Catechismus in Lapidem --"Catechisms in Stone"—Duncan Stroik

 

Did Duncan Stroik come with the requirement of a building budget so large that a parish would have to have a large mortgage?  Was Bishop Doran’s financing concession for the parish benefit or what Mr. Stroik required? The following is an excerpt from Mr. Stroik’s editorial (May 2009) on building beautiful churches.

These requirements[the strict monetary policies of the diocese]which are often seen as more binding than papal encyclicals, vary greatly across the country. They usually reflect some mix of cash, pledges, and loans. At the extreme there are dioceses that require their pastors to have 100 percent of their budget in cash and pledges before the architect can finish the drawings. In that scenario, is it any wonder that our modern churches do not inspire? Most of us could not have bought our houses if we had to have 50 percent cash down. So why does the Church require that of the house of God? To make matters more difficult, parishes are expected to pay their mortgage off in five years. Again, an impossibility for most families but considered reasonable for parishes!

This scenario helps to explain why churches are so cheap and ugly today, and why many built in recent decades are falling apart. Many parishes in the suburbs are filled with young families, creating the need for larger churches and schools. Yet, these same families are the ones least likely to make a substantial contribution

Read the entire editorial by click on the following:  The Institute for Sacred Architecture | Articles | Catechismus in Lapidem