Gentle reader, The Hollywood community is reeling from the news that the Monastery of the Angels is supposed to close forever on January 1. But when we tried to visit at 2pm on Christmas Eve Sunday, we found the gates locked up tight. The Dominicans are marketing this sacred space as a $25 Million developer teardown. Angelenos: let's save it instead!
“The Dominicans are marketing this sacred space as a $25 Million developer teardown.” Maybe I missed the backstory but it’s quite interesting that the Dominicans need $25 Million. Is it to pay for the many lawsuits against the church? And why haven’t they been able to support this sacred space?
This branch is largely cloistered, so there are no abuse settlements pending against them. There is no explanation for why they are seeking to profit so handsomely by selling property donated by generations of Angelenos. The prioress overseeing these land use decisions runs a monastery in Menlo Park that is also declining in membership, so it likely benefits the northern monastery to shutter this one. There are a few elderly nuns who were moved off site, but it can't be that expensive to care for them. Lots of questions!
Who is the prioress? Is this a unilateral decision on her part? Is there a board of directors? What about the Angelenos who donated property? Are they aware of this? Do they have any say in the matter? If the Dominicans show such disrespect and disregard to their parishioners, no wonder the membership is declining. They have proved themselves quite untrustworthy.
It is all pretty opaque, but you can learn more from the videos and newsletter posts linked at https://esotouric.com/monastery. We're doing our best to keep the community informed, while advocating for a more positive outcome than demolition and redevelopment. We're disappointed that the Dominicans have not stayed true to their word that the Monastery will be preserved, but are now marketing it as a teardown.
“The Dominicans are marketing this sacred space as a $25 Million developer teardown.” Maybe I missed the backstory but it’s quite interesting that the Dominicans need $25 Million. Is it to pay for the many lawsuits against the church? And why haven’t they been able to support this sacred space?
This branch is largely cloistered, so there are no abuse settlements pending against them. There is no explanation for why they are seeking to profit so handsomely by selling property donated by generations of Angelenos. The prioress overseeing these land use decisions runs a monastery in Menlo Park that is also declining in membership, so it likely benefits the northern monastery to shutter this one. There are a few elderly nuns who were moved off site, but it can't be that expensive to care for them. Lots of questions!
Who is the prioress? Is this a unilateral decision on her part? Is there a board of directors? What about the Angelenos who donated property? Are they aware of this? Do they have any say in the matter? If the Dominicans show such disrespect and disregard to their parishioners, no wonder the membership is declining. They have proved themselves quite untrustworthy.
It is all pretty opaque, but you can learn more from the videos and newsletter posts linked at https://esotouric.com/monastery. We're doing our best to keep the community informed, while advocating for a more positive outcome than demolition and redevelopment. We're disappointed that the Dominicans have not stayed true to their word that the Monastery will be preserved, but are now marketing it as a teardown.