The Renovation Manipulation

by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author
Michael S. Rose

STOP THE CHURCH RENOVATORS!

NEW! More resources to help you fight a more effective renovation resistance at your parish.

NEW: Also now available is Michael S. Rose's Ugly As Sin Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again

Renovation of our Catholic churches is an issue that has been tearing apart parishes for 35 years. Communion rails have been ripped out, tabernacles hidden, kneelers removed, pews replaced by portable chairs, statues sold to antique dealers, and priceless works of art lost. Are these costly renovations really necessary, many wonder? The man in the pew instinctively resists the modernist design proposals, yet professional church renovators continue their attack in countless parishes across the continent. The Renovation Manipulation exposes the blueprint used by these highly-paid professionals to engineer unnecessary renovations. Herein you’ll learn about:

• The Protestant roots of modern Catholic church design and renovation
• The "re-education" process used to manipulate parishioners into accepting major changes to their church building
• The hallmarks of deceitful renovation schemes, including fabricating the requirements of Church law and Vatican II, false-advertising fund drives, and lame-duck parish committees
• How to respond to propaganda about: placement of the tabernacle, statues, and baptismal font; pews vs. chairs; removing the crucifix, communion rails, and kneelers; church "in-the-round"; and more

This convenient handbook, designed in an easy-to-use reference format, provides parishioners with the necessary knowledge and Church teachings to challenge the prevailing fads and opinions in liturgical design and architecture. As this book shows, the renovators and their allies are vulnerable. A well-informed, determined, and united community can succeed in defending its artistic and historical treasure against them.

Praise for THE RENOVATION MANIPULATION

"Against the tide of iconoclastic trends in building and renovation, Mr. Michael S. Rose offers us his valuable insights into the origins, nature, and strategies of those who would secularize the House of God. The Renovation Manipulation is an insightful and faithful guide to those who desire to see the church in which they worship as an edifice to the greater glory of God."

--Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz
Bishop of Lincoln

"Despite the efforts of the Church, there remains much confusion among the clergy and the faithful regarding ecclesiastical architecture. Such confusion can only be cleared by a patient presentation of the authentic teaching of the Church. Michael S. Rose has prepared a valuable resource for us all in The Renovation Manipulation by rendering an orderly presentation and cogent commentary on the Church's pronouncements in this area."

—John Cardinal O'Connor
Archbishop of New York

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MICHAEL S ROSE was born in 1969 in Chicopee, Mass. Educated at Brown University (M.F.A.) and the University of Cincinnati (B.Arch), he is the author of four books, including the NY Times bestseller Goodbye, Good Men. He is executive editor of cruxnews.com and a contributing editor of New Oxford Review. His articles and editorials have appeared in venues such as The Wall Street Journal, NY Newsday, Sacred Architecture, Faith & Form and The Catholic World Report. He has worked as an intern architect for prominent architecture firms in London, New York, Baltimore, and San Francisco. He currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife Barbara and their four children.

THE RENOVATION MANIPULATION
The Church Counter-Renovation Handbook
by Michael S. Rose

REVIEWS
Read the reviews of The Renovation Manipulation

EXCERPTS
Read excerpts from each chapter of the book

RESOURCES
More resources, articles, and church renovation case studies and stories