D.C. Catholic center falling shy of vision

Feb. 20--WASHINGTON -- Almost 1,000 people--dignitaries, politicians and clergy draped in crimson--gathered in March 2001 to open the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, then Washington's newest museum and think tank.

President Bush was there, bowing his head in prayer at the ceremony. Many believed the turnout augured well for the success of the center, whose cornerstone had been blessed by the pontiff.

"The center will be a powerful voice in the larger ongoing dialogue of faith and culture, which takes place on a daily basis here," Detroit's Cardinal Adam Maida, president of the center, said at its opening.

But that voice is heard annually by less than one-tenth of the 750,000 annual visitors once envisioned.

Nearly five years after its opening and less than a year after its namesake died, the center is struggling. A hoped-for endowment never materialized. And the center owes $40 million in loans--including $17 million to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

A lavish undertaking

Planners of the $65 million limestone-and-glass structure--funded in part by thousands of donations ranging from $5 to $5 million, including $1 million from the Chicago archdiocese--spared few expenses. The center, on a 12-acre site, has drawn comparisons to Le Corbusier's chapel in Ronchamp, France. And in addition to traditional museum trappings, there are cutting-edge interactive computer stations by a designer who has done work for Sony and HBO.

At Pope John Paul II's request, only one exhibit focuses exclusively on him.

The National Catholic Reporter first reported the center's troubles this month. Officials blame outside events, such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as well as competition from more than 100 museums in the Washington area. "We had a bit of a slow start there," conceded Monsignor William Kerr, who has been the center's executive director since 2004.

Josie Haleco, 59, and her husband, Bert, 63, from Rodeo, Calif., were the only people one day this month in a theater showing a movie about Pope John Paul II's life. They said they stumbled upon the center after visiting the neighboring Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The Halecos, Catholics who had met Pope John Paul II, estimated they had visited their daughter six times in Washington in the past two years but said they'd never heard of the center until they spotted it during the previous trip.

'Exciting things' in works

Kerr said he is refocusing the center's mission to encourage large group visits, such as from Catholic churches. "Stay tuned," he said. "There are going to be some very exciting things in the next month."

The museum isn't his only challenge. In 2001, founders hailed the center as a global hub for Catholic learning with 12 scholars, but it has yet to retain a single one, Kerr said. Two leaders who were supposed to recruit the scholars have come and gone.

While acknowledging the center could refocus its goals, Maida continues to support its original mission and defends the $17 million the archdiocese lent directly to the center and the $23 million bank loan it guaranteed several years ago, said Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the Detroit archdiocese.

"There's no question that they're facing challenges right now," McGrath said. Still, he added, "I think we all feel very confident that it has and it can make a significant contribution to the Catholic dialogue in the United States."

The recent closing of 15 Catholic schools in Detroit, McGrath said, was not prompted by the loan to the center but to declining enrollment.

Few appeared to know of the archdiocese's commitments to the center until the Catholic Reporter article. Maida disclosed the $40 million in obligations in a Feb. 2 letter to Detroit priests.

Kerr, the center's director, said he had not known the precise amount of the debt to the Detroit archdiocese. "I honestly can't remember," he said.

While Kerr said he hopes to repay the Detroit archdiocese, he could not guarantee it.

Maida and the other members of the center's executive committee either did not return calls or declined to comment.

Overall, the center has received mixed reviews. Tom Doyle, a Catholic priest in Washington, said he "was significantly underwhelmed" after visiting it. A medical clinic to help the needy would have been a more fitting tribune to Pope John Paul II, Doyle said.

"That's what Christianity and Catholicism is supposed to be about, not building buildings and more statues," he said.

But Ray Weingartz, a Detroit businessman who became a center trustee in 1998 and has donated $800,000 to it, recalled with delight a family bus trip he chartered here. His grandchildren, enthusiastic over the center's interactive exhibits, began peppering their grandfather with religious questions.

"The church is going to have to use technology to teach," Kerr said. "I've seen it capture the imagination of teenagers and elementary school students."

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Center's offerings

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center highlights:

- A 50-minute film about Pope John Paul II's life, covering his early days as Karol Wojtyla in Poland and his 26-year papacy in Rome.

- Reminders of Pope John Paul II's relationship with Jews, including his visits to Israel.

- Video testimonials from visitors. One visitor talked about how faith helped him come to terms with a friend's death.

- Interactive terminals, accessed with wallet-size cards, exploring contemporary church, moral and cultural issues.

- A gallery of papal busts and paintings spanning 500 years. In one portrait, a majestic Pope John Paul II is shown giving a blessing. The crowd below includes Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit, president of the center.

- A pair of skis that belonged to Pope John Paul II, who was an athlete.

-- Matthew Chayes

mchayes@tribune.com

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