The vexed question of the cathedral of Bucharest, threatened by the construction of a high-rise modern building, shows no signs of reaching a solution. On 13 June there was a live satellite link between the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua and Romanian Catholics in defence of the cathedral. The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Bucharest is in fact going through a crisis as a result of the construction of a high-rise building, the Cathedral Plaza, in the immediate vicinity of the St. Joseph’s Cathedral. After the diocesan authorities have exhausted the appeal procedures, and after numerous actions of protest to halt the construction of the skyscraper, the situation has not improved, indeed, it has worsened, because the building work is continuing. The archdiocese of Bucharest has asked a public relations agency (BDR Associates) to formulate an action plan to interrupt the construction and consolidate the image of the archdiocese of Bucharest. In the strategy it has worked out, the agency has proposed the slogan: “Save Romania’s values! Now, the Cathedral of St. Joseph!”. The campaign began in mid-May and will continue for several months. The public initiatives include: the distribution to the faithful of badges and stickers with “pro-cathedral” messages, and a street campaign for the distribution of flyers in public places in Bucharest and other big towns. Meanwhile the protests of the faithful continue. The feast of the Ascension was a day of solidarity: in all the churches of Romania masses were celebrated and bells rung in support of the cathedral. Large numbers of citizens of Bucharest – Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics and Orthodox – continue to congregate in front of the cathedral to defend an historic and architectural monument that others want to consign to the dustbin of history “in order to build monsters in steel and glass”. In early May the archdiocese of Bucharest brought a civil suit against the authorities involved in the work. After the statement issued by the Vatican, after the visit of Cardinal Schoenborn who spoke with the President of Romania, after various Catholic bishops in Germany and Italy came to the defence of the cathedral, the Franciscan community of Padua has now lent its voice to the campaign. During the satellite link up between Padua and Bucharest, the faithful promoted a human chain round the cathedral and organized a procession with lilies and candles, as symbolic gesture in the defence of the most representative church of the Roman-Catholic church in Romania. The evening ended with a concert of Catholic children and youth of Bucharest.
