Jan. 16, 2000

Val Chilsen of St. Patrick's Catholic Parish in Onalaska isn't against shrines or the theology behind the veneration by Roman Catholics of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
But Chilsen said he is opposed to $25 million being spent by the Diocese of La Crosse to build a Guadalupe shrine in the Coulee Region.

"My original concern was, I thought it was not the best priority use of the money, and I still feel that way," said Chilsen, who is active in social ministries both in his church and in the community. He said a better use of the money would be to help parishes with their needs and to finance programs that aid poor and needy people.

Barb Clements, a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in La Crosse, disagrees. The shrine would meet people's spiritual needs at a time when spirituality is lagging, she said.

The priority question, which seems to boil down to whether it is more urgent to feed people's bodies or their souls, has been hotly debated among area Catholics and others since Bishop Raymond L. Burke announced the shrine project on Dec. 14.

"I just think in our society, we're lacking values and direction in where we should be headed. The shrine would increase our love for God, and that would help us find direction," Clements said.

As for helping the poor, people who grow in spirituality also are likely to be more inclined to give to others so the needs of the poor will be met, she said.

Chilsen, who first voiced his objections to the shrine last summer in response to a series of columns on shrines by Burke in the diocesan newspaper, the Times Review, was among the first critics. But he certainly isn't alone.

The debate has raged among letter writers to the opinion pages of the Tribune and the Times Review and in numerous other formal and informal settings. Some opponents have called the plan out-of-date and old-fashioned, and other critics have gone so far as to accuse Burke of diverting money from other diocesan projects to pay for the shrine.

Some, like Chilsen, don't see any wrongdoing but do question Burke's wisdom in spearheading the project.

"I don't see the practical purpose of this," said Fred Kusch of Newman Roncalli Parish in La Crosse. "I don't necessarily see that brick and mortar is going to bring people on a pilgrimage for prayer. To me, it doesn't really speak to the way I perceive the Gospel."

Kusch, who serves on the Franciscan Spirituality Center board and was active in diocese and parish leadership in the 1980s, said he believes Jesus would be more concerned with helping the poor and suffering in society than with providing people with another place for prayer.

"We have a lot of churches where people can go to pray," Kusch said.

Chilsen also believes the diocese has enough places for prayer, including parish churches. As for pilgrimages, Wisconsin already has many shrines and other meaningful sites people can visit, he said.

The shrine proposed for La Crosse, on an 80-acre bluffside site off Hwy. 14 between Hwy. MM and Justin Road in the town of Shelby, would be such a place, Burke said.

As proposed, the shrine would include a church with seating for 350 people and an outdoor worship site that could accommodate larger crowds in good weather. The complex also will include a visitors center, a center for doctrinal and spiritual renewal of catechism teachers, a residence for the director of the shrine, a convent for contemplative religious sisters, and several smaller chapels and grottos.

Site preparation will begin this spring with construction of the visitors center and church planned to start later in the year. The project could take several years to complete, Burke said.

The total cost of the complex is estimated at $25 million, with an additional $5 million to be set aside in an endowment for operations and maintenance.

The land was donated to the diocese by the family of the late Robert Swing and his wife, Lucille Swing. The Swings' son, the Rev. John Swing, is a priest of the diocese.

Money for the project is to come strictly from donations, and a separate corporation has been set up to oversee the fund and keep it separated from diocesan funds.

So far, about $15 million has been donated, Burke said. Another $100,000 has come in since the announcement in December, much of it in small gifts, he said.

"It's been a greater positive response, but I've gotten some very negative letters from people," Burke said.

Burke said the shrine is an appropriate response to Pope John Paul II's call for spiritual renewal as the church enters the new millennium.

"He sees the whole notion of pilgrimages to holy sites as an important part of spiritual renewal," Burke said.

The emphasis on Our Lady of Guadalupe also is appropriate because her message of peace and love, believed to be given to a poor Indian peasant in 1531 in what is now Mexico City, was meant for all of the Americas, the bishop said.

He said one thing that seems to be missed by critics is that many of the same people who support the shrine also are among the more generous supporters of their parishes, parish schools and other charities and causes.

The 1999-2000 Bishop's Annual Appeal, which covers the administrative and ministry costs for the diocese as well as donations for various national and international charities and projects, surpassed its goal of $3.65 million, said Rose Hammes, diocesan director of communications.

Parishes that exceeded their goals get the additional money returned to them for parish projects, she said.

In addition, special diocesan collections last year raised $100,000 for Project Milk to feed orphans in Peru, $50,000 for victims of Hurricane Mitch and $50,000 for refugees of the war in Kosovo, Hammes said.