Controversial Cathedral Opens In L.A.
The newest U.S. cathedral opened Monday amid incense, prayers and controversy as protesters condemned the $195 million cost and Roman Catholics continued to struggle with the stigma of priestly sex abuse.
Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral — a $195 million building intentionally a foot longer than New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral was dedicated during a three-hour service that incorporated the many ethnic backgrounds of the faithful.
Cardinal Roger Mahony led a procession of some 3,000, including more than 560 priests, bishops and other clergy, in a journey of heat and light.
Organ music sounded as they moved from the courtyard, sweltering in 90-degree heat, through 25-ton bronze doors and into the cool stone and cement interior.
The cathedral's austere, modernistic look has been compared by critics to a prison or a shopping mall.
But the adobe-colored walls, lit by sunlight streaming through alabaster windows, became less stark with the presence of parishioners and a choir.
"My friends, welcome to the city's, and your new cathedral," a beaming Mahony said as guests settled into the new cherrywood pews. "It is truly exhilarating to see it filled with people ... this is what it is all about."
Pope John Paul II sent a special message that was read in the ceremony, saying the cathedral represents the diversity of Los Angeles.
"May this cathedral always remain an eloquent symbol of communion and fraternity, of mutual respect and understanding," said the Pope's messenger, Cardinal James Francis Stafford.
The Mass and dedication included elements as diverse as Vietnamese singing, African drumming and children in traditional Mexican costume.
Supporters consider the cathedral a symbolic new beginning for the archdiocese, one of many that has suffered from the scandal of sexual abuse allegations against priests.
Dozens of people gathered outside the cathedral to protest the church's handling of the abuse scandal and the cost of the building.
A large papier-maché effigy of Mahony held a sign saying: "Suffer the little children."
Signs urged "No fat cat cathedral."
Demonstrator Alice Callahan said the money for the cathedral should have been used to help the poor and homeless.
"I think the church would begin to look very redeemed if it would take all the artwork it just bought, that alone was $30 million, and sell it," she said.
Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the archdiocese, said the cathedral was mainly funded through private donations and "not one dime" was taken from church social service programs.
Money raised from a 6,000-space mausoleum, built beneath the cathedral, along with a gift shop, restaurant, conference center and a 600-car parking garage are expected to help cover ongoing expenses.
Tamberg said that the new cathedral was an important indication that the church could weather such turmoil.
In an interview on The Early Show, he said the cathedral was built with private donations specifically earmarked for that project and that none of the archdiocese's social service programs would suffer as a result.
The cathedral is Spanish architect Rafael Moneo's postmodern interpretation of California's original Spanish missions, including sloping floors, high ceilings and muted tapestries that depict saints and worshippers.
Artists and designers have added symbols from diverse beliefs and languages as a way of welcoming everyone, Mahony said. Tamberg told CBS News that the stained glass windows and some of the marble for the new church came from the old cathedral.
The 25-ton bronze doors carry symbols of deities from around the world, and a disc-like water sculpture in the entry is inscribed with the biblical phrase "I will give you living water" in the 37 languages in which Mass is celebrated throughout the archdiocese.