Not too long ago, Catholics and non-Catholics alike were scandalized by a one-of-a-kind news story of a Louisiana Catholic priest performing and filming immoral acts in his parish church with two prostitutes. The case was extensively covered by media of every leaning, but it also shone the spotlight on what canon law says regarding the use of sacred spaces and objects.
The use, abuse and disuse of sacred places and objects in light of recent occurrences invites reflection—by both the laity and clergy—on the need for integrity and intentionality of liturgical actions, as well as the true worship of God as an ecclesial community.
The Sacred and the Sacrilegious
Religion is about sacred things. Sacred things lie in a hierarchy. A devotion such as the Holy Rosary, for instance, is not on the same level of sanctity as the Holy Mass. A garden statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not equivalent to the tabernacle. A holy card and a first class Relic of a saint do not hold the same rank in sacredness.
Similarly, sacred places designated for divine worship by a dedication or a blessing prescribed for the purpose in the liturgical books (Canon 1205) cannot be treated in the manner of a mantel shelf altar in one’s home. They encompass what cannot be discussed piecemeal.
The words “dedication” (or consecration), “blessing”, “designated”, “divine worship” all go to signify that these places are “set apart” or intentionally separated from all other things. The roots of word “religion” are linked to the Latin religare—to tie or bind; or to relegere—to treat with care.
Jesus, by seeking a careful provision for His disciples in His prayer (John 17) on the eve of His return to His Father, binds them who are called “out of the world” (v.6). He prays for the ones He has “protected and guarded” here on earth (v.12). One with the Father as His word, Jesus seeks to unite His chosen into this Oneness in speaking His prayer “in this world” (v.14). Consecrated (sanctified) by His word (v.17), His disciples would be preserved from the evil one (v.15) while in this world. His salvation, as does this prayer, transcends time and space, to His disciples from all times and places.
Sacrilege is a sin against the virtue of religion, by which we give God our Creator the homage and worship due to Him. St. Thomas Aquinas considers the virtue of religion as an element of the Cardinal Virtue of Justice, as we express in the liturgical phrase, “It is right to give Him thanks and praise.”
The greater the sacredness of places/things, the more grievous the sacrilege in the hierarchy of sanctity. Whether a person, place or thing is sacred is determined by ecclesiastical authority through the act of dedication/blessing. For example, a person who tears up my personal bible may have acted irreverently, but it would not be a public sacrilege.
The Question of Non-Liturgical Abuse
Recently, a horrified member of a Catholic Facebook group posted a video of a fully vested priest dancing before the tabernacle in a boisterous non-liturgical musical presentation. Some Catholics praised the item seeing the priest as “filled with the Holy Spirit” while others lamented the sacrilege and misuse of sacred space. The chart-topping justification of the patently pre-meditated and indecorous dance item was that “it”s okay because it was not during Mass.”
Consider the instance of the newly created Cardinal Archbishop Gregory of Washington, DC. Known for his welcome to LGBTQ Catholics to the “heart of the church”, he denounced President Trump and Melania Trump’s visit to the Saint John Paul II Shrine in June 2020 (to celebrate International Religious Freedom) describing it as an “egregious [misuse] and “manipulation” of a “Catholic facility” in “[violation] of religious principles”, calling it “baffling and reprehensible.” For the records, the Shrine is a pastoral initiative of the Knights of Columbus, and not a “facility” of the Catholic Church.
Canon 1210 states:
Only those things which serve the exercise or promotion of worship, piety, or religion are permitted in a sacred place; anything not consonant with the holiness of the place is forbidden. In an individual case, however, the ordinary can permit other uses which are not contrary to the holiness of the place.
While the dance involving the priest in sacred vestments seems outright incongruous with the purpose of a sacred place, the case of the President’s visit to the KofC-run sacred place was apparently reverential and certainly not contrary to the holiness of the place, regardless of the contemporaneous political context of the visit and the archbishop who took a Pharisaical scandal to it. Here is a better discussion of non-liturgical uses of sacred places.
Inseparability of Time and Space, Body and Head
The aforesaid examples prompt, respectively, a note on “sacred time” and “sacred space”. Is it tenable to say, “It’s okay because it was not during Mass?” or that “A church merely serves a functional purpose?“
On the aspect of “sacred time”, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) writes in The Spirit of the Liturgy: “All time is God”s time. When the eternal Word assumed human existence at his Incarnation, he also assumed temporality. He drew time into the sphere of eternity. Christ is himself the bridge between time and eternity.”
Holy Mass is where eternity intersects with time. Therefore to treat it as an event robs it of its contemporary nature. “In the end they would remain beyond our reach.” To separate worship from time would be to disincarnate the Incarnate Savior.
In the parable of the Ten Virgins, five foolishly believed that the Wedding Feast (an image for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) was merely an event—their lamps were unlit; they were not ready. The wise virgins on the other hand had lamps lit even when the time of the Bridegroom’s arrival was unannounced.
Time and Space are Interconnected in Christian prayer
In contrast to the temples of all other religions which are cultic spaces reserved to the deity (as against mere meeting places for worshipers), “Christ Himself offers worship” and “becomes His members’ worship as they come together…”.
In authentic worship, the priest, representing the people, in pronouncing the words, “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood”, steps back in time while speaking for the Eternal God. By this, we, although imperfect, become one in Christ’s Body. Through the Eucharist, “the whole Christ”—Head and Body—is offered to the Father as a perfect sacrifice.
Sacred ministers, sacred scripture, sacred architecture, sacred music, sacred art, the sacred vestments and vessels—each aspect is to align towards the worship of God through the sacred liturgy. If the parts have no concern for one another, it divides the Body, it de-links liturgy from worship.
For instance, instruments used in divine worship are generally blessed and meant for sacred use in “accord with the dignity of the temple and truly contribute to the edification of the faithful” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 120). Even their use outside of “liturgical time” (i.e. “not during Mass”) must serve the ultimate end of worship.
As Masses were suspended earlier this year, my family was shocked to come across a parish airing “family-friendly” weekly secular musical concerts using the church piano on its Facebook page. The music was delightful, yet it stood out as a jarring secular replacement for the (suspended) Sacraments. The near absence of consternation from the faithful pointed to the insidious nature of institutionalized secularization enjoyed by church-going Catholics.
Profane But not Sordid Use
With dwindling church attendance, lack of funds to address capital needs, and the resulting consolidation or closure/sale of churches, Catholics may be aware of bishops decreeing churches to be relegated to profane but not sordid use.
This decision is never an easy one and hopefully not taken lightly, as we see in this case where, after analyzing the entire context, having consulted widely and ensured the care of the souls involved, the bishop decreed the church to be relegated to profane but not sordid use (Canon 1222 §2).
“Profane”—not a word indicating profanity—simply means that the church in question is being put to secular use after being deconsecrated (Canon 1212).
Sordid use of a sacred space, on the other hand, would refer to its use for morally wrong and scandalous purposes. A perfect example would be the shocking case of Travis Clark where one of the participants intentionally set out to “defile a house of God.” Other examples: renting out church space to the local chapter of freemasons; allowing it to be repurposed as an abortion clinic.
Despite this provision for prudential judgement in the process of desacralizing a church, we witness unfortunate cases of “hearts being stabbed” and “souls being ripped” following beloved parish churches being sold to businesses with a potential for sordid use, or their sacred objects like art and relics appearing in auctions and thrift stores, or simply left unrehabilitated.
A church building may desirably be sold to parties that may repurpose it as their place or worship, as a social service agency or an auditorium. However, the sale often lands the once-sacred space hanging between the profane and the sordid. Beautiful basilicas and churches transformed into exotic hotels and recreation facilities offer a sad witness.
After the debauched Louisiana priest’s arrest for obscenity, his archbishop performed a penitential liturgy of atonement (Canon 1211) and reconsecrated the altar. He perhaps believed it to sufficiently address the gravity of the scandal. Later, perhaps in view of the outrage it had caused the faithful, he ordered the altar to be destroyed and burned; in its place, he consecrated a new altar and reconsecrated the parish church.
A Spirit of Fornication
Chistopher Baglow, a theologian who taught the Louisiana priest, made an observation that warrants deep reflection: “Tolerating mediocrity in a man allows tolerance for other kinds of unacceptable things.”
Whether for an individual or in liturgy, tolerance and scandal wait to wed. The traditional Litany of the Saints as well as the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus contain the plea: “From the spirit of fornication, deliver us O Lord.”
The word “fornication” is substituted in some versions by “infidelity” or “uncleanness.” The apparent broadened scope of the meaning of “fornication” accommodates sin as including “spiritual fornication”. To merely look upon a woman lustfully would be to commit adultery in one”s heart (Matthew 5:28).
When what is not in the liturgical books is permitted within the sacred space, the result may very well be “spiritual fornication”—heterodox teachings; a variety show in the sanctuary in the name of “active participation”; the nonchalant use of sacred spaces as venue for non-liturgical activities like secular music concerts, photo-ops, social gatherings, etc.
Such thoughtless expansion of the use of sacred space quickly lends itself to erosion of any sense of the sacred. Once a precedent is set, it becomes part of the parish culture and difficult to roll back.
A Holiness Reality Check
Canon law is not a Church version of a civil legislation. Most of its concerns lie in the spiritual realm. Its provisions concerning the use, abuse and even the disuse of sacred places address the eternal good of souls in the right ordering of sacred things.
In an age of “establishment Catholicism”, the sacred space is referred to by its corresponding Protestant expression “worship space”. Why? Because what once used to be a temple of God built in a certain architectural style, known by its title, location, history or popular piety, is now a type of business enterprise, an establishment with various departments manned by professional parish staff (whose Catholicism is often informed by their secular or Protestant thinking).
Among the many departments hides the liturgy department under which comes the administration of the sacred space—which includes the altar, the tabernacle, the sanctuary, the nave. “Worship space” therefore merely indicates its functional use as a venue within the church complex where liturgical events “take place.” Obscured along with the sacred space is its intended purpose.
It may be worthwhile for clergy and lay individuals to consider the differing degrees of sacred-profane-sordid as a “sanctity-meter” or a “reverence scale” in how sacred things entrusted to them can be treated better and ordered towards authentic worship.
