Cathedral plan ‘should be submitted to Holy See’

TWO experts in Catholic law yesterday said the final decision on controversial plans to alter the interior of St Coleman’s Cathedral should be made by the Holy See in Rome.

They made their opinions known on the second day of a Bord Pleanála oral hearing examining proposals to alter part of the interior of the cathedral in Cobh.

Dr Alcuin Reid, a London-based liturgical expert, told Bord Pleanála inspector Tom Rabbette the reordering shouldn’t be allowed.

“It should first be submitted to the Holy See and tested through due process. Until the proper judgement of the Holy See is to hand I believe it would be premature, indeed precipitous, to grant approval,” he said.

He claimed that what the diocese wanted to do with St Coleman’s Cathedral is based on a number of outdated liturgical preferences, which might be applicable to the design of a new church but not the one in Cobh, which was constructed between 1869 and 1919.

Dr Reid later said that in his opinion the dispute can only be settled by “hierarchial recourse to Rome”, and that it should be left up to the Congregation of Divine Worship to decide.

Dr Alan Kershaw, an American expert on Canon Law based in Rome, said the faithful of the diocese - who have objected in large numbers to the proposal - had the right to have their case heard by the Congregation of Divine Worship.

He argued that Bishop John Magee had not issued a decree on the proposal. Dr Kershaw said a bishop cannot impose his decisions or seek approval without giving the chance of a rebuttal.

“Only the Holy See can decide whether a proposed re-ordering is to be approved. This means that regardless of what the appeals board should decide, the entire matter must still receive approval from the Holy See, which will exercise its authority by evaluating and establishing whether liturgical laws have been scrupulously followed.”

Both witnesses were appearing in support of the Friends of St Coleman’s Cathedral, who have spent tens of thousands of euros fighting plans to extend the sanctuary into the church.

Shane Murphy SC, acting on behalf of that organisation, said they were quite prepared to accept replacing the existing temporary altar, but within the existing confines of the sanctuary.

Adrian O’Donovan, spokesman for the Friends of St Coleman’s Cathedral, claimed that proper public consultation hadn’t been entered into.

“The only music we wish to hear in Cobh is the sound of bells, and not the sound of the compressor and jackhammer... our beautiful cathedral will be destroyed,” Mr O’Donovan said.

Maurice Collins SC, for the applicants, argued that a number of consultation meetings had taken place. He added that a letter from Cardinal Arinze’s secretary in February had advised the Friends of St Coleman’s Cathedral to seek a solution within the diocese.

Mr Collins also claimed that Bishop Magee had kept the Vatican informed of his proposals by providing the Holy See with plans.

“The bishop must hear the people his decision will affect,” Dr Kershaw said to applause from the gallery.