more new orleans churches slated for oblivion
I believe in God, though I don’t consider myself “religious” in the usual way. My relationship with God is private, unique and personal - as I suppose it is with everyone to some extent or another. Now, most of my friends are intellectual types - which usually means atheist - and a lot of them are very negative about the concept of religion in general. I respect this point of view just as I respect the points of view of those who pursue their religious beliefs with a fervor that I don’t fully understand (as long as no one gets hurt). My only gripe against atheism is that it seems to me an unnecessarily unimaginative way to go through life. I mean, really, doesn’t the idea of having faith in something that can’t be scientifically proved sound like the ultimate intellectual/creative adventure? But to each his own.
All that being said - and although I admit I don’t go to church myself - I do understand the value that these places hold in the lives of those who seek a sense of community in their spiritual lives. Especially in a city that’s been through everything that New Orleans has been through.
New Orleans is about as Catholic as a city can be. Its collective loyalty to the Catholic Church is likely unrivaled in the United States. Catholicism here goes way beyond the usual Sunday morning run-through. Here we have colorful mystic rituals that make most forms of Paganism look like a mundane course in accounting. It’s a faith embraced by a creative and resilient people who live life like the carnival rollercoaster that it is, with passion and humor and tears and sanctity and individuality. Catholicism in New Orleans is really something special.
You would think that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church would appreciate and love New Orleans back. Guess what? It doesn’t.
Catholics in New Orleans need their churches. They always have, but now more than ever. In these extraordinarily difficult times, the church authorities should be there for the people of this city like never before. Really, it’s an historically defining moment of Christian obligation. It’s an unusual opportunity for true Christian action - not just the usual symbolic recitation of scriptures. But the powers that be in the Catholic Church seem more interested in the business end. The bottom line. Profitability. If attendance is down, if collections are not what they used to be, then a neighborhood church is nothing more than a wasted real estate asset. Nevermind that attendance is down because so many are displaced. Nevermind that collections are down because the people who came back continue to rebuild and struggle to make ends meet. Nevermind that people here continue to suffer on an epic scale. Fuck em. Pay up or we’ll shut you down. Does that sound Christian to you? To me it sounds more like a particularly ugly episode of “The Sopranos.”
Ghandi once said, “I like your Christ; I just don’t like your Christians.” Well, in my experience, most Christians are good people. The bad ones get all the press, but the good ones that you never hear about are in the majority. And the politicizing of the religion - the dehumanizing of it - is where the real tragedy begins and often ends.
When there are “sacrifices” to be made, the people who ultimately wind up paying the price are the normal folks who just need a place to go for a moment’s peace, who want to pray with family and friends, who want to feel they are a part of something greater than themselves and their seemingly insurmountable problems for just an hour or so a week. The poor folks whose meager salaries keep the church going and whose spirits define it.
Fuck em. Turn a profit or we’ll shut you down.
I always thought the following 1970 lyric by George Harrison was a bit cynical and over the top:
“Well, the pope owns fifty-one per cent of General Motors
And the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us.”
Now I’m not so sure.
Two more historic New Orleans churches are on the chopping block this week. Our Lady of Good Counsel (114 years old) and St. Henry’s (152 years old). I’ve never been to St. Henry’s, but I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Our Lady of Good Counsel recently and have met its wonderful and kind pastor, Father Pat. Our Lady of Good Counsel is an extraordinarily beautiful place. (Here are some pictures.) When I think of it being shut down and auctioned off for profit, especially at this troubled juncture in the city’s history, I begin to think some very unchristian thoughts.
The archdiocese is blaming financial hardship for the closing of these churches. But the Catholic Church is not famous for being strapped for cash. For example, they were recently able to pay out millions in settlements to victims of sexual abuse in Boston and Chicago. Say what you will about the debauchery of New Orleans, but our priests are not perverts and you might have noticed that those settlements did not reflect the evil behavior of any pastor here.
Maybe they should shut down some of the churches that have embarrassing records of pedophilia. Wait a minute - nope, can’t do that. There’s money in Boston and Chicago. New Orleans is poor. So fuck us.
Let New Orleans struggle with the aftermath of the worst disaster in the nation’s history and all the attendant epidemics of mental illness, suicide and murder. Go pray at your flooded-out and crumbling cemeteries, suckers.
This makes me mad. Everyone talks about “poor New Orleans,” what can we do for those people who have been through so much?
Well, we can start by not shutting down the only places that some of us have to go to rejuvenate our spirits, to find an ounce of comfort while we are so clearly down.
Please visit my friend Poppy’s blog for more information. Go here:
http://docbrite.livejournal.com/2008/04/08/
And here:
http://docbrite.livejournal.com/2008/04/05/
Then please write your local archdiocese and let them know how disgusted you are with the church’s treatment of New Orleans.
You know, I really hate to be a public crybaby about all this post-storm stuff, but sometimes I think the people of this city just can’t catch a fucking break.
So many of us have been through so much and have asked for (and received) so little in the way of help. That’s okay, we can take care of ourselves just fine. But in light of all that’s happened here, taking away our churches sure is a spit in the eye.
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The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros is due for publication from The Toby Press in Spring 2009.