Mahony Extends Deadline on Cathedral

Saying that he was encouraged by support from political leaders in his fight against preservationists, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony announced Tuesday that he will extend by a week, to July 22, his deadline for deciding whether to build a new St. Vibiana’s Cathedral on the downtown site of the existing church he wants demolished.

But the Roman Catholic leader disclosed that his advisors have selected six alternative locations, signaling that the archdiocese is serious about possibly moving the $50-million project elsewhere.

Mahony would not identify those properties other than to say three, including the two most favored, are within “the greater downtown Los Angeles area” as loosely defined by the freeway ring.

At a news conference in the parking lot of the earthquake-damaged St. Vibiana’s, the cardinal said the City Council’s recent preliminary action to strip landmark status from the 120-year-old church gives “me hope that it may yet be feasible for Cathedral Square to be built on this location.”

Yet Mahony said the archdiocese needs assurances by July 22 that it can acquire two adjacent parcels for the cathedral complex at affordable prices.

He also seeks a guarantee that the Los Angeles Conservancy will pose no more legal challenges to the old church’s demolition. The deadline is necessary, the cardinal said, so a new cathedral can be dedicated Sept. 4, 2000, on the feast of Our Lady of the Angels.

Asked about the odds of such a conservancy pledge, the cardinal replied: “I don’t know at what point God’s grace might touch their hearts and maybe get them to take a different stance.”

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The Los Angeles Conservancy won a victory last week when a Superior Court judge ruled that an environmental study was needed before demolition because St. Vibiana’s is a city landmark.

In a document released Monday, the city Community Redevelopment Agency said any environmental damage or historical loss would be compensated by incorporating church artifacts in a new cathedral.

The conservancy contends that a much more thorough study is required by state law.

Linda Dishman, conservancy executive director, emphasized that the archdiocese could have begun a proper study more than a year ago when the project was announced and finished it by now.

While her organization’s board of directors had not decided whether to file any lawsuits, she said: “The best way to assure there aren’t lawsuits in the future is to follow the law.”

Mahony said Tuesday that the archdiocese will appeal the Superior Court ruling. Archdiocese attorney John McNicholas said an emergency writ to be filed in a state appeals court by Friday will claim that landmark protection laws affecting churches violate freedom of religion. Los Angeles rules do not ban landmark demolition, but can delay it by a year.

The City Council on Tuesday decided to delay a final vote on removing landmark status until July 16, after the public comment period for the CRA document ends. Mahony also praised efforts in the state Legislature to exempt churches from state rules for environmental review.

And the council voted Tuesday to ask the Legislature to pass such proposals in an effort to keep the cathedral project at its original 2nd and Main street location.

During his news conference, security guards stopped a dozen protesters from the Catholic Worker Community from entering the cathedral lot.

Three of the protesters, who want cathedral construction money to aid the poor instead, climbed a nearby ficus tree to make sure their posters could be photographed by the media.

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this story.