Bucharest District 1 mayor wants to give money for cathedral, not hospital

Bucharest’s District 1 mayor wants to pay some EUR 2.2 million from the city hall’s budget for the People’s Salvation Cathedral. The same mayor recently rejected the idea of financing the reconstruction of the Burn Hospital, which is located in District 1 and managed by the local authorities. District 1 mayor Dan Tudorache introduced on the district council’s meeting agenda on Thursday a draft project for granting RON 10 million (EUR 2.2 million) from the city hall’s budget to the People’s Salvation Cathedral the Romanian Orthodox Church is currently building near the Parliament’s Palace. The project failed to meet enough favorable votes to pass. It received 11 “pro” votes from the social democrat district council members, 7 “abstentions” from the Save Bucharest Union (USB) members and 6 “against” votes from the liberal city council members. Clotilde Armand, USB city council member, asked for a public debate before deciding on the money allocation. However, the Patriarchy’s representative, who was also present at the council meeting, said that the Church needed to raise RON 80-100 million (EUR 17.8-22.2 million) by year end, otherwise the cathedral’s construction would be halted due to lack of funds, according to Hotnews.ro. He accused Armand of blocking the project. The debate about the financing for the cathedral came just days after another one related to the financing of a hospital in District 1. District 1 mayor Dan Tudorache said that the Intensive Care Unit of the Bucharest Burn Hospital, which is under the management of the District 1, shouldn’t be reconstructed with the tax money paid by District 1 residents, as the hospital serves the whole country. “We should build a new hospital for the District 1, not a national hospital,” he said, according to Mediafax. Romania’s Health Ministry decided to close the ICU unit of the Burn Hospital due to severe problems that put patients lives at risk. Health minister Vlad Voiculescu said that the whole hospital was in a bad situation and that one solution was to relocate it into a new building. Meanwhile, the District 1 City Hall agreed to allot EUR 250,000 to revamp the hospital’s ICU unit. Burn Hospital in Bucharest close to shutting down after doctor films shocking images