ARCHDIOCESE APPEALS CATHEDRAL RULING.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Arguing that the ruling infringed on religious freedom, attorneys for the Los Angeles Archdiocese filed a request Friday to have the state Court of Appeal overturn an order blocking them from demolishing St. Vibiana's Cathedral.

In a 35-page appeal, the archdiocese argued that Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien violated the church's right to freedom of religion and overstepped his bounds in ruling the city had erred in declaring that a portion of the cathedral presented a public danger.

The appeal was filed while supporters and opponents of tearing down the 120-year-old cathedral clashed again at a state Senate hearing on the state's environmental laws.

Church officials, meanwhile, said that Cardinal Roger Mahony was moving closer to looking at other sites.

In the legal arguments, the archdiocese said a new cathedral is needed to meet the needs of the 4 million Roman Catholics in Southern California.

``The Los Angeles Conservancy has prevented the Archdiocese from doing so through application of the unconstitutional (environmental) laws,'' said attorney John McNicholas in written argument.

``The Conservancy's ultimate goal is to thrust upon the Archdiocese its own vision of how the new Catholic cathedral should be designed. This results in a blatant and unconstitutional burden and infringement of the Archdiocese's right to freely practice and express its religion.''

McNicholas also argued that an immediate decision is needed because Mahony must decide where a new cathedral should be built to meet his time line of Sept. 4, 2000, to celebrate the third millennium of Christianity.

Before agreeing to or rejecting the appeal, the Court of Appeal has several options, including asking O'Brien to withdraw his order and calling for oral arguments, McNicholas said.

Jack Rubens, an attorney for the Los Angeles Conservancy, said he believes the appellate court will reject the archdiocese's argument. The Conservancy, wanting the cathedral preserved as a historic monument, is fighting Mahony's attempt to have it removed and replaced with a $45 million Cathedral Square.

``We believe that Judge O'Brien ruled properly, and he will be upheld,'' Rubens said.

In the meantime, Monsignor Terry Fleming said Mahony has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with two of the church's key financial committees to begin narrowing down potential sites if he is unable to build the new cathedral at Second and Main streets.

While Mahony has said he would not make a final decision until July 22, Fleming said the cardinal wanted to begin work on the six or seven sites under consideration in the downtown and outlying areas.

In a hearing Friday held by state Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, Fleming defended the actions of the church last month when it moved ahead to remove the cracked bell tower from the cathedral.

Hayden called the downtown hearing on a bill by Assemblyman Louis Caldera, D-Los Angeles, to exempt the church property from state requirements for an environmental impact report, as required by state law before a historic monument may be removed.

``I believe this is necessary to protect the Cathedral Square project,'' Caldera said. ``The California Environmental Quality Act was never intended to block any church from . . . (the) practice (of) its religion, and this project is vital for the revitalization of Los Angeles.''

Hayden worried that the way the bill was worded could affect other property in the downtown area, but Caldera assured him he would accept changes to ensure that it would affect only the church property.

But Rubens and Bill Delvac, of the Coalition to Preserve the Cathedral of St. Vibiana's, said Caldera's legislation would set a dangerous precedent for the state's environmental laws.

``This is a narrow piece of legislation affecting only one property,'' Rubens said. ``In contrast, CEQA is broad legislation that covers all properties. One property should not be exempted.''

Delvac also rejected arguments that his group and the Los Angeles Conservancy are misusing the legal process to delay the demolition of St. Vibiana's.

``We do not think that delay for delay's sake is a good strategy,'' Delvac said. ``We want an environmental impact report so that all the options can be studied. It is the best vehicle for analytic vigor.''

Rubens said the conservancy has offered to halt any legal challenges to the archdiocese if an environmental review is conducted. Archdiocese attorney O'Malley Miller said the offer was rejected.

The hearing also focused on whether the archdiocese acted properly in removing a portion of the bell tower.

Fleming said the church acted after consulting attorneys about a hazard-abatement order from the city.

But Rubens said church officials had been told they could not act without a building permit, but went ahead on the bell tower in an effort to tear down the entire building.