The Vatican has already responded to the controversy over the stage altar for this year’s World Youth Day in Portugal and has assured that it has not taken any decision on the construction of the project.
In statements to AKI PressVatican spokesman Matteo Bruni explained that the organization of “the event is of a local nature” and that for this reason, the decision on costs should be made by the Lisbon City Council.
The altar stage where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on World Youth Day has sparked outrage after it was revealed it would cost five million euros.
“The specifications for this phase were determined in the meetings we had with World Youth Day, with the Church and with the Holy See. [Vaticano]”, said Carlos Moedas, president of the municipality of Lisbon, on Tuesday when asked about the cost of the work delivered to the construction of Mota-Engil.
The Church assumes that the infrastructure is capable of simultaneously supporting two thousand people. World Youth Day 2023 will take place from 1 to 6 August.
Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon Américo Aguiar, coordinator of the Lisbon event, said at a press conference on Wednesday that he “did not know and should not have known” about the cost of the works, denying that it was the result of any imposition by the Portuguese Church, which presented demands that were “suggestions” rather than “impositions”.
He also said that the published value “harms everyone” and that a meeting is scheduled next week with the technicians from the Lisbon City Council and the City Rehabilitation Society (SRU) responsible for the project to try to fix what can be removed.
Construction work on the altar stage, where Pope Francis will celebrate the last mass, will cost the Lisbon Chamber 4.2 million euros in accordance with a contract concluded by direct agreement.
According to the information available on the portal of the public procurement base, “4.24 million euros (plus VAT) were awarded for the construction”, adding to this cost “1.06 million euros for indirect roof foundations”.
On Wednesday, the Lisbon Chamber justified the investment in the altar stage based on the needs of the event and the characteristics of the land, emphasizing that the structure can accommodate 2,000 people, half of whom are bishops, and will continue to be used thereafter.
On Tuesday, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas said he knew the altar stage would be very expensive to build, adding that it would be built to specifications given by the Catholic Church.
The opposition in the municipality complained about the “lack of transparency” and Chega’s party has already demanded the presence of Carlos Moedas in parliament to explain the cost of the event.
On Wednesday, the WYD Foundation pledged to disclose throughout the project the “costs and investments” of the “unprecedented event for the country” that “are its responsibility.”
WYD is the largest meeting of young Catholics from all over the world with the Pope, which takes place every two to three years, from July to August.
Lisbon was chosen in 2019 to host the 2022 meeting, which was rescheduled to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Author: morning Post and Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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