cover image Ugly as Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again

Ugly as Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again

Michael S. Rose. Sophia Institute Press, $24.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-928832-36-2

With some books, the title says it all. In Ugly as Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again, Michael S. Rose rails against the post-Vatican II aesthetic which has, in his opinion, created churches that are ""ugly,"" ""banal"" and ""uninspiring."" Looking at the 80 photographs that are interspersed throughout, one has to admit he has a good point; when he notes that one modern tabernacle looks like a birdfeeder, for example, he's right on the money. Readers will never doubt that Rose's agenda is to return to the halcyon days of Catholic architecture, but even those who disagree will appreciate his entry-level explanations of key architectural concepts and straightforward writing style. (Dec.)