The building near the Sf. Iosif Cathedral, one step away from being pulled down

• The Roman-Catholic Archdiocese obtained the cancellation of the construction permit of the 19 floor building near the cathedral

• The appeal will be held at the Ploieşti Court of Appeal

• Officials of the Catholic Church will file a new lawsuit requesting the demolition of the office building neighboring the Sf. Iosif. Cathedral, which is a historical monument

After almost three years of struggle, after 13 years of trials, after the involvement of the European Parliament, of the Romanian Senate and with the support of Pope Benedict the XVIth, the historical monument Sfântul Iosif Cathedral is only two steps away from getting rid of the colossal building in its vicinity, that threatens the cathedral"s stability: what"s left is winning the appeal and the final hearing which would rule the demolition of the 19-floor office building.

"We are happy to announce today a new victory, namely the rejection by the Ploieşti Court of Appeal of the lawsuit filed by Millenium requesting that they be allowed to continue their project", Mugur Popescu, the attorney of the Roman-Catholic Archdiocese, yesterday said in a press conference.

Millenium Building Development, the company the "Cathedral Plaza" project belongs to, filed an appeal with the Ploieşti Court of Appeal over the preliminary ruling issued by the Dâmboviţa Court, on the cancellation of the construction permit. The Roman Archdiocese will file a new lawsuit, with a shorter deadline, requesting the demolition of the building located 8 meters away from the historical monument Sfântul Iosif Cathedral.

"Millenium demanded in court that we be restricted from using our right of answer in this case, and that we be forbidden from making statements on the importance of saving this architectural treasure. By irrevocably denying this request, the court has put an end to this abuse", Ioan Robu, Archbishop of the Romanian Archdiocese of the Catholic Church said.

Archbishop Ioan Robu also said that "urban mutilation" must cease, and the case of the Sfântul Iosif Cathedral must become a symbol of the protection of Romania"s cultural heritage.

The first steps for obtaining the building permit for "Cathedral Plaza" were taken nine months ago, before the approval of the General Urban Planning of the City of Bucharest. As the Urban Planning"s requirements could not be met, the developer of the project sought a way to avoid these requirements, either by making a Zonal Urban Planning or a Detailed Urban Planning. The developer received the building permit in February 2006, and it was signed by Mayor Andrei Chiliman, even though no technical survey was made, and the building exceeded the 45 m maximum allowed height for that area of the city.

The Sf. Iosif cathedral was built between 1875-1884, through the efforts of bishop Ignazio Paoli. The building"s plans were made by the Viennese architect Frederic von Schmidt, who also designed Vienna"s city hall.