mass?", and "When's the last time you've left any money in the collection basket?" to help pay for upkeep to these buildings. Cardinal Egan's job is not easy, but unfortunately he's doing what he has to do. If no one shows up on Sundays, then these churches have to be closed. They're not just beautiful buildings to be admired from the outside, they're supposed to serve another purpose.