The Associated Press
February 16, 2007 Friday 2:36 AM GMT

Romania: Catholic clerics protest new high-rise project near
cathedral

About 200 Roman Catholic priests and nuns protested Thursday in the
capital to demand the government halts the construction of a new
high-rise office building near their main cathedral in the capital.

"Ignoring the rights of the Catholic community in Romania is an act
of discrimination," the church said in a statement, adding that it
has filed complaints with the European Commission and other European
Union bodies.

The country’s dominant Orthodox Church also published a statement
condemning the construction of the high-rise.

Built in the late 19th century, the St. Joseph Cathedral is
considered one of Bucharest’s top architectural sites, after former
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu wiped out large parts of the old
city to build huge offices for himself.

The Vatican also expressed concern over the development, as did
dozens of local architects and civic groups, who fear structural
damage to the cathedral and the alteration of the city’s
architectural landscape.

The same developer also built another high-rise next to the city’s
old Armenian church, another historical monument, which suffered
damaged to its foundation. The company, Millennium, has said the
cathedral’s structure is not threatened by the high-rise.