HOLY SEE SAYS BUCHAREST CATHEDRAL AT RISK

Zenit News Agency, Italy
Dec 5 2006

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See wants a halt
to the construction of a skyscraper that would endanger the historic
Catholic cathedral of Bucharest.

The Vatican press office published a communique today asking the
appropriate Romanian authorities to suspend the construction.

The note states that the construction of a building — of 19 floors
above ground level and four below — at a distance of less than 10
meters from the northeast wall of the Cathedral of St. Joseph, risks
damaging the church irreparably.

"Concerns are aggravated by the precedent of the Armenian church,
which suffered grave damage for similar reasons," explains the note.

According to the Vatican, the construction of the skyscraper goes
against "the provisions of the 1993 European Union Treaty concerning
Legal Conditions and Measures for Preserving Cultural Heritage, to
which Romania adhered, and the State Commission Report for Monitoring
Building."

The Romanian Senate has already approved the report of the commission
of inquiry, which requests the immediate suspension of work.

The Holy See explained: "This should be followed by a decision on
the part of the appropriate authorities."