Bishop Robert Barron. Photo courtesy of DeChant-Hughes Public Relations.
Los Angeles, Calif., Jul 1, 2021 / 21:01 pm (CNA).
In a video message Bishop Barron is calling out pro-abortion politicians for refusing to “dialogue” about abortion – or support restrictions of any kind.
Bishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, released a video asking pro-abortion politicians “Can We Actually Dialogue?”
If politicians can’t even agree to “protecting the life of a baby writhing on the table having survived an abortion procedure,” he asked July 1, then “what precisely are we dialoguing about?”
He remembered speaking with members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers about abortion a couple of years ago. The topic came up during a meeting with independents, Democrats, and Republicans in a “more conversational setting.”
While Bishop Barron identified himself as the “son of a dyed-in-the-wool Chicago Catholic Democrat,” he challenged today’s Democratic Party for “this very extreme position that they’ve taken on abortion.”
“That’s where I just really balk,” he told them.
In response, the politicians stressed the importance of “dialogue” – and “the dialogue between the Church and pro-abortion-right politicians.”
Bishop Barron agreed to dialogue.
While the Church opposes abortion and “we’d love to see a complete ban of abortion,” he stressed, “we’ll dialogue if you’re willing to set some restrictions . . . We’ll get behind bills that would restrict the taking of innocent life.”
But the bishop found dialogue difficult when he “began sort of testing the waters” to find common ground with the politicians. He started by asking, “Would you be willing, for example, to limit third-trimester abortions?”
When they said “no,” he followed-up by asking about “so-called partial-birth abortion” or the “procedure by which a child basically in the birth canal is killed.”
When they said “no” again, he asked about born-alive legislation or “laws that say we should protect a child who is somehow, by a miracle, managed to survive an abortion procedure.”
They said no for a third time, which led Bishop Barron to ask, “What exactly are we dialoguing about?”
“In any real dialogue, it seems to me, there’s a kind of give and take,” he explained. “There’s a willingness to each side going a few steps in the other direction.”
That’s why, he said, “I pressed the matter with the politicians.”
“Are you willing to give on this question at all, if protecting the life of a baby writhing on the table having survived an abortion procedure – if that’s too much – again, what precisely are we dialoguing about?’
He ended with a “very blunt and specific” message.
“I would say to Catholics, especially, who are supporting the right to abortion, ‘Okay, are you willing to support this born-alive legislation, as a first step?’” he emphasized. “Are you willing to say, ‘Yes, we should protect the lives of a child that survived an abortion procedure?’ If you’re not, again, I don’t know exactly what the point or purpose of the dialogue would be.
“I think that’s why, to some degree, we’ve come to an impasse on this matter,” he concluded.
The video complemented a recent New York Post opinion piece by Bishop Barron in which he challenged “pro-abortion-rights Catholic politicians.”
“If you’re truly interested in dialoguing with the church on this crucial matter, show a little profile in courage and support born-alive legislation,” he wrote. “If you can take this small step in the direction of protecting innocent life, I’ll know you’re serious about the conversation.”
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Boston, Mass., May 4, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Hartford is appealing to the Vatican for guidance on how to proceed with its investigation of a possible eucharistic miracle at St. Thomas Catholic Church … […]
Father J.J. Mech, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, stands next to the life-sized statues of the apostles that have now been installed in the cathedral’s worship space, along with first-class relics of each apostle. The “Journey with the Saints” pilgrimage, which will be dedicated Feb. 8, 2024, in a special ceremony with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, is part of the cathedral’s ongoing transformation into an “apostolic center for the arts and culture.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Jan 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
At the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, the band is getting back together. The band of Christ’s 12 apostles, that is.
On Feb. 8, Detroit’s mother church will publicly unveil its long-awaited “Journey with the Saints” project, a permanent installation of 14 “larger than life” statues accompanied by first-class relics of each apostle, the latest accomplishment in the cathedral’s ongoing mission to turn itself into an apostolic center in the city of Detroit.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will join Father J.J. Mech, rector of the cathedral, to dedicate the new installation during a special event at 7 p.m.
From its central perch on Woodward Avenue, the looming gothic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Detroit stands out in its neighborhood. Following Vigneron’s instruction to turn the church into a “cathedral of the arts,” Mech has spent the last several years converting the cathedral into a hub of missionary activity and beauty, drawing people to the faith via “shallow entry points.”
“Our goal is that we are going to be more accessible to people off of Woodward,” Mech told Detroit Catholic. “We want this to be a flexible public space, maybe even a community hub for not only spiritual enrichment but cultural enrichment, and it will be a safe place, and we will have security and all of that.”
St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias are pictured in their permanent fixtures atop the pillars inside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The statues and relics of the apostles will be officially unveiled Feb. 8, 2024, as part of a permanent pilgrimage experience at the cathedral, “Journey with the Saints.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The name “Cathedral of the Arts,” Mech explained, is a reminder that the proof of God is beauty — a principle that guides each of the new initiatives he and his team have undertaken on the cathedral’s campus.
The latest project, the installation of the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall statues and relics encircling the cathedral’s interior worship space, is the crowning jewel of those efforts, transforming the cathedral into a permanent pilgrimage site, guided by the men who knew Christ most intimately during his time on earth.
Complete with first-class relics, the new installation is among the first of its kind in North America bringing together all 12 of Christ’s apostles for veneration, and the only exhibit in the world with the relics accessible in this way.
The 14 statues — including two eight-foot angels — each were carved from a single tree trunk in St. Ulrich Groeden, in modern-day Italy, in 1927. The statues were rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December.
The statue of St. Andrew. Each of the statues were carved from a single tree trunk and rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December 2023. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The statues include two angels, 10 of the original 12 apostles, St. Paul, and St. Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas. Mech discovered that he had relics corresponding to the 12 saints, part of a collection of nearly 200 relics owned by the cathedral, all of which he hopes to be able to one day put on display.
The relics and the signage were installed beneath each statue beginning on Jan. 8, in time for the dedication and blessing of the new reliquary pilgrimage on Feb. 8.
“I am so excited about the transformation that is happening,” Mech said. “When you come in, there will be three main signs that tell you how to go on a pilgrimage, what the goal of a pilgrimage is, and how to interact with these relics. [Pilgrims] are going to walk away transformed, different, and they are going to enter through prayer.”
“Journey with the Saints” is much more than a museum of Church history, Mech said, but a rare opportunity to invoke the help of Catholicism’s greatest saints.
“It’s not just about looking at a pretty statue and touching some bones. [Pilgrims] are going to have a purpose when they walk away,” Mech said. “People can decide what they want intercession for, what they are hoping for when they pray to a particular saint, and when they walk away, they’ll keep praying for that.”
Keith Calleja began installation of relics on Jan. 8, 2024, starting with the relic of St. Philip. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
Mech said those whose prayers have been answered through the intercession of the saints will be invited to return to the cathedral and contribute a tile to a mosaic art piece that will be installed to show how God is answering prayers through the project.
While the saints and relics are the culmination of a long-sought project, it’s all part of a greater vision for Detroit’s cathedral, Mech said.
Another piece of the puzzle will be dedicated on May 12, when Archbishop Vigneron will unveil a new outdoor grotto at the cathedral in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as the archbishop emotionally addressed the faithful during a livestreamed Mass from the cathedral, he entrusted the archdiocese to the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes and pledged to build the grotto “as a perpetual reminder” of her care and in memory of the lives lost to COVID-19.
Under the guidance of the archbishop, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament finished a majority of the work on the grotto this fall, including statues of St. Bernadette Soubirous and Our Lady, whose face will reflect the one St. Bernadette saw in Lourdes, France, in 1858.
The first-class relics are among nearly 200 relics currently housed in the cathedral, which Father Mech hopes to find a way to display. The gold reliquaries are installed beneath each of the apostles’ statues. January 2024. Courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“People are already presently coming to pray [at] the grotto with the Blessed Mother,” Mech said. “We put some beautiful landscaping in this fall so people would feel welcomed, and in fact, we have used the site in a couple of ways for prayer services already.”
The grotto will also connect seamlessly with a garden walk that is being created around the cathedral’s plaza lawn, which will include art, benches, solar charging stations, a dog park, a bird sanctuary and pollination habitat.
Working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the cathedral’s co-director of family ministries, Christine Broses, is spearheading the transformation of two previously empty lots on the corner of Trowbridge and John R Streets into green space for wildlife to thrive.
“We learned that the city of Detroit is a north, south, east, and west crossing for bird migration,” Broses said. “So a lot of birds fly over the city of Detroit, but they don’t have anywhere to stop and rest because there isn’t a lot of green space. Creating green space is really important for the city and for wildlife in general, and research shows hearing birds and having green space in neighborhoods helps improve people’s mental health.”
Last spring, Broses oversaw the planting of native flowers in the area, and the next step is to let the space grow wild, which will inevitably attract birds and bees over the coming years. Broses said the final step will be to add educational plaques and pathways to make the spot accessible to schools and families.
Mech wants the garden spaces and pathways to be welcoming and intends to build benches — something the neighborhood is currently lacking.
The statues, pictured in their final fixed locations above the cathedral’s pillars, are just one piece of an ever-developing project to turn the cathedral into a true apostolic center in the heart of Detroit, Father J.J. Mech said. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“We did a study of our neighborhood and found there is not a single park bench in any of the parks in our area,” Mech said. “We want to have park benches so people can come and rest and enjoy themselves. This will be a place where community can be built, and people will realize that the cathedral is not a fortress; we are actually unleashing the Gospel.”
And there is more.
In June, construction began on the Cathedral Arts Apartments, which will include four stories and 53 two-bedroom housing units for low-income Detroiters. The $19.7 million project is the joint effort of the Archdiocese of Detroit; MHT Housing, Inc.; and the city of Detroit and will include a community space and workforce training center.
At the end of the day, the vision of a “Cathedral of the Arts” — like the cathedrals of old — is about listening to the Holy Spirit and making a difference from the very small to the large scale, so that everyone who steps onto the property is transformed, Mech said.
“When we get people onto the campus, they start to see what we are doing, and they get involved,” he said. “Then, the Holy Spirit does the rest and helps them to get to know Our Lord in new and wonderful ways.”
Equivalent to raising the red flag signaling no quarter to the enemy, the Party of insatiable death answered a resounding No to all of Bishop Barron’s reasonable proposals. We can’t reason with them, nor must our bishops stand with those Party Catholic politicians who show no mercy whatsoever for the innocent. Those bishops and cardinals, and those presbyters who persist to support these politicians and offer them the Holy Eucharist must be compassionately warned, for sake of their salvation that they invoke the wrath of God upon their heads.
What a pleasant surprise. A rational discussion of the obvious dilemma that has been allowed to fester. Honestly I had pretty much given up on the good bishop so this was great to see come out in the NY Post.
Thanks to Bishop Barron.
Dialogue, schmialogue.
Equivalent to raising the red flag signaling no quarter to the enemy, the Party of insatiable death answered a resounding No to all of Bishop Barron’s reasonable proposals. We can’t reason with them, nor must our bishops stand with those Party Catholic politicians who show no mercy whatsoever for the innocent. Those bishops and cardinals, and those presbyters who persist to support these politicians and offer them the Holy Eucharist must be compassionately warned, for sake of their salvation that they invoke the wrath of God upon their heads.
What a pleasant surprise. A rational discussion of the obvious dilemma that has been allowed to fester. Honestly I had pretty much given up on the good bishop so this was great to see come out in the NY Post.
I cannot support abortion on any level and am quite disappointed that Bishop Barron is interested in having any dialog on this issue with Democrats.