By Gretchen Keiser

A proposal to modify the sanctuary structure of the Cathedral of Christ the King has been turned down by a Pastoral Review Committee of priests, whose recommendation was affirmed by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J.

The committee, called together by the archbishop to review the proposal, approved repair and maintenance work to the Cathedral, and the renovation of the lower level of the church building. A proposal to provide a driveway on the Peachtree Road side of the building that would permit people to drive up to a side entrance, facilitating access for the handicapped and for processions, was also approved.

However, a more sweeping design proposal, that would have created an addition to the church on the school and parking lot side of the Cathedral, and modified the sanctuary for liturgical reasons, was not approved.

Archbishop Marino, who received the proposal when he became archbishop last May, three months after a frank public airing of the debated plan at the parish, said that the had asked the College of Consultors, an advisory group of priests, and the special Pastoral Review Committee, to review the plan and give him recommendations.

Father Richard Kieran, rector of the Cathedral, made a presentation of the plan to the Consultors, the archbishop said. The Consultors recommended that the matter be put into the hands of the Pastoral Review Committee, whose membership included several Consultors and other priests appointed by the archbishop. Father Kieran made a presentation to this group also, including a modified plan, the archbishop said.

While every building project in the archdiocese is subject to review by a pastoral board, the archbishop said he was “at pains to broaden” the membership of this board “so it could include all those who needed to have something to say about it.”

The committee included Father Tom Carroll, M.S., pastor of St. Ann’s , Marietta and dean of the northwest deanery; Monsignor Donald Kiernan, pastor of all Saints, Dunwoody; Father Peter Ludden, chancellor; Father Louis Naughton, and Monsignor John McDonough, who retired as rector of the Cathedral in June 1987. Father Edward Dillon, vicar general, chaired the committee.

The following items were approved by Archbishop Marino, in consultation with the committee:

Provide new electrical panel and wiring; replace the air conditioning system with a quieter, more energy efficient system; repair stained glass windows and install protective shields as required; clean exterior and interior limestone.

Also, provide a driveway/plaza with handicapped parking adjacent to the Cathedral on the Peachtree Road side; review the energy cost of the existing structure; improve the lighting to increase it and highlight the church’s architectural features; install an improved sound system; repair or replace the organ console and electronics; and landscape the exterior.

The committee also approved a redesign of the lower level of the Cathedral building to provide as many of the following as possible: bride’s room; choir room; two rooms for child care; parish library; two conference rooms for adult education and meetings; religious education offices; deacon’s office; Hispanic outreach worker’s office; storage, restrooms; and new telephone system.

The archbishop said that he communicated the committee’s decision to Father Kieran and sought his response. The archbishop then affirmed that this would be his decision.

In an interview Archbishop Marino said that the proposal to modify the sanctuary through the addition of a new structure to the side of the Cathedral had some “very attractive and very desirable features” to it. He cited an elevator that would have assisted the handicapped and a gathering area that would permit processions to form inside in inclement weather rather than outside as is now the case.

However, he said that the conclusion of the review committee, and his own conclusion, was that the overall plan, weighing its cost and its impact upon the structure of the church, did not sufficiently increase the seating in the Cathedral to justify the project

“Looking at the cost of all of these changes and what it gave us in terms of increased seating, I think what the Pastoral Review Board thought was that it simply was not justified,” the archbishop said.

He acknowledged that the addition plan, the Cathedral, touched upon sensitive areas for parishioners, who were divided as to whether they favored changing the sanctuary or not.

Discussions that talk about changing worship space are “fraught with so much neuralgia,” he said, and solutions invariably are less than ideal.

Nonetheless he said that it was not the controversy about the proposal that prompted the recommendation against the addition.

“I think they looked at what really was being gained,” the archbishop said of the committee. Accepting the fact that any debate over worship space would prompt disagreement, he said, “There was more than just that. That was compounded by the fact that, having gone through all the anguish to get people to accept these changes, and enormous expense, we really were not getting that much more Cathedral.”

Father Kieran, who said in February 1988 after a parish meeting attended by 500 people that the matter would be left up to the new archbishop, said he would consult with his parish council and committees to review the list of approved items and proceed with them.