�First they said it will be just offices, but now it is offices with commercial spaces, shops and a cinemaplex. The center is not the place for it. We can�t handle the cars. With this rumble maybe all the buildings will come down. It�s another possibility,� worries Fr. Ciobanu.
�They should do like other European cities, like in Vienna. In Vienna they built up outside of the center. All the tall buildings are near the river and away from the historical center.�
A petition by the Catholic Archdiocese brought about an investigation by the State Building Department (ISC) which found numerous irregularities in the authorization procedure involving the City Hall and the Ministry of Culture. The detailed report carried out by 12 inspectors noted incomplete documents, missing authorizations and lacking permits for the cranes, but that which most terrified the parishioners at St. Joseph�s �there is no objective means of liability in case of damages occurred to the nearby buildings�.
In light of these findings the Chief Inspector Dorina Isopescu called for an immediate halt to the construction.
Meanwhile construction carries on at a frantic pace �both day and night and Sundays,� says Fr. Ciobanu.
In earnest the archdiocese has taken the matter to Romanian Justice system only to be met with frustrating postponements and transferals to other courts. Meanwhile the construction goes on. A request by the Millennium Group to have the case transferred to the distant city of Constanta was recently accepted by a high court panel and they now wait that decision in September.
The local newspaper �Ziua� followed with a report showing that the father of Diana Voicu of the Millennium Group was president of the Appeals Court in Constanta. After this revelation church representatives are doubtful that they can receive a fair trail.
The Romanian press has been keeping a close watch over the events where it has become to be seen as a clash of traditional values against the quest of luring investors into the city. �Money matters too much to the people building this tower,� Archbishop Robu claims. The Catholic leader in Romania has since appealed to the nation�s President Traian Basescu who is highly regarded in the nation for his hands on kind of leadership, though for obvious reasons he has preferred to stay out of this case.
The petition concludes with the plea for �a real and permanent protection of the monuments of Bucharest.�
As silent prayers carry on inside the solemn Catholic Cathedral only ten meters outside its walls sounds the rumble of the rivet guns and soldering flames. Little by little the tower rises a little more everyday. They have already completed its four basements, laying more than ten meters below the Cathedral�s 125 year old �un-reinforced� concrete foundation.
�Now all we can do is wait,� says Fr. Ciobanu, �for the September surprise,� he adds with a touch of sarcasm, �from Constanta.�
THE END