ROMANIAN CATHOLIC BISHOP WANTS HALT TO HIGH-RISE

AP
World News
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
2009-07-02 17:58:02 –

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – The head of Romania’s Catholic Church on
Thursday called on the president to intervene to stop the construction
of a high-rise office building next to the Catholic cathedral.

Bishop Ioan Robu says the 19-storied building is "hideous" and
"illegal" because it has been built higher than its original plans. He
said it is a risk to the foundations of the 19th century St. Joseph
Cathedral.

A court ruled June 25 that work on the building could
resume. Construction was halted in 2006 after authorities said the
Millennium owners did not have all the building permits.

The bishop called the court ruling a blow to thousands of Romanian
Catholics and the Romanian justice system.

Culture Minister Theodor Paleologu said he supported the
church’s protest, and accused the builders and city officials of
corruption."Such buildings destroy the city, destroy our heritage
and destroy the quality of life," he said.

Paul Bogdan, the priest at the Armenian Church also stood by
Robu. Burning metal fell into the Armenian church yard over the weekend
after a fire raged at a similar high-rise office building close by.

The Catholic 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.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress