EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Apparantly, "my" parish (I try to avoid it) has decided to hang pictures of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. in the church (along with Dorothy Day and Archbishop Oscar Romero), depicted with halos around their heads in icon-esque format (ridiculous). This was two weeks ago and I first saw them yesterday at Christmas Eve Mass (was forced to attend said parish). I am trying to come up with a letter to the pastor on why I am opposed to this (especially MLK and Ghandi). Not that there is anything wrong with Oscar Romero or Dorothy Day, but we don't even have a statue of Mary and the crucifix is stashed on the side wall. How should I go about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Domini Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 How sad... INXC Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|gnat| Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 I understand why you object to Ghandi, but why to MLK? Just because he was not Catholic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 when a halo is put over someone's head, it usually means that they are being depicted as a saint. None of these people were canonized as saints so they should not be portrayed as such Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadreSantiago Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 i read the list of people that Ratsinger wants to prolaim saints and none of them hold a candle to MLK or Ghandi. You should ask him politetly to remove the halos but not their faces. These are great men who changed the world and deserve every right to be portrayed as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 I won't deny that MLK or Gandhi performed many good works in their lives and did a lot for global social justice. MLK was also a man of deep faith in God. But doing good works for social justice and being holy are two different things. it is our faith in Christ that makes works perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 churches are not monuments to great men in history. saints are not simply great forces in history. churches are structured towards worship of God, and saints are the people we know to be in heaven. whether or not they were "great men" is irrelevent. I would gather a mob to take down the pictures, it's complete sacrilidge is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cow of Shame Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 [quote name='Aloysius' date='Dec 26 2005, 11:09 PM'] I would gather a mob to take down the pictures, [/quote] Well that's real mature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scardella Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 [quote name='thedude' date='Dec 26 2005, 10:09 PM']Apparantly, "my" parish (I try to avoid it) has decided to hang pictures of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. in the church (along with Dorothy Day and Archbishop Oscar Romero), depicted with halos around their heads in icon-esque format (ridiculous). This was two weeks ago and I first saw them yesterday at Christmas Eve Mass (was forced to attend said parish). I am trying to come up with a letter to the pastor on why I am opposed to this (especially MLK and Ghandi). Not that there is anything wrong with Oscar Romero or Dorothy Day, but we don't even have a statue of Mary and the crucifix is stashed on the side wall. How should I go about it? [right][snapback]836615[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Hrm... is there any specific teachings on portrayal of people in churches? As a rule of thumb (as far as I can tell), if they aren't at least blessed, they sure as heck should not have a halo around their heads. I wouldn't even put one on JPII until the Church declares him blessed (even though I don't doubt that it will happen). By putting the halo on their head, you're signifying that they are in heaven. We cannot be sure that ANYONE not declared a saint is in heaven, period. I take it, though, that the parish cares little for the Magisterium. Are there others of like mind who're concerned about this? You might want to get in direct contact with your pastor and respectfully voice your opinion. If he responds to the effect that the rest of the parish supports him or similar carp (yes, the fish!), then bring in other people who are concerned. If that doesn't work, start going up the line, first to the bishop, then to the Magisterium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 It's only one of many problems at this parish. I remember that nothing was said in the bulletin about John Paul II after his death. None of the liturgical reforms have been implimented. The Nicene Creed is never said. The list goes on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cow of Shame Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 How bizarre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifescanticle Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 [quote name='thedude' date='Dec 26 2005, 11:09 PM'] How should I go about it? [right][snapback]836615[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I agree that the first step is to write the pastor about your concerns. Pray the the Holy Spirit will guide you before you write. Be polite. If the pastor replies to you letter then you have opened a dialogue and work within it until you are no longer making progress. If you recieve no acknowledgement then a letter to you Bishop addressing your concerns and your pastors lack of responce to them is in order. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 By any chance, are these those Robert Lentz icons? He is a Franciscan who makes some truly beautiful and amazing icons and God has blessed him with great talent. But some of them I don't find to be appropriate to be icons -- genuine icons to be displayed, especially in the case of a church, is to be be reserved for Catholic saints and the divine. It's also one thing to make someone look "icon-like" in an editorial illustration in a magazine (perhaps some story demonstrating the inappropriate apotheosis of celebrity)... but I don't think that's what Lentz is getting at here. You see a lot of his work in New Age bookstores, as well as Catholic ones. I think I even own a couple of his cards (the ones of actual saints) but of all the paintings he has done, to have MLK and Ghandi in a Catholic Church and portrayed as the equivalent of bona-fide Catholic saints is not appropriate. I'm not saying we can't have hope that they are among the saints in heaven and can't honor their legacies in other ways, but as neither were Catholic, it smacks of relativism to iconize them and even further, display them in a Catholic church in a saint-like fashion. To me, the most questionable one that Lentz has done is an icon of Harvey Milk of San Francisco. I don't intend to deny the fact that a homosexual ought to be treated like a human being like anyone else, which was in part was what Milk may have been trying to get at, but one can't deny that many trappings of the gay rights movements are incompatible with Catholicism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akalyte Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 *cough* *cough* liberals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 [quote name='thedude' date='Dec 27 2005, 10:18 AM']It's only one of many problems at this parish. I remember that nothing was said in the bulletin about John Paul II after his death. None of the liturgical reforms have been implimented. The Nicene Creed is never said. The list goes on... [right][snapback]836829[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Sadly, it sounds like this parish has become Catholic in name only, and now worships liberalism instead of Christ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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