Oh, Blessed Irony!
By Jonathan Black
Corsair Staff Writer

• New Lady of the Angels Cathedral opens Downtown in midst of controversy.

Los Angeles’ newest landmark was unveiled last Monday, the $190-million Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral that overlooks the Hollywood freeway in downtown Los Angeles. Needless to say, critics have expressed absolute disdain for the local archdiocese, and Cardinal Roger Mahoney in particular, for the recent scandals surrounding and leading up to this event.

Although not particularly well documented in the local press, many have called for Mahoney’s resignation due to allegations that the cardinal was not only aware of the actions of, but gave transfers and promotions to, known pedophiles in the clergy. The most notable of these, according to news reports, was Monsignor Michael Harris, on whose behalf Mahoney conceded a $5.2 million settlement to Ryan Dimaria, one of Harris’s numerous victims over the years.

The list of sexual crimes and ensuing cover-ups is endless in the local parish alone. And nationwide there have been numerous victims who have contracted HIV or AIDS from clergy members. This brings up the question; will this newly erected monstrosity called Our Lady of the Angels help to heal the wounds in the eyes of local citizens and parishioners? The answer emphatically relies on how gullible and naïve these people happen to be.

I have sat through many masses where the clergyman has harped endlessly on the importance of finding a message from God in everyday life and acting solely upon the wishes of our Holy Father. Earlier, this sort of encouragement seemed rather vague and idealistic. Now, above all things, I’m excessively grateful that this encouragement was received while sitting with family in a pew and not with the clergyman in a confessional.

Furthermore, if one takes this Catholic lip service at face value, a most definitive sign is clearly written on the wall: The business of Roman Catholicism has, for decades, been insidious and criminal.

This doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any charitable or good deeds done by Catholics, Jesuits, or any other religious factions. These groups have contributed an endless amount of heroic work to help their fellow humans for centuries, but this work was done in the interests of each individual’s personal good will and charitable desires.

Friedrich Nietzsche said, “One must not be misled: they say ‘Judge not’ but they send to hell everything that stands in their way. By allowing God to judge, they themselves judge.”

Even at the inaugural dedication mass, where the crowd withstood smoldering heat, the Salt Lake Tribune quoted Mahoney as saying “The best place after your visit is the air conditioned gift shop. It takes all kinds of (credit) cards but has an ATM in front.”

Not only are trinkets, Starbucks coffee and Our Lady of the Angels Chardonnay available, but one can also purchase a below-the-ground crypt as a final resting-place for upwards of $3 million per tomb.

Without passing judgment, it’s still clear that there is not one shred of evidence that God will oversee more closely those buried underneath a Church or those who attend Church while alive. Are we not living in a society where evidence is so frequently the difference between life and death?

If God’s not everywhere, then God can’t be anywhere. So why waste money on a cathedral, when the money could be put towards a NFL team or to redecorating the Embassy Hotel?