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June 10, 2005
BY TODD DVORAK
Chicago Sun-Times
CLINTON, Iowa – Dorothy Freund built her life around St. Irenaeus Church.
For nearly 50 years, she was a fixture at Sunday Mass, her children were baptized under its stone arches and she spent countless hours preparing funeral dinners in its basement kitchen.
But memories could one day be all that remains of St. Irenaeus, which along with three other Roman Catholic churches in this eastern Iowa city are tentatively set for the wrecking ball.
‘‘I love everything about this church,’’ said Freund, 78, standing outside its front doors. ‘‘I even just loved being here alone in the middle of the night, just scrubbing floors.’’
A few weeks ago, demolition began on St. Patrick’s, a century-old, Romanesque-style building that for decades served Catholics who lived in downtown neighborhoods.
**1 church opens, 4 old ones close **
Although demolition dates have not been set, St. Irenaeus is expected to be next, followed by St. Boniface, built in 1905, and St. Mary’s, erected in 1884.
Church leaders say they are open to alternatives, but Freund and others claim diocesan officials have been ignoring their suggestions while planning a new church on the outskirts of Clinton, about 90 miles northeast of Iowa City.
A spokesman for Davenport Bishop William Franklin denies that the prelate has brushed aside parishioner concerns.
But critics say if the diocese moves forward with the demolition, it would erase some of the city’s most important cultural icons and add to frustration in a parish they say has been losing members for the last 10 years.
Dioceses around the country have been facing the same challenges.
In the past 30 years, many Catholics have traded urban life for the suburbs. Membership in inner city parishes has plummeted, bleeding resources and leaving many churches at the center of blighted neighborhoods.
Many bishops have opted to close churches. In some cities, church leaders have decided to tear them down and sell the land to fund multimillion-dollar clergy sex abuse settlements. . . .
Full article
BY TODD DVORAK
Chicago Sun-Times
CLINTON, Iowa – Dorothy Freund built her life around St. Irenaeus Church.
For nearly 50 years, she was a fixture at Sunday Mass, her children were baptized under its stone arches and she spent countless hours preparing funeral dinners in its basement kitchen.
But memories could one day be all that remains of St. Irenaeus, which along with three other Roman Catholic churches in this eastern Iowa city are tentatively set for the wrecking ball.
‘‘I love everything about this church,’’ said Freund, 78, standing outside its front doors. ‘‘I even just loved being here alone in the middle of the night, just scrubbing floors.’’
A few weeks ago, demolition began on St. Patrick’s, a century-old, Romanesque-style building that for decades served Catholics who lived in downtown neighborhoods.
**1 church opens, 4 old ones close **
Although demolition dates have not been set, St. Irenaeus is expected to be next, followed by St. Boniface, built in 1905, and St. Mary’s, erected in 1884.
Church leaders say they are open to alternatives, but Freund and others claim diocesan officials have been ignoring their suggestions while planning a new church on the outskirts of Clinton, about 90 miles northeast of Iowa City.
A spokesman for Davenport Bishop William Franklin denies that the prelate has brushed aside parishioner concerns.
But critics say if the diocese moves forward with the demolition, it would erase some of the city’s most important cultural icons and add to frustration in a parish they say has been losing members for the last 10 years.
Dioceses around the country have been facing the same challenges.
In the past 30 years, many Catholics have traded urban life for the suburbs. Membership in inner city parishes has plummeted, bleeding resources and leaving many churches at the center of blighted neighborhoods.
Many bishops have opted to close churches. In some cities, church leaders have decided to tear them down and sell the land to fund multimillion-dollar clergy sex abuse settlements. . . .
Full article