The Church’s Mission is More than Buildings
By Bishop David J. Malloy
One of the foundational principles of our self-understanding as a people and a nation is the freedom to practice our faith.
So important is that element of our national identity that in the First Amendment to the Constitution it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ... .”
I cite this important pillar of our liberty because an issue has arisen in the Diocese of Rockford that in fact threatens our religious liberty.
The City of Rockford Historical Preservation Commission is being asked by a local group called the Friends of Ziock to designate as historical landmarks three of our buildings: the former chancery building owned by the Diocese of Rockford, and a former convent and the Cathedral of St. Peter School, both owned by the cathedral parish.
Since 1920, the Diocese of Rockford has owned the property known today as the campus of the Cathedral of St. Peter Parish. All three buildings are on this campus.
The chancery building was formed from an existing house and another structure which the diocese built to the north of the house. The north side of the existing home’s exterior was removed to attach the two buildings together. A stone facade was placed on the exterior of both buildings to give the appearance of one structure. Only the third floor of the two buildings is level with each other. The building served for nearly 75 years as the chancery and the bishop’s residence.
Because over time the building became too small to house all of the chancery offices, in 2002 the Diocese of Rockford consolidated its offices at the current site visible from I-39/I-90 in Rockford. In 2005, my predecessor, Bishop Thomas G. Doran, moved the bishop’s residence out of that aging building.
The diocese attempted to repurpose the building by exploring whether it could be used as a priests’ residence, a museum, and an extension of the cathedral school.
In 2006, a Catholic Charities office was going to move into the building in its then-current condition, but that was not supported by the neighborhood and did not occur.
In 2009, an architectural firm was consulted in this process and restoration of the building was estimated at between $1.6 million and $2.3 million.
When I was appointed Bishop of Rockford in 2012, I visited the structure. I learned of the numerous attempts to seek a new purpose for the building since 2002, to no avail.
In August of 2017, the dilapidated state of the old building was professionally analyzed and appraised. It was estimated that the cost merely to make the building safe and operational would be $1.6 million, and that the structure is not tenantable and had reached the end of its structural life. In today’s dollars, a renovation to upgrade and modernize the building would likely cost between $3 million and $5 million.
In recent years, the faithful in various dioceses have made it very clear that excessive and expensive residences of bishops are no longer acceptable. I wholeheartedly agree. On that basis, I concluded that I could neither spend nor seek that sort of funding when such money could be better utilized to advance the mission of our Catholic faith and to address the many needs we encounter such as educating our young and feeding the hungry.
I have consulted on various occasions with the Diocesan Finance Council about the future of that building, as did Bishop Doran. I have also consulted with the priests of the canonically mandated Diocesan College of Consultors, the elected and appointed members of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council, and the Diocese’s Building Commission.
Having received their support, I announced in November that the diocese is preparing to take down that old building which has cost the faithful of the entire diocese some $250,000 to maintain as an empty edifice since 2009 and which, as Mayor Tom McNamara of Rockford pointed out to me, represents a fire hazard to the neighborhood and a danger to eventual first responders, should a fire occur there.
Since that announcement, a local Rockford group has petitioned the City of Rockford’s Historical Preservation Commission to have that aged and decaying building declared to be an historical landmark. And not only that building.
The group has also petitioned for landmark designation of the old and decaying former convent building; and the currently in use school, both of which are also on the campus of the Cathedral of St. Peter Parish.
The Cathedral of St. Peter School, as a part of the years-long study of our Catholic education resulting in the Diocese’s Strategic Plan for our Schools, is scheduled to discontinue its operations at the end of the 2018-2019 school year, as we launch the opening of our consolidated All Saints Catholic Academy at the St. James Parish campus in Rockford.
All Saints Catholic Academy is a planned merger of the four schools located at the Cathedral of St. Peter, and at St. James, St. Bernadette and St. Edward parishes, as a means not only to save but also revitalize and strengthen Catholic education of our children in the Rockford area. (An additional four Rockford parishes also will support the new academy.)
The cathedral school building, built in 1921 and the oldest of the four schools, was not chosen as the location for All Saints Catholic Academy due in part to its aging structure and boiler nearing the end of its useful life.
Our diocesan history contains many examples of how the diocese and its parishes have re-purposed buildings as they were able as faithful stewards of the resources entrusted to us. The former convent building on the cathedral campus is one such example.
Beginning in 1929, it had served as the convent residence of the Sisters of Loretto who taught the students of St. Peter School. Over the years, it has operated as an adoration chapel, been used by the diocese’s vocations office as a residence for priests and seminarians, and as a home for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ (the Blue Nuns). It has been vacant since October 2013.
Last August, the City of Rockford cited the diocese for building code violations on the exterior of the vacant former convent building. The city sought fines totaling $3,000 a day for every day the violations remained unrepaired.
The Cathedral of St. Peter Parish, with the support of the parish finance council and pastoral council, determined that repairing the empty convent building was cost prohibitive and, given its condition and its lack of useful purpose, decided to raze the former convent building. The City of Rockford approved the plan and waived the fines. The city informed our contractor that it had granted a demolition permit then promptly revoked it later that day when the petition for landmark status was filed.
If the group’s petitions are approved by the City of Rockford and any of the three buildings is designated an historical landmark, the diocese will not be free to make use of its property, now or in the future, for the mission of the Church.
A property owner whose building has been designated as a landmark is required to maintain the exterior of the structure in accordance with the City of Rockford’s Historic Preservation Plan document.
Further, all of us will be required by a government action, to continue to expend religious funds, gathered from all over the diocese, to maintain the exteriors of aged and empty buildings. Of course, those funds would have to be diverted from the essence of the mission of the Church and the Diocese of Rockford. Regular cleaning, maintenance, repair, and beautification of the premises will be required by the city. Failure to comply with these requirements could lead to a lawsuit against the diocese or cathedral parish.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we read the mission entrusted to us and by which the Church will be judged. Jesus first told His followers to go and teach all nations and bring them through baptism into His life. (Mt. 28:19-20). Then He told us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, tend to the sick and visit those in prison. (Mt. 25: 35-36). This is our faith and our mission.
The life and history of the Diocese of Rockford are centered on completing the mission of faith entrusted to us by Christ. That mission is to serve the people of God in all the neighborhoods and cities in the 11 counties that comprise our diocese, bringing them closer to Christ. And in doing so, the diocese has had to adapt and change in order to serve the sacramental needs of all Catholics not just those in one particular neighborhood or one particular city.
To accomplish this mission our human, spiritual and financial resources must be shared with all because they come from all.
Respect and reverence for objects of history is a great attribute of the Catholic Church. However, preserving structures of the past must be balanced by our call to serve the Catholics of tomorrow as well as today. Until now, our decisions about that history have been guided by our Catholic faith and with freedom.
The implications of this potential action by the historical commission and the City of Rockford are so important, and the consequences so threatening to our religious freedom, that I ask that you join me in prayer for our religious liberty as we defend our diocese against this infringement on our fundamental right, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to exercise our religious faith as we determine best.
I am also writing to personally ask that you take a moment to send a letter asking the members of the City Council of the City of Rockford to vote NO to a landmark designation of the former chancery at 1245 N. Court St., the former convent at 1229 N. Court St. and the Cathedral of St. Peter School at 1231 N. Court St..
I am grateful for your prayers and for your support in this matter and be assured of my continued prayers for all people of this diocese.
For specifics on why and how to write your letter see the box on page 2 of this issue