The Holy See has intervened on the controversial construction of a skyscraper bang next to the historic Roman-Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph in Bucharest, and asks “that a rapid and satisfactory solution be found to the thorny question”. In a statement issued on 4 December the Holy See traces the history of the affair, since last April, when the Archdiocese of Bucharest informed the Secretariat of State of the construction of a building 19 storeys high above ground and with 4 basement levels, at a distance of less than 10 metres from the north-east wall of the Cathedral. “As a consequence, it risks being irreparably damaged – says the statement -. The fear is aggravated by the precedent of the Armenian church, which, for similar reasons, has suffered serious cracks to its masonry”. Since then the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Apostolic Nunciature in Romania have taken all the “necessary steps” with the Romanian authorities. The Holy See says it has “taken note of the Resolution with which the Senate of Romania approved the Report of the Commission of enquiry in question, which calls for the immediate suspension of the work. A decision by the competent authorities ought to follow it up”. The statement concludes with the hope that “a rapid and satisfactory solution” be found in defence “of the historical heritage” of the cathedral and “of the values of faith it represents, not only for the Catholic community, but for the Romanian population as a whole”.
