PROTESTERS ALTER CATHEDRAL CEREMONY.

Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, began construction Wednesday of a $163 million cathedral that Cardinal Roger Mahony called ``a sign and a symbol of God's presence in our downtown area.''

The ceremony was disrupted, however, by protesters who commandeered the skip loader with which Mahony planned to dig the project's first shovel of earth.

The protesters, most from a Skid Row soup kitchen, said the millions of dollars being poured into the project should go to helping the poor rather than building an ornate cathedral.

Mahony told the protesters that the church can help the poor and build cathedrals without compromising either effort.

``The works of the church have gone hand in hand for centuries,'' he said.

The Rev. Alice Callaghan, an Episcopal priest who climbed onto the earthmoving equipment, was not convinced.

``The point is, spend God's money on God's poor,'' she said afterward. ``If Jesus had $200 million in his pocket, and he was standing downtown on the edge of Skid Row, he wouldn't spend the money on a temple.''

Church officials countered that funds for the cathedral are being donated by individuals and companies specifically for this project and are not being taken from church programs to help the disadvantaged.

``Not a dime has been diverted from the poor,'' said the Rev. Gregory Coiro, spokesman for the archdiocese.

The protest came at the end of a ceremony to launch construction of the 3,000-seat building, at Temple and Hill avenues. Scheduled to open in 2001, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is both a key part of downtown revitalization efforts and a way for the Catholic Church to celebrate its third millennium.

``This is the day that dreams are made of,'' Mahony said. ``Here on this site will rise a church that will serve as a sign and a symbol of God's presence in our downtown area.''

The building will replace earthquake-damaged St. Vibiana's Cathedral, several blocks away.

Coiro said about $120 million has been raised so far.

The Los Angeles Catholic Workers group has long complained that the money would be better spent on people. Several group members, accompanied by Callaghan, scaled a fence separating the property from a freeway and crashed the groundbreaking ceremony.

Six people, including Callaghan, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing and later released.

The church will not be able to reschedule the disrupted ceremony because construction was supposed to begin Wednesday afternoon, Coiro said.

``This was a real groundbreaking,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

PHOTO (1) Protesters block access to the skip loader Cardinal Roger Mahony was to use to break ground for the cathedral Wednesday.

(2) Mahony displays an artist's rendering of the cathedral project.

David Sprague/Daily News