Pope asks Romanian diplomat to help save threatened cathedral

Published: 2007-01-22

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI asked Romania's new ambassador to the Vatican for his help in stopping construction of a skyscraper next to Bucharest's St. Joseph Cathedral. Welcoming Marius Gabriel Lazurca to the Vatican Jan. 20, the pope said smooth relations between the government and church communities present in the country would contribute to "social peace." "In this regard, I can only express my concern over the matter of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Bucharest," the pope told the ambassador. In a Dec. 4 statement, the Vatican said the physical stability of the cathedral, built in the late 1800s, is threatened by work on the 18-story office building just 30 feet away from the northeast wall of the church. The pope, speaking Jan. 20, asked the ambassador's assistance in preserving the building and the values it represents for the Catholic community and for all Romanians.

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