St. Vibiana’s

Bravo to the seven Catholic Workers for climbing to St. Vibiana’s tower and presenting this great teaching moment on June 17 for the Catholic Church! I only hope it wasn’t lost on our shepherd, the cardinal.

Your Eminence, please save or redirect the $45 million for the true parishioners, the poor, and use St. Vincent’s Church, a mile or two away, for the cathedral. It was originally hoped to be used for this purpose by the donors, the Dohenys, and is a beautiful church where I first served Mass in the ‘30s.

CURT GROVE

San Pedro Catholic Worker

* We are totally in favor of the demolition of the structure so that Cardinal Roger Mahony can build a cathedral befitting downtown Los Angeles, the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States.

We loved attending functions at St. Vibiana’s, but it was not large enough to accommodate the numbers it should be able to minister to.

We hope Cardinal Mahony is able to keep the downtown location.

TERRY WHITTLINGER

BILL WHITTLINGER

Long Beach

* Re “Spanish Architect to Design St. Vibiana’s,” June 12:

Eternal gratitude to the Catholic archdiocese for selecting a real architect to design our new cathedral and congratulations to the city of Los Angeles. Jose Rafael Moneo can and will design a real building for us real people to enjoy and for the city to be proud of, without turning its back to history and without having to resort to so-called “cutting-edge” shenanigans.

Rejoice! We have been spared the condemnation of having to live with another pile of junk called architecture by those who dare not stop admiring the emperor’s clothing when he is actually nude!

The collective sigh of relief is deafening.

TED WU

Los Angeles

* Wouldn’t it seem plausible to suppose that in this wealthy country of 260 million people it would be possible to find an architectural firm that could outdo or at least equal the efforts of any foreign talent? Not if you are Cardinal Mahony spending the wealth that comes into his hands courtesy of generations of Americans, the current one of which watches its dollars drift daily away from these shores.

THOMAS J. BARBARIE