Friday, May 26, 2000
Basilica altar will be moved
Bishop rules against protesters
By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Despite the objections of many Northern Kentucky Catholics, Bishop Robert W. Muench said Thursday he has adopted recommendations to move the main altar and baptismal font at the historic Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption.
The recommendations are part of a $4.7 million renovation plan for the church at 12th Street and Madison Avenue.
Beginning the day after Easter 2001, floors will be replaced, air-conditioning systems added, new kneelers installed and stained-glass windows repaired. The work should last through November 2001.
Bishop Muench announced Thursday that he had decided to go ahead with recommendations made last month by a steering committee. “I have prayed, discerned and consulted several groups,” the bishop said in a written statement. “I strongly believe the design and scope fulfill the dual goal of being consonant with the cathedral's basic architectural design and history, as well as responsive to the Church's directives on worship.”
The massive main marble altar will move 25 feet closer to parishioners — to the “great crossing,” or transept where the two main aisles meet. It now is located in front of the sanctuary.
The Covington Cathedral was modeled after Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Bishop Muench noted that the new location for the altar is the same place where the main altars at St. Peter's Basilica and Notre Dame stand.
“When the project is completed, our resplendent living house of God will shine even brighter as a brilliant star of our local church, and a compelling beacon to the immediate and extended community,” Bishop Muench wrote.
A group of church members, called the Save Our Sanctuary Committee, has held a prayer vigil and gained at least 2,800 signatures on petitions to stop the renovations. Many say the changes will violate the integrity of the interior of the church; others say it will negatively affect the worship atmosphere.
The bishop has received the petitions as well as written objections. Some Save Our Sanctuary members said Thursday they doubt whether the bishop even considered their concerns.
“He's got the power to do whatever he wants to do,” said John Summe, a committee member from Villa Hills. “There's not much you can do about it.”
He predicted that some Northern Kentucky Catholics will ask for the return of recent donations to the diocese. That has been a consistent threat from some parishioners who say they donated money because they were told it would go for basic improvements.
Mr. Summe said he knows of some parishioners who have received their money back but he was unwilling to name them.
Art Kunath, a Crescent Springs physician who is Save Our Sanctuary's president, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In April, he handed the petitions to Bishop Muench, who, at that same session, ordered Dr. Kunath to stop criticizing the proposed renovations in public. A Cincinnati-based Catholic publication, called the St. Catherine Review, reported on Bishop Muench's order.
Dr. Kunath has declined comment on this incident. Other leaders of Save Our Sanctuary also have declined comment.
Bishop Muench has said their meeting was supposed to be private and that there was no attempt at “censure” or silence Dr. Kunath.
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