Chicago archdiocesan official decries landmark designation for church

Published: 2004-01-23

CHICAGO (CNS) -- A decision by the Chicago City Council to confirm a vote by one of its committees to give landmark status to an 80-year-old Catholic church "ignores the fundamental principle of religious freedom from state interference," said a church official. The council's Jan. 14 action "demonstrates a lack of respect for the rights of religious groups to worship and minister as their religious beliefs direct," said Chicago archdiocesan chancellor Jimmy Lago in a statement. St. Gelasius Church, a Romanesque structure, has become a cause among local architectural preservationists. The archdiocese closed the parish in 2002, officials said, because the congregation was shrinking and could not absorb the cost of making repairs to the church and maintaining a large, aging building. When it closed, the parish had less than $36,000 in debt but the church needed a new roof and ceiling -- the ceiling had never been replaced after an earlier fire. The parish school building needed more than $1 million worth of work. At the time, the archdiocese said it did not intend to tear the church down, but later changed its mind. Preservationists and the City Council eventually moved forward with plans to make St. Gelasius a landmark, which would block any plans to tear the structure down or even to just make changes to its exterior.

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