Another Look at the Cathedral

I had the privilege of touring the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels a few months ago (“Mother Church of a Secular City?” by Larry B. Stammer, Aug. 25). I was impressed with the sheer scale of the job, the elaborate precautions taken against earthquake damage, the richness of the materials and the meticulous detail of the architecture. As a piece of design and construction, it is an undeniable achievement. As a Roman Catholic cathedral, however, it is a disaster.

In appearance and atmosphere, this is a profoundly anti-Christian place. The massive entrance is a blind alley out of a pharaoh’s tomb. The nave, with its downward-sloping floor and low ceiling, feels dark and oppressive--unlike the transcendent open space flooded with light that one expects in a Catholic church. The altar is a massive slab of blood-red marble imported from Turkey--a savagely pagan touch, like the sacrificial table atop an Aztec temple. Unfortunately, the archdiocese is going to suffer the consequences of this grotesque white elephant for decades to come.

Kevin McMahon

Tarzana

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I have donated my last penny to the Catholic Church. The “Taj Mahony” should more likely be named Our Lady of Hypocrisy! What can one think of a church and its officials who have no substantial programs in place to aid the poor and the homeless, and at the same time build monuments to their egos? Has everyone gone mad?

The ongoing scandals of the clergy and the cover-ups by Cardinal Roger Mahony and his peers point out the absence of their piety. They have been caught in lies and have spent millions of donated dollars in payoffs to cover up their folly. It’s time for the Catholics of the world to take back the church from these embezzlers of faith!

Jon D. Elder

Monterey Park