“Thanks to these artists beauty almost became identical with having the Catholic experience, and the Catholic experience became an experience people wanted to have.”

How repulsive. There was nothing beautiful about Calvary, except for the spiritual beauty in some there present. “Having an experience” is the approach of the customer, not the disciple. And when the experience dries up, what happens ? The customer’s faith drains away too, and he goes elsewhere for his “fix”. If churches are beautiful, are people founding their faith on Christ – or on aesthetics ?

To paraphrase Alice Thomas Ellis, modern Catholic churches can be instantly recognised by their being the most hideous buildings around. A perfect example of this is the Church of God the Merciful Father in Rome: it is “white heresy” in stone. Vestments seem designed not to be liturgically appropriate.

BTW, St. Robert Bellarmine may not be as widely read as he was, but it’s worth pointing out that he is a Doctor of the Church.