O.C. Catholic diocese to buy bankrupt Crystal Cathedral
A bankruptcy judge sides with the Crystal Cathedral's board in ruling that Orange County's Roman Catholic Diocese can buy the campus for $57.5 million.
By Nicole Santa Cruz, Ruben Vives and Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times
November 18, 2011
In the end, 2,000 years of tradition carried the day.
An Orange County bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday that the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture, will be sold for $57.5 million to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which plans to consecrate it as a Catholic cathedral.
The ruling was a blow to Chapman University, which had fought bitterly down to the final moments of the bankruptcy case for the right to buy the property as a satellite campus.
It also marked the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of American Christianity, one that was written in glass and steel by the Crystal Cathedral's founder and guiding light, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller.
In a day filled with drama and deep emotion, Chapman had pressed its case with a newly escalated bid of $59 million, only to complain that it had been blindsided by the Crystal Cathedral board, which came down firmly on the side of the Catholic Church.
In the end, Schuller himself gave his blessing to what once would have seemed unthinkable: the conversion of his sleekly modern masterpiece in Garden Grove, a place where fresh breezes blow through open walls and church services feature talk-show-style interviews, into a Catholic cathedral redolent of incense and ancient ritual.
In a letter to the court, the 85-year-old minister said he could not abide the thought that Chapman might someday use the cathedral for nonreligious purposes. Catholic leaders assured him, he said, that they would "take on your calling of proclaiming Christ's message to humanity" and "care for this campus like the treasure it is."
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kwan issued his ruling shortly after 7 p.m. to the tears of members of the cathedral's congregation, who had sat through the long day in court.
"I only have one word to say and that's 'devastated,' " said the Rev. James Richards, who has volunteered at the Crystal Cathedral for 10 years. He said congregants want to continue to worship in their church.
Congregant Bob Canfield said he felt "thrown under the bus."
Under terms of the bid, the diocese will let the church lease back core buildings for three years, but then it has to find a new home. One possibility is St. Callistus Catholic Church nearby. Chapman had been willing to let the church stay on most of the property for as many as 20 years.
Bishop Tod D. Brown, who has been campaigning for years to build a cathedral, said he was moved, "painfully so," by testimony from congregants.
"I'm kind of drained," he said. "This is a bittersweet experience. I say this because I have the deepest respect for the Crystal Cathedral ministry."
Brown also said, without elaborating, that the inside of the cathedral will be renovated to accommodate Catholic worship.
He said that the diocese will pay for the cathedral with loans and the sale of other property, and that the diocese had met all of its obligations from sexual abuse cases. "I don't think we are neglecting victims or victim's claims," he said.
James L. Doti, president of Chapman University, said he was disappointed but thought the judge's decision was fair. "Oftentimes it's not the way you want it to go," he said, adding that there are no plans to appeal.
Among the questions is what will happen to the Crystal Cathedral ministry now led by Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman. The church has been in a downward slide for years, culminating in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2010, when it cited more than $50 million in debt.
The ensuing months saw a lot of on-again, off-again plans by which the church would sell to a real estate developer, the Catholic Church or Chapman, or dig itself out with a "miracle" fundraising campaign. The campaign raised only $173,000 by the end of September.
It didn't help that the Schullers appeared tone deaf at times to their own lives of apparent privilege, as when the church recently asked for food donations for Schuller's ailing wife — and said the items would be delivered to her in a limousine.
An Orange County bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday that the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture, will be sold for $57.5 million to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which plans to consecrate it as a Catholic cathedral.
The ruling was a blow to Chapman University, which had fought bitterly down to the final moments of the bankruptcy case for the right to buy the property as a satellite campus.
It also marked the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of American Christianity, one that was written in glass and steel by the Crystal Cathedral's founder and guiding light, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller.
In a day filled with drama and deep emotion, Chapman had pressed its case with a newly escalated bid of $59 million, only to complain that it had been blindsided by the Crystal Cathedral board, which came down firmly on the side of the Catholic Church.
In the end, Schuller himself gave his blessing to what once would have seemed unthinkable: the conversion of his sleekly modern masterpiece in Garden Grove, a place where fresh breezes blow through open walls and church services feature talk-show-style interviews, into a Catholic cathedral redolent of incense and ancient ritual.
In a letter to the court, the 85-year-old minister said he could not abide the thought that Chapman might someday use the cathedral for nonreligious purposes. Catholic leaders assured him, he said, that they would "take on your calling of proclaiming Christ's message to humanity" and "care for this campus like the treasure it is."
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kwan issued his ruling shortly after 7 p.m. to the tears of members of the cathedral's congregation, who had sat through the long day in court.
"I only have one word to say and that's 'devastated,' " said the Rev. James Richards, who has volunteered at the Crystal Cathedral for 10 years. He said congregants want to continue to worship in their church.
Congregant Bob Canfield said he felt "thrown under the bus."
Under terms of the bid, the diocese will let the church lease back core buildings for three years, but then it has to find a new home. One possibility is St. Callistus Catholic Church nearby. Chapman had been willing to let the church stay on most of the property for as many as 20 years.
Bishop Tod D. Brown, who has been campaigning for years to build a cathedral, said he was moved, "painfully so," by testimony from congregants.
"I'm kind of drained," he said. "This is a bittersweet experience. I say this because I have the deepest respect for the Crystal Cathedral ministry."
Brown also said, without elaborating, that the inside of the cathedral will be renovated to accommodate Catholic worship.
He said that the diocese will pay for the cathedral with loans and the sale of other property, and that the diocese had met all of its obligations from sexual abuse cases. "I don't think we are neglecting victims or victim's claims," he said.
James L. Doti, president of Chapman University, said he was disappointed but thought the judge's decision was fair. "Oftentimes it's not the way you want it to go," he said, adding that there are no plans to appeal.
Among the questions is what will happen to the Crystal Cathedral ministry now led by Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman. The church has been in a downward slide for years, culminating in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2010, when it cited more than $50 million in debt.
The ensuing months saw a lot of on-again, off-again plans by which the church would sell to a real estate developer, the Catholic Church or Chapman, or dig itself out with a "miracle" fundraising campaign. The campaign raised only $173,000 by the end of September.
It didn't help that the Schullers appeared tone deaf at times to their own lives of apparent privilege, as when the church recently asked for food donations for Schuller's ailing wife — and said the items would be delivered to her in a limousine.
_________________________________________________________________
The reporters obviously don"t know Bishop Brown well when they write:
"the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture"
- the new cathedral may be a monument to "modernism" but it won't be the architectural style but rather the Modernism condemned in the "Syllabus of Errors!"
likewise when they write:
"the conversion of his sleekly modern masterpiece in Garden Grove, a place where fresh breezes blow through open walls and church services feature talk-show-style interviews, into a Catholic cathedral redolent of incense and ancient ritual."
Is any liturgy Bishop Brown controls "redolent of incense and ancient ritual?"
Bishop Brown:
"I have the deepest respect for the Crystal Cathedral ministry."
Of course he does. Certainly more respect than he has for traditional Catholicism.
Posted by: David | Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 08:12 PM
Well its sad, but not exactly like this pattern wont be repeated in the future from the fruits of Ecumenism, when Mary destroys all heresies and the Protestants come home some 10-20 or 100 years from now.
Posted by: Emmet | Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 07:30 PM
Wow ! I'm gob smacked. Just when I thought that the whole world was broke. What exactly is the interest rate on $57.5 million in dollar terms &/or how many generations will it take to repay the loan. I wonder what will happen to all the Crystal Cathedrals Faithful will they convert to catholicism or turn to atheism in bewilderment & disillusionment.
You know in today's world we talk in terms of TRILLIONS & GAZILLIONS & only God knows what heights we will hit in the future.
BUT, & this is a big "BUT" the truth about money is that MAN KIND IS NO GOOD WITH MONEY. Just look around the globe today & see the financial wreck that the NATIONS of this planet are, but also look back in time & see the catastrophes of EMPIRES THAT CAME & WENT, GOLDEN AGES & know that this is a reality.
Man in this world with money is "A TRY HARD WANNA BE THAT NEVER WAS." It comes down to the fact that one can not be emotionally involved with money/riches & be of sound mind or sensible, rational thinking hence irrational borrowing & spending ie:- illusions of grandeur / the high life....
The "Nothing was to good for us at the time honey." mentality.
Posted by: Rosie Davis | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 04:02 AM
book:- To have or to be ?
author:- Erich Fromm
The Nature of Having
The nature of having mode of existence follows from the nature of private property. In this mode of existence all that matters is my acquisition of property & my unlimited right to keep what I have acquired. The having mode excludes others; it does not require any further effort on my part to keep my property or to make productive use of it. The Buddha has described this mode of behavior as craving, the Jewish & Christian religions as converting; it transforms everybody & everything into something dead & subject to another's power.
PROVERBS, 18,2.
A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
Posted by: Rosie Davis | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 04:21 AM
We can pray for a replacement...but look at the bright side, he didn't get to build the Rog Mahal 2.0
Posted by: Joe | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 04:41 AM
To Joe :- Well said man !
Through out time "WE" have come & gone in oh so many ways, but "WE" always end up on the same thresh hold do you think some one is trying to tell us something ?
Posted by: Rosie Davis | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 05:13 AM
Perhaps, now I'm not a fan of the purchase...but it beats anything "Tod not of God" (coined by a priest friend of mine) would build himself. (or rather have designed)...Beauty is objective certainly. Perhaps he'll be replaced next month and new Bishop will get to design the sanctuary and everything.
Posted by: Joe | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Well its sad, but not exactly like this design will not be recurrent later on from the fruit of Ecumenism.
Posted by: orange county csa | Monday, November 28, 2011 at 04:54 AM
Hey!
Such a amazing post related to Catholic Religion. your article is wonderful.
Thanks
Posted by: DEBBIE ORTIZ | Monday, December 19, 2011 at 03:41 AM
Great post, very informative, i was not aware of certain things till now. thanks
Posted by: software consultant | Monday, January 23, 2012 at 12:48 AM
As I was sitting here thinking about this, I wondered, "Is there any history of a diocese buying a building like this?" I mean, I know it has worked the other way around, but I'm unaware of such an occurrence.
I think the Crystal Cathedral is beautiful, so I don't understand most of you. And adorned the right way, it could be quite extraordinary. And the grounds that will come with it will definitely add a lot to the cathedral -- although my understanding is that the Crystal Cathedral will maintain ownership of some of the buildings for the short-term future.
One more question: what the heck is going to become of the property on Bear and MacArthur now? How much money did they spend on it (although it may have been donated). And let's not forget the Bishop's new residence purchased in that new housing track (right?).
Sounds like someone made a serious miscalculation either a few years ago ... or now. We now have two properties and plans with for two cathedrals -- not exactly what I'd call good strategic planning.
Posted by: James | Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 05:53 PM