Posted on 12/31/2001 8:19:55 AM PST by marshmallow
Our Lady of Peace Church, just over Highway 101 from Intel Corp.'s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., is one of the more remarkable Catholic churches that I have attended in America since coming here from Britain too many decades ago.
It is distinguished not by its architecture (from the 1960s) or by its location (opposite an amusement park) but by the man who has run it for years: Msgr. John Sweeny, a priest of great holiness and charisma. He has been there since 1969, soon after the parish was set down amid the pear orchards of the future Silicon Valley. Alas, the new bishop of the diocese seems eager for him to retire.
Peter Robinson, a Hoover Institution fellow who often visits the church, notes that Msgr. Sweeny is "one of those rare priests who has about him an air of actual sanctity." The Rev. Paul Marx, a former leader of the pro-life movement, says that in his travels through 85 countries he has "never seen a parish like Our Lady of Peace." An airline executive, visiting from Utah, found tears welling up as he realized he had at last found "a spiritual oasis."
Over the past 15 years, I have been to Mass many times at Our Lady of Peace. It is orthodox above all. The altar rail is intact; communicants must kneel. The confessionals, constantly manned, have lines of waiting penitents, a rare sight today. There are candlelight processions, all-night vigils, perpetual adoration and rosaries. "Prayer is the most important duty of the priest," Msgr. Sweeny says. The church is open 24 hours a day, with worshipers always present. On Sundays, it's packed. Several thousand people attend Mass and may drive far to do so.
Most strikingly, the congregation is ethnically diverse--Vietnamese, Mexicans, Filipinos, Chinese, Indians and even a sprinkling of Anglos. Msgr. Sweeny has attracted, it seems, the janitors, drivers and service employees of Silicon Valley. Management is less noticeably in the pews, although you may well see BMWs and the odd Mercedes in the parking lot.
Outside the church, visible from the freeway, is a 32-foot stainless-steel statue of Our Lady. Msgr. Sweeny raised the money for it and, more recently, $2 million for a family-life center. He has never found fund raising hard, he says, and the lesson here is simple: The faithful will readily give to those who keep the faith.
Msgr. Sweeny's sermons never stray far from the central Christian message: the salvation of souls. He says Mass at varying times on Sundays but officiates at 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday, and those who have never been to Our Lady may want to go then. Perhaps they should go soon. Msgr. Sweeny is 77, and although he is in good health and looks 10 years younger, the bishop of San Jose, Patrick J. McGrath, appears determined to force him out. Numerous signed petitions and phone calls to Bishop McGrath's office have been unavailing.
Priests are asked to submit a letter of retirement at age 75, but the shortage of priests is such that they are regularly asked to stay on. What happened here?
It's hard to say, precisely. Last summer, some confirmation candidates from Our Lady of Peace avoided attending a diocesan ceremony in a San Jose arena that resembled a rock show, with Aztec ritual elements. More recently, someone in the pews complained to the bishop about a sermon that mentioned, if you can believe it, sin and hell. Finally, a disabled woman, whose bid to teach religion at Our Lady was turned down, e-mailed the diocese, threatening to sue under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Msgr. Sweeny's supporters note that the Catholic Women's Network is in Bishop McGrath's diocese. The cartoon on CWN's homepage, titled "Wholly Mother Church," suggests that its vision is not exactly Father Sweeny's. Indeed, his traditionalist approach may be at odds with the spirit of the more affluent members of the diocese, if not the times. At this point, Msgr. Sweeny would like to be able to retire to his room in the rectory and be available to hear confessions. He will say only that the bishop is a good man who has stressed the importance of prayer. But there is concern that Bishop McGrath will bow to pressure and shunt Msgr. Sweeny off to a retirement home. Possibly, however, prayerful reflection will counsel prudence.
Mr. Bethell is a senior editor of The American Spectator.
Didn't Pat Buchanan say that immigration would weaken Christianity in America - looks like they're the ones holding it together here.
Here are a few points for clarification:
1) The monthly Tridentine Mass is licitly celebrated. The permission was (grudgingly) given by the previous bishop, and hasn't been taken away. I'm not sure who celebrates it, but I don't think it's Msgr. Sweeney himself. Also, about 99% of the Masses, including all the Sunday ones, are not Tridentine. Given the rampant flakiness and liturgical abuse in other parishes, the vast majority of parishioners are very happy to have a reverently celebrated English Mass.
Elsewhere in the SJ diocese, my friends and I have seen (all at different churches):
- A priest denying belief in the Real Presence.
- A priest stating, in a homily, that we shouldn't trust the Church's interpretation of Scripture.
- Eight eucharistic ministers for a weekday Mass with a congregation of about 30 people. (Now that really is extraordinary!)
- Doubtfully valid matter, e.g. bread with sugar and eggs, being used for communion.
2) Our Lady of Peace isn't a "personality cult" around the pastor. There are at least half a dozen active priests - including some real characters! - and all their Masses, confessions, and devotions are packed. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that any of them could be the new pastor, since most are quite elderly.
3) The parish is supportive of Vatican II. The Bible study and young adult groups often discuss the council documents, and consider them authoritative. In addition, Msgr. Sweeney has made the new Catechism available at cost, and sent out a letter urging all families to buy and read it.
(Meanwhile, other parishes celebrate the supposed "spirit of Vatican II" by giving Zen meditation classes. Ack.)
4) My sense is that the current bishop is a good man, who just lacks the fortitude to deal with the entrenched liberal bureaucracy. According to The Wanderer, he expressed shock at the atrocious quasi-pagan confirmation ceremony. (Contrary to the article, Our Lady of Peace did take part in the event, although many parents chose not to involve their children - as was also the case at other parishes.)
Bishop McGrath's situation reminds me of the fictional archbishop in Michael O'Brien's Eclipse of the Sun. Pray that God gives him the strength to stand up for the faith, rather than giving in to those who pray to strange gods of feminism, relativism, multiculturalism, etc.
"They will know we are Christians by our...mariachi band?"
Thank God someone else notices this. If I hear one more queer pseudo-priest talk about the latest five-star restaurant where he recently dined on church funds, I might throw up. Yes, I mean you, Tom!!!
"Silicon Valley liberals" - doesn't that sound like something from a campy, cheesy, B SciFi film?
News of an oasis is always good when one is in the middle of a desert.
I also have some personal knowledge of the situation with the disabled woman, which I won't divulge except to say that 1) the issue has no bearing on the pastor's competence, and 2) the woman isn't a "liberal," but she seems to have played right into their hands.
That leaves the "sin and hell" topic, which is probably true, though not something Msgr. Sweeny tends to dwell on. I've heard much more from him about love, hope, and forgiveness.
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