‘Scandal to the Poor’ : $26.9-Million Church Offices Draw Protest

A dedication ceremony for the U.S. Catholic bishops’ $26.9-million headquarters building this week was joined by demonstrators, who charged that the costly and impressive new structure reflects insensitivity to the poor.

As church and government dignitaries gathered for the dedication, more than two dozen Catholic activists sang hymns such as “The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor” and displayed a banner admonishing the bishops to “Make Room at Your Inn, for Christ’s Sake.”

Housing for Homeless Urged

“This building is a scandal to the poor,” said Michael Kirwin of the Catholic Worker house in Washington. Most of the protesters who showed up Tuesday were from the Catholic Worker movement, which runs “houses of hospitality” for the homeless around the country.

The demonstrators, who met earlier in the day with the church leaders inside the elegant five-story structure near the campus of Catholic University, said the money used to erect the building should have gone to help the poor and homeless. They called on the bishops to allow a few homeless families to live in the new headquarters during off-hours as a symbol to encourage churches, convents and seminaries to do the same.

Father Kenneth Doyle, a spokesman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the church agency would “explore the possibilities” proposed by the Catholic Workers in the meeting with several officials, including Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn, who heads the bishops’ committee on poverty issues.

But Kirwin said the Catholic Workers were “not at all satisfied” with the meeting and that they were told that sheltering the homeless would be an inappropriate use of the building.

Meanwhile, the formal dedication, which was not disrupted by the demonstration, drew more than 200 people, seated in rows of chairs around the building’s front door entrance that was flanked by the flags of the United States and the Vatican.

Bishops’ Work Praised

On hand at the dedication were several members of Congress and about 60 bishops. Reps. Silvio O. Conte (R-Mass.), Lindy Boggs (D-La.) and James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) all praised the bishops for their work on behalf of the powerless and vulnerable.

Susan DeConcini, the wife of Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), declared that the Catholic Church and the U.S. government “have the same philosophy--that every American counts.”

In June, the bishops moved their headquarters to the northeast Washington neighborhood after 47 years in a downtown building that had fallen into disrepair.